Cricket.

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 230, 26 November 1904, Page 19

Cricket.

THE second series of championship matches wa» commenced last Saturday, each team in the three matches having a turn with the bat during the afternoon. The Midlands, at the Athletio Park, secured a lead on the first innings of 69 runs from the Australs. At the Basin Resea ye Old Boys finished 12 rum in front of .Newtown, and the Wellington team have a majority of 52 runs over the Phoenix. The Austral-Midland match played at the Athletic Park, was full ot incident, and not a little trouble. First, the wicket prepared was not a eood one— the wet weather had) made it very dead, and, besides, it performed erratically. There was a manifest shortness of grass on it as well. *or no reason whatever at times the ball would come up very quickly from the pitch but the keenest investigation could not find a hole of any description in the surface of the wicket. Again, the deliveries, particularly those from, the north end, would not rise an inch, but shot with deadly effect. Under these circumstances the bowlers generally had the best of the deal. • • * The Austtals winning the toss, elected to bat, but the last man was sent to the right-about with the score at 49, Vivian (18) being the only doublefigure scorer. Three of the team were run out, Upham (five for 14) and Mitchell (two for 1, disposing of the balance. When the Midlanders opened their innings they were very confident, but they got a -reat set back. Quee, after making one run, played a ball hard on to his pad that rebounded into has wioket, Hutchings mistimed a hook to leg, and was caught at the wickets. Mow : att and Wynyard were clean bowled without adding to the score, and Weybourne was caught at third-man, playing at a ball that was almost a wide. The tally was five wickets for 11 runs when Upham joined Hickson, who had opened with Quee, and a change came o'er the scene. Hitting hard and often, Upham soon got the bowling in a knot,' and rattled on the runs in good style. The innings totalled 118— Upham 50, Robinson 26, Hickson 11, and Stephenson 11. Bartlett (five for 26), Vivian (three for 19), Dakin (one for 0), and Robinson (one for 15) were the best bowlers on the Austral side. • * • Vivian, though the highest scorer on his side m its first innings, seemed very cramped in his style. He appears to have lost the aggressiveness which was a feature of his batting last season. Hull found the wicket not to his liking at all in his first strike, the balls that hung im their flight after striking the ground being very disconcerting to him. In his second journey to the batting crease, when the turf had got more life in it, his form was much better. Hull was particularly sweet on leg hits, one on to the top of the Grand Stand being a fine stroke. Though not so aggressive on the on-side, he made some powerful strokes past the bowler. Connole impressed' me very favourably. He is a left-hand batsman, with a lot of wood in his strokes. Dakin is a good opening batsman, the best of the bowling being met with the full face of the bat. When going well in the first innings he attempted an impossible run, and was fully a yaird away when* the bails were removed. He has 11 (not out) opposite his> name in the second innings, and should 1 give much trouble before he is dismissed. Mahony was at sea on the dead wicket, and in trying to glide a ball from Upham to leg he hit too soon, and was caught by the wicketkeeper. • • • Upham is a veritable gold-mine to the Midland' team. Time and time again has he come to their rescue when things were going against them. Saturday's performance was probably one of his best. Coming in when his side was practically demoralised, he went for the bowling, his first strike producing a brace of runs. Not until he was well into the forties did> he give a possible chance to the fieldsmen, and in the meantime he had turned a rout of his own side into a demoralisation of his opponents.

And it was by good cricket, too, in which the lusty drive straight over the bowler's head was the most prominent. The leg glide, the cut forward ot point, and the pull between square-leg and mid-on were othei runrgetting bfrokes ot Upham's. It was a fine performance by a fine cricketer, and would seem to show that after thirteen years of senior cricket Upham is a long way from done with yet. Arnold Williams is away from Wellington for a couple of weeks, and Robinson was promoted 1 from the Midland juniors to "fill the vacancy in the team. Right well he justified his inclusion, for he played the bowling with a lot of confidence. His best stroke was the off-drive, into which he put a lot of wood. He has a tendency to pull straight balls, however, which may shorten h.is stays at the battinec crease Robinson made a very creditable debut, at any rate. There was nothing particularly striking in Claud Hickson's innings other than his indomitable patience. Stephenson surprised the Australs when he started following his captain's lead m driving the ball to the southern extremity of the Athletic Park, but it is not so many seasons ago that his batting was one of the strong features of his play. Of later years, however, his bowling has overshadowed his play with the bat, but the ability is still theue, nevertheless. Bartlett was the leading string in the Austral's attack, and he was very destructive at the opening of the Midland innings. He kept a good length, and worked both ways. The "Post" says of him that "he was evidently put off his length through being no-balled by Umpire MaKenzie for 'throwing.' " On that point, and of the incidents that arose out of the said "calling," I intend to be silent. Vivian bowled with a capital length, and plenty of pace. His average would have been better, too, if he had received full assistance from the fieldsmen. The wind was trying to Hull, for, when bowling with it he pitched the ball too fair up, and when going against it could not get it up far enough. Robinson I was not impressed with as a bowler, although he got Hiokson with a "shooter." Dakin puts plenty of twist on, but was wide of the wickets in the five balls he bowled, and he was lucky to dismiss a batsman with the last one. * * * The Old Boyb' innings against Newtown was mainly remarkable for the fact that 0. P. Blacklock (47) and Staples (34) made 81 between them out of the 107 runs scored by their side. Spraggon (16) Caroline (15), Frank Alpe (19), and' Day (10) weie the doublefigure scorers for Newtown. The Wellington team's batting was mainly a Hickson-Weybourne combination, the foimer getting 30, and the latter 41. Richardson (17) and Latham (17) also assisted towards the total of 128. The collapse of the main Phoenix batsmen was particularly apparent, Barton, Waters, Naughton, and Brice between them only putting two runs on the score-sheet. Barton being responsible for those two. Hickey (28) and McLennan (19) were the only doubles. * • • In the trial match between the first eleven and the next thirteen of New South Wales, Howell did the hat trick, his full figures being four wickets for 6 runs. Other bowlers' tallies were : — Noble, three for 18 ; Cotter, one for 21 ; Hopkins, one for 47 ; and Johnson two for 28. Best batting in the match : — For the thirteen: C. Gregory 31, Hickson 34, Pye 26, and Carter 12. For the eleven, who lost one wicket for 74 runs : S. Gregory 40, Waddy 27 (not out). * • • Some Auckland figures — Hemus 94, R. Hay 29 (not out), Ayles 24, Smith 57, H B. Lusk 46, Elliott 20, Philson 32. The old faces are still m evidence — Stan Hickson's score of 30 runs, obtained in his usual aggressive style being proof positive. Len MoKenzie has got his 1 place in the Old Boys' senior team once more, and his opening contribution of 14 is good reading. Allan Day was responsible for a twofigure score in. the Newtown-Old Boys match. He is not identical with the ex-Phoenix player of that name. Spraggon, the ex-Phoenix ex-Dunedin player, has thrown in his lot with the Newtown Club, and' showed f«ir form in gathering together a two-figwe score. C. P. Blacklock gave a wri*t^ display of late cutting in his> innings Satur- N day. When he was at College, Blacklock had a very sweet leg glide. We don't see mtJoh of it now-a-days. Has he lost it? Three runs were obtained off one of fche adjudged "no-balls" in the AustralMidland 1 match. They were recorded

in the score-books as "byes," which -is not according to rulings of the Marylebone Club. Callaway still keeps his end! up as a bowler. So far this season he has the following figures in Christchurch championship cricket: — Eleven wickets for 51 runs, nine for 61, and seven for 39 ; a total of "27 wjckets for 151 runs. The Jones engaged by the Grafton Club, Auckland, as a coach, us not the "expre&a" bowler of that ilk. The player in question is named S. P. Jones, the well-known Sydney cricketer, who was, a member of the Australian team in 1882 and 1886. R. Strange, the Canterbury representative cricketer, leaves Chnstchurch in a week or two to take vm his residence in Sydney. Strange has been. scoiuig very consistently this season, and his departure will be a loss to cricket in tihe Cathedral City. The brightest cricket at the Basin Reserve on Saturday was provided by Barney Weybourne, whose free batting was much admired by the spectators. Wevboiurn© is one of our best when properlyl v well. Let us ,hope his 1 opening display is but the 1 prelude to many similar ones. Bowling figures at the Basin Reserve last week were: — Tucker one for 17, Cleland two for 31, Beechey on© for 17, Alpe five for 33, Miller four for 39, Luckie three for 30, Hales two for 16, Gibbes three for 12, Richardson two for 11, Brice two for 40, Hickey two for 31, Barton four for 33, and Shand one for 2. Frank Alpe bids fair to justify the conclusion that he has the makings of a senior player in his constitution. Five wickets for 33 runs, and 19 off his own bat in one afternoon would seem to indicate that way. His brother Fred's wicket-keeping shows much promise — an innings of 107 without an extra is a bit above the average. When Shand was playing in the Phoenix junior team he was on© of its main bowlers, and 1 was promoted' pnnrcipally to the senior team on that account. Can anyone tell me why each successive Phoenix senior captain has to be reminded of this fact? Shaind's abilities are such that he should mot be used as a stop-gap — he should be one of the main bowlers. Barros, of the Newtown team, got out in a strange way last Saturday. He followed one of his own strokes through, but had to retire to his base. In doing so he fell, and grounded 1 his bat. But, only the shoulder of the bat was touching the ground, and although three-parts of the blade was across tihe white line, none of it was on the turf, and the umpire had, perforce, to rule him out when appealed to.

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I got a fait of a shock on Saturday when I noticed Kirkcakhe and Wills* playing in the Old Boys' junior team on Saturday. Why this ttousness? McKay, the ex-Ihinedin cricketer, who was said to be throwing in his lot with the Newtown Olub, made 63 in a shop match on Saturday. He should not be allowed to waste his time outside of regular ci lcket. Dalgleish, who has been a power in Hutt Valley cricket for many seasons now, has thrown in his lot with the Thorndon dub. Only the other week he collected over 90 runs for the Petone United) team, but he was dismissed before lie got going against the Wellington junior eleven last Saturday. "J> al is a good bat, all the same, and I will be surprised if some good scores do not go down on the sheet opposite his name before the sason is far advanced. In its first match this season the Wellington Club's junior team had amongst its number the names of l^uokie and Adams. In that club's first semai championship game the same two players are taking part. What I want to know is: Are these two players classified senior or junior by their club ? It the former, why did they play in a junior match when their senior team was disengaged ; if junior, who are they playing substitutes for in the senior team ? This matter could be investigated by the Championship Committee of the Cricket Association.