Cricket.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 124, 15 November 1902, Page 18

Cricket.

THE followers of the game had something to enthuse about anent the batting of the Wellington eleven on Saturday in their engagement with the Phoenix team. The weather was delightful, although at times a gusty westeLlv wind hampered the bowlers who had to trundle against it. The wicket was a trifle tricky at the opening of the play, but improved considerably as the day wore on. The opening batsmen had short shift — Richardson playing a ball onto his wicket, another cannoned off C. Gore's pads and dislodged the balls, and Hickson dragged an apparent wide on the off into his timber yard. Three wickets were down for three runs, and the Phoenicians' hopes rose considerably, but A. H. Gore and Mahony became associated, and one or two opportunites of separating tham having been missed, 108 runs were on the board before Gore departed. At the end of the day's play the total had reached 343 runs for eight wickets— Mahony 158, "Weybourne 55, Latham 61 (not out), A. Gore 37, and extras 18. • • It was said after Mahony's innings of 77 against the Old Boys that the other bowlers in Wellington would find it a hard job to shift him when he got going. The Phcenix trundlers had a try on

Satuiday, and they fared worse than the younger club. Mahony was in with his first ball, and displayed a stubborn defence. True, a chance off a mishit to leg was not accepted, and a couple of opportunities of stumping him were let go by But Mahony's was a superb innings all the same, despite these blemishes. His favourite strokes are on the off side, principally late cuts that travel very fast through the slips, and square cuts that reach the boundary very easily. Another stroke of his that aggravates the opposition bowler is the one in which he picks a good length ball off the middle stump, and sends it with plenty of pace away to square leg. Mahony's weaknesses are in hitting balls that are delivered on the leg side. By the way, it was in trying to glide one of these that he made the only uppish stroke that went near a fieldsman, barring the one off which he was caught out. He is weak in driving, for in his long innings there was not a solitary drivs to the boundary. He was batting just on four hours. • • * Latham is just lately out from the Old Country, with a reputation as a bowler — left-hand break variety — and is said to have on one occasion clean bowled the only Ranjitsinghi. It was not expected that he would do anything remarkable with the bat on Saturday, but what an exhilarating exhibition he gave. The first stroke Latham made was a beautiful mid-off drive, followed in short time by some huge "bangs" between long-on and square leg — French cuts, as they have been facetiously called. They, however, were very productive, for fives and a six went on the score-sheet as the result of them. One of Latham's strokes was a beauty — a straight drive, right over the boundary behind the bowler's head. Hickey's bowling was Latham's peculiar weakness, and it was not trash either. Fine length balls, well pitched up, whether breaking away from or towards the batsman, received exactly the same treatment. There were one six, three fivss, two fours, and four threes included in his total.

Latham may not again make as many runs as he did last week, but he can be relied upon to gather in a goodly number if he stays in long enough. A " banger" is a good adjunct to any team, and the Wellingtons have one m their latest addition. • • » A pleasing feature of the Wellington innings was the score of 55 by " Barney " Weybourne. He is always an attractive batsman and his work on the off-side is aptly described as sweet. The ball travels off his bat on that side of the wicket,but a tendency to impatience on his part should be curbed. Weybourne has plenty of defence if he likes to use it, and many more good scores would go on the sheet to his credit if he waited for the loose balls to make his telling strokes off, instead of forcing the play - * A. H. Gore's reach stands him in good stead, for he generally smothers the breaking balls before they can do much harm. There were a few forcing cuts in his innings, reminiscent of his brother Charlie, but, generally, defence was his motto. And it was exactly the innings required at the stage of the game when he went in. On one occasion during Gore's innings an appeal was made for " bowled " from one of Halley's deliveries. In making his stroke at the ball Gore covered his leg stump and blocked the view of the umpire at the bowler's end. He, however, was of the opinion that the ball had come back from the wicketkeeper's pads, and dislodged the bails. Before giving a decision, the umpire exercised his right of appeal to his confrere, who agreed with the conclusion he had arrived at. The appeal was, therefore, disallowed, and Gore continued batting. * * * The stand between Gore and Mahony for the fourth wicket realised 105 runs, and Mahony and Weybourne were associated together while 122 runs went on the score-sheet. ♦ * # Hickey, with four wickets for 102 runs, was the most successful Phcenix bowler.

He kept a good length, and worked well from both sides of the wickets. A tendency of appealing for leg- before- wicket on his part ought to be restrained. There should, at least, be a reasonable prospect of the decision being given in his favour when he makes the appeal if it is to receive respect from the umpire. Hickey sent down 198 balls. Day bowled well with no luck. He kept them consistently on the wicket, and occasionally beat the batsman but just missed the timber yard. A couple of easy chances of stumping off him were not accepted, the first occasion being his opening ball to Mahooy. He sent down 72 balls for 30 runs. Waters pegged in some good balls when he went on the second time, and had the satisfaction of securing Mahony's wicket. Brice also bowled a few overs as he had to leave early. He tried to keep a decent length and plenty of practice at the nets should enable him to do this in matches and still keep the pace going. Halley got two wickets, and was successful in breaking up the stand between Gore and Mahony, at a cost of 23 runs. • • • The Midlanders made a sorry exhibition for a batting team of their capabilities against the Old Boys. Granted that the wicket was a bit heavy, and one suited to Tucker's bowling, yet they are worth more than 131 runs against the best bowling talent in Wellington. The majority of them appeared to me to consider that it was a simple matter to make runs off Tucker's bowling, and they did not treat it with the respect it deserved. The result was disaster to them. Methinks their next turn at the wickets will see them playing an altogether different game. I may be wrong, but if I am there are many who think with me. " Joe " Smith is surprising his best friends. He was never found guilty of being anything above the average batsman, yet his displays this season are really good. To make the top score (28) in a batting team like Midland is an excellent performance for him. " Harry " Davis made the second highest score on his side (26), yet he has

not fulfilled the promise expected ot him when promoted to the senior ranks. His performances among the juniors were so good that something above the ordinary was expected from him in his promotion, but the hopes have not been realised as yet. Holdsworth got his total of 24 on m good time, and seemed to be worth any number of runs when McGowan got a fast one low down past him. Upham " banged," instead of playing the solid cricket he showed in his opening game, and hence he made many uppish strokes in his tally of 16, from one of which he had to letire. Williams was going well when he went on an excursion down the pitch to play one from Tucker, and missing the ball, forgot to return. Tucker's average was six wickets for 52 runs — a handsome one. True, the wicket was one that suited him, as he could get any amount of work on. A couple of chances were dropped off him in the field, though. McGowan gets in a very deadly ball at times, although he seems to suffer from the same complaint as Bnce — he tries to get too much pace on, and sacrifices length in consequence. The same advice is given him — get the length and keep it, the pace will come aftei wards. Sanderson, Kalph, and Prouse all had a try with the ball with no success. Wills confirmed the favourable impression made in the opening match when the Old Boys went in for their innings His total of 23 nins was made by aggressive cricket, the off-drive being his favourite stroke. Tucker went cheap — three being his contribution. C. P. Blacklock batted nicely for his contribution of 18, and Beechey 15 (not out) and Sanderson 5 (not out) deiended then wickets till time was up. ♦ ♦ ♦ The Old Boys are within 26 runs of the Midlanders' total, and have five wickets m hand, so if the tail can only wag a little bit it may take the older club all their time to win. * • » The wicket-keeping displays in these matches were ot different kinds. In the Wellington-Phoenix game theie were only 14 byes in the total of 343, yet several chances of stumping were allowed to go by. In the other game (Midland v. Old Boys) there weie 28 byes in the total of 105, yet two of the five wickets down were got by the agency of the wicketkeeper. • * * J. P. Blacklock, the ex-Phceni\ player, was on the Reserve on Saturday, looking none the worse for his recent bout of illness, which has detained him in Auckland since his return from South Africa. He will be playing again in a week or two, and repoit says he is joining the Old Boys Club. There has been some controveisy over the catch fiom Mahony dropped by Hickey in the Phcenix Wellington match, it being stated that it was because of some juggling on his part to make the catch appear a pietty one that he mulled it. I was in a good position to see, and have uo hesitation in contradicting this. Hickey did not get the ball actually into his possession. It struck the fleshy part of his hand, and bounded off it on to his forearm, from which it dropped to the ground. * * • The match between the Hutt Valley Association's representatives and the junior representatives of the Wellington Association, played at the Recreation Ground, Petone, on Monday, was not remarkable for many brilliant displays of cricket — in fact, in the majority of instances, the batting displays were very tame. For the Wellington team Naughton — ' Don " of that ilk — went in first in the opening innings, and was the last man out, 46 runs being secured off his bat. Alpe, a rising lad in the Newtown Club, went in last, and rattled up 12 (not out) by aggressive cricket. Stevens, the Gasworks' big scorer, had hard luck in this innings, being given out lbw to a ball lie played with the bat when he had scored 5. These three scored 63 runs out of the total of 91, so with 28 runs divided between the other eight batsmen their turns at the wickets are not worth further comment. "Dick" Pringle is the best bowler in the Valley, his average in this innings reading five wickets for 39 runs. He bowls a good length ball, which occasionally comes across from the off. He rarely throws up any loose ones, and generally is difficult to score off.

Moffatt, a bowler in the defunct Rival Club, got one wicket foi 16 runs, but he has a failing which is not confined solely to country players — a frequent appealing for leg before wicket. " Dick " Hay, an ex-College Old Boy, had one o\ ci in the first innings and he secured a wicket— Naughton's— for one run. Barber (2 for 15) and Picken (1 for 10) were the other successful bowlers. The batting of the country players was even weaker than the town team, then total only reaching 60 runs when the last man was out. Wiffen, a Wadestown player, was the highest scorer with 17 opposite his name. He drove one or two balls very nicely, but in the majority of instances preferred to meet the bowling with the face of the bat and keep his wicket up. Bernsten, of whom I had heard and expected a lot, threw his wicket away by trying to pull a straight ball to leg. It was a very wedk and sluggish strpke, and does not promise a place in a senior team should he join a town team. Cate, the Petone player who put in one season wicket-keeping for the Phoenix senior team, showed fair form behind the sticks for the country team. His batting showed more solidity than when he played in town ; and he seemed unfortunate m his dismissals Windley, the Porirua player who plays for the Midland Club and has been in the senior team of that club, came out of the deal with the best bowling aveLage, his figures reading five wickets for 16. Pery, a Wellington Club player and who recently came across the Tasman Sea, secured one wicket for two runs. His bowling is open to question every time, the tendency being to lift the back foot in delivenng. His action is ver^ peculiar to watch. Hams, the Gasworks trundler, was the other successful bowler, his average being 3 wickets for 32 runs. * * • The second innings of the town team was a poorer display than the first one, the aggregate score being 57. Johnstone (12) and Pery (14 not out) were the only double-figure scorers. Prmgle (4 for 19), Barber (5 for 29), and Moffatt (1 for 7) were the destroying agents. Barber got in some very good balls in this innings, the breaking ones from the off being particularly so. The Hutt Valley set out on their last innings with 89 runs to make to win and succeeded in getting 69 of them, losing the match by 19 runs. Barber (22) and McMenamin (12) were the double-figure scorers, the former putting a lot of vigour into his strokes. Windley (3 for 20), Pery (4 for 26), and Harris (1 foi 3) were the successful bowlers. * * * " Barclay, the London professional, started for Gordon, and made 6 Bowling he kept an excellent length, and had the fielding been of a good standard he should have had more wickets to his credit. Several of the Parnell batsmen were badly missed off him." — " Hamer." " Yorker," another Auckland writer, says :—": — " Gordoh played Barclay, the London Club man, but his bowling was treated with scant respect by Lusk and Gavin On a bad wicket he should be very dangeLOus, as he breaks from both sides, but his length was hardly accurate enough." * » » Big scores in Canterbury cricket : — C. W. Garrard 134, A. Sims 132 (not out), R. Strange 44, W. Pearce 35, and K. Olhvier 53. Playing for Oxford City v. Witney, Jessop secured nine wickets for 36 runs. One player was absent, and eight were clean bowled. " Harrier " has a peculiar score in his last notes. This is what he says :— " Thanks mainly to R. Neill, the Auckland score totted up to 2 ." Neill's score was 79. " Scoring Board," a Canterbury scribe, mentioned last week that J. Mahony, a member of the Glebe Club, had left Sydney for New Zealand. As Mahony has played four Saturdays in Wellington now, my confrere must have got hold of an old exchange. Some Dunedin tallies : — Hunter 57, Geddes 80, Jackson 35, Jack 35, and Baker 54 ; A. Downes, six wickets for 14 runs ; R. L. Fisher, 6 for 36 ; Eckhoff, 6 for 29 ; Corbett, 5 for 37 , Mills, 2 for 19 ; Carver, 5 for 44. A problem by " Long Slip":— A batsman makes a hit, and runs two for it. His first run is short, and the umpire declares " short run " ; he returns for his second run, which is also naturally short. Why does the umpire not declare two short runs ? Can any reader explain ? Correspondence invited.