Cricket.

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 229, 19 November 1904, Page 19

Cricket.

CRICKET is a summei pastime' I wnte this advnsedlv and with due respect to other people who may not agree with me. Judging by the weathei last Saturday afternoon the latter have good gi ounds for their conclusions, and there are many players who will side with them, that the games that were played last Satuiday afternoon, could not, by any stietch of the imagination, be called summei pleasures. The samples of weather in. Wellington so far this season have been many a,nd varied, but Satui day's was the worst of the batch. A keen northerly wind, full of blustei and bleakness, blew straight across the ground, and cricket raider the circumstances was anything but pleasant. However, the various championship games weie played. » * The Midland team prevailed over the Gasworks by an innings and 5 runs The latter team made a much better showing in their second innings than in their first journey to the wickets, the batsmen all round showing more confidence. The innings produced 108 runs, the mam contributors' to the total being Laws 33, Cobcroft 21, Dredge 15, and Topp 12. Laws' display was an excellent one. He treated all the bowlers with respect where necessary, but at the same time laid the wood on to much purpose His on-driving was very good, and his leg Btrokes were of similar excellence, one hit to leg, off which five runs were obtained, being a beauty. Laws has a tendency, however, to make leg hits, and for that purpose gets in fiont of his wickets sometimes. It is a good move when you hit the ball — otherwise it is not. Laws paid the penalty on Saturday — lbw. Cobcroft showed a tremendous lot of defence, preferring to play the bowling coirectly rather than to making runs. The only occasions on which he was aggressive was to balls pitched outside the leg-stump, and two hot chances were debited against him here. Possessed of plenty of confidence and patience, Cobcroft will be a hard man to shift when he gets properly m form. Ihedge showed some of the strokes with which he scored runs m Melbourne. He was particulaily good with drives past and on either of the bowlei . He has a desire to drive every ball, however, which may be good business from his standpoint. He is very weak on the leg stump, and I would suggest to him to practise taking block with the leg stump instead of the centre — it might strengthen his weakness. Howell made one sweet cut right past point, and Hawthorne played solidly till he was dismissed. He has a palpably weak stroke, and that us the one m which he tries 1 to glide to leg straight balls. If a ball is well on the wicket it should be met with the face of the bat. Hawthorne sacrificed his wicket with this stroke on Saturday, and he is young enough to cure himself of this defect in his play. Topp stayed in a long while for but few mas, but the ability is there all right. Altogether, I anticipate the Gasworks to maike a much better showing in thenfuture matches than they did against the Midlanders'. * * • Mitchell was the most successful bowler fox the Midlanders, his thiee wickets oostmg but 8 runs Bowling with the wind, his left-hand delivenes came all ways to the batsmen. Upham is a glutton for work. Foi over two hours he pegged away against the wind, and did not show a sign of tiring. His average of four wickets for 46 runs, under the circumstances, was a very good one. I think, thoueh, he should have spelled himself for a couple of overs during the afternoon, even if the bowler replacing him was not effective. Quee can bowl a fairly fast ball if necessary. Stephenson (two for 20) and Hutchings (one for 28) assisted Upham and Mitchell. Congratulations to the Austral team on winning their first match. Though personally I did not give them a chance of defeating the Old' Boys, the uncertainty of cricket is once again made manifest, for, beat them they did, and handsomely at that.

The second innings of the Old Boys produced the poor total of 4b iuns— Hay (12) and J. P. Blacklook (10) being the only two-figure scorers. The batting of the Old Boys' team calls for no comment othei than it was a keen disappointment to their supporters. Personally, I expected better things of them. The Australs had 73 run<s to make to win and they got them with the loss of only thiee wickets. Dakin 29, and Mahony 16 (not out) weie the responsible batsmen. Dakin gave a good display of defensive cricket, and well deserves his success, for he is an enthusiast. Mahony ie> one of the sohdest batsmen m Wellington, and does best when a lot us expected from him. In. this connection I would like to make a suggestion to the Austral captain, and it is to open his. innings with Mahony, going in second wicket down himiself. Vivian, is a batsman of the aggressive order, and it is foreign to his usual style of play to wait for the ball to come along to score off. Last season he gave me the impression that he was a forcing batsman, and by going in first he is sacrificing himself and his method of play. This us how it appears to me The player mainly lesponsible for the Austral's win is Bartlett, whose bowling figures of seven, wickets for 20 runs tell their own tale. Though generally "the man from Maitland" sends along some loose balls, he has an extra good one in the bag. On Satuiday the latter ball was much in evidence, and success attended it. Now that he is the first string in an attack, Bartlett can be expected to fulfil the comments that were made as to his abilities when he first came to Wellington two seasons ago A new featui eof his bowling this season is that he has developed a legbreak, w Inch he vanes with the off-break he had most success with in pievious seasons here. * • • The Phoenix team got a gieat fright at the hands of the Newtown boys on Saturday. They had got such a big lead on the first day's play that but few of them treated the resumption, of the match in a serious manner. Many of them thought they had only to go up to the Athletic Park, and put the remaining Newtown batsmen out, and come home acrain with an innings' win to then ciedit. This mayor may not have been the reason why Naughton and Wntens did not fill their places when, the match was resumed. Bnce was unwell and was alw an absentee. The Newtown lads had, in the meantime, recovered from the stage flight manifest on the opening day and showed their true form. As an evidence thereof they put 165 runs on the scoie-sheet in then second innings — Day 27, G Phmmer 17, Perkins 23, F. Phmmer 13, Frank Alpe 33, Caroline 23, and Fred Alpe 13 (not out). The Phoenix team had only 40 i urns to make to win, but thiee of the best batsmen were away, and three others were dismissed e veiy cheaply. There were only four wickets in hand, and if a hot chance given by Barton in the slips early in has innings had been held there is no telling how the game would have ended. However, the luns weie obtained, and Phoenix won by seven wickets — Barton 22 (not out) and Houston 10 (not out). I tender my heartiest congratulations to the South Wellington boys for the big fight they made, and will be pleased to hear of further good work on their part. Their showing was a splendid one after the bad position they were m at the close of the first day's play. * » » Ollivier continues to show good foam in Christchurch cricket, his latest contribution being 78. Playing for the Sydney Club against the Western Districts, Marsh secured the good figuies of nine wickets for 19 runs. Fred Midlane played for the Redfein team m a match during the country week of cricket in Sydney, but was caught out after making two runs. The Australian Eleven will piobablv be definitely selected by the end of Januaiv, as the party intend leaving Sydney for New Zealand early in, February. H. Tiumble has been elected a life member of the Melbourne Cnoket Club. At the annual election of the Committee of the club he headed the poll with 1056 votes. The Sydney city players had a gieat time during the country week series of matches. The following are the pnncipal batting figures • — A. C. Bannei - man 118, M. A. Noble 96, R Garty 81, J. J. Kelly 62 (not out), W. Kirkpatrick 87, J. R. Mackay 251, A. E. Johnston 59, J O'Connor 50 (not out), L. W. Pye 164, H. Cranney 68, G. Jordan 103 (retired), E. Rinaldi 108 (retired), A. J. Hopkins 116, F. A. Iredale 84, R. J. Hartigan 66.

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On Tuesday rnoimng I received the following teegram — '"Young 'Offside' arrived last night.— W. McKenzie." Heai tiest congratulations. "Leg-Bye" writes on a matter which, before publishing, I will have to make some enquiry into. The internal \\oiking of clubs I have no desire to piobe into. A tew Dunedm batting figuie* — Austin 57, Williams 22, Thomson 21, Howden 30, Pearless 27, Fisher 3b, Patterson 21, Johnston 30 (not out), Cummings 39 (not out). The eleven to represent the Wellington Club in its senior championship match to-monow include four lefthand bow lers— Hales, Latham, Gibbes, and Luckie. Tins should be in the natuie of a record. I hear there is a probability of S. Redgrave— a brother of the Gasworks player of that name — coming to Wellington during the present season. Eedgiave, for the past five years, has been touring with the Hawtrey Comedy Company through the colonies, playing much cricket meanwhile, a,nd at present is showing good form with the bat for the North Sydney Club. Tf he comes this wav Redgrave would be a decided acquisition to Wellington cricket. The Umpires' Association, at its meeting on Mond>ay nieht, issued an instruction to its members which should be taken full notice of bv the captains of the teams competing m the senioi and iunior chammonships It was to the effect that if a batsman takes loneer than two nrnutesi from the time J"5 predecessor was dismi^ed to take his place at tW wickets his right to bat shall be forfeited. In a thud-class match last Satuiday a bowler, while in the act of delivering. threw the batsman out at his end, said batsman having backed up and got out of his crease before the ball was delivered. The umpire, when appealed to, gave the batsman out — w hich was a pei - fectly coirect decision. The captain of the battin.or team, however, decimal to proceed with the game until the umpire in question was replaced. The match in which this incident occuned was played on the Athletic Paik, mid I think the Oncket Association would be doing the correct thma; if they ' pa' - petted" the captain referred to foi his breach of cricket etiouette # * * The news of the death of Mi . Arthur Brown last Sunday night came as a great surprise to many of those who were acquainted with him. Though his days as a player, both of encket and football, have long since passed by, there are many who can recall the days when, as captain of the Melrose Football Club, the deceased gentleman was a power in the athletic world of Wellington. In later years, Mr Brown devoted his attention to coaching and training joung athletes, and much of the success of the St. James Football Club is due to his efforts. In the running world his advice has been of much service, and W. H. Pollock, our local champion runner, has received much benefit from Mr. Brown's services. I extend my sympathies to his wndow and children, who, I believe, have been left in very distressing circumstances. The St. James Football Club aire promoting a benefit concert, which I am sure will receive tire support of every athlete in the town.