DRAWN GAME BUGBEAR

NZ Truth, Issue 1214, 7 March 1929, Page 15

DRAWN GAME BUGBEAR

[ Qory of Otago^s Feat Qbliterated By The Ti^

ROGER BLUNPS RETORT

(From ■ ' ' NJZ; Truth s Special Dunedin, Representative )

Against a strong Canterbury side, Otago went very close to making Plunket Shield history last week. The glory of such' a near-feat; however, was obliter^ed by the time-limit replacing a sure and meritorious victory with the old cricket bug bear-~a draw. ;

IN this, Otago experienced exactly what Auckland had toVput up with m their ; Dunedin' match a- few weeks ago, and the • two instances ' are sufficient to show that the four days'; limit is no match -for ! the" unsympathetic southern climate. >■ Yy .-'•"■; V, .-' :■ Altogether, -^ v btago's both ind^duaiiy; and as; a team;: glad-, dened thefv'hearts;- of the i local railsltters,^';^yv vy .','.. yy ■■■■■<■ yyiy fy.y -' ' •. !; ',-.'■;. j For ojne'-thihg, -it- lias : blown; out by. lie roots!/ the: ide^j-' lhat - Otago -cricket peas on the ,do^ jther, Rodger* y OBlunt's-y ? remarkable' fcore of 221 has proclaimed 'him', to be' is good a batsman l aß' any ih.the cOun-r' Jry at the present ;'timeVvlv-y.-yi yy; ; .: ■,}.'■■ "Truth" has watched Blunt helping himself to several centuries . iii : ciub cricket this season, but his* great, inn-;

602 -for. eight- wickets ' (declared), was the 'fruits of weak bowling, but ?there ; wjas/nothing- wrbng with the Canter^ biii'yr- trundlers; ; : Merritt and '■'. Newman; being ■.particularly consistent iii length and? tlieoiiy'. ' '>. > y. V. !•'-.'' : t : 'r---v':y' , ; ; It was, pure and ; simply, y first-class-batting by the majority. ) of ,'the-. Otago strikers ; .which / gave; v : the 'i southern province 'its highest"'tailyi m /Pluhket Shield matches, y-.y- ■; "'"V', '. . ; The. wisdom of ; ; the selectors, in' introducing' a wicket-keeper to .replace' Galland behind 'the 'sticks was' manifest by . tKeybenefit derived .. .from- The Grange: . skipper's work ; -'iii the .and-, with ••; the -ball. ._';' yy i .'-.-., ,-y'y yy sXt the: same time it might; be ; y. ; 'mentioned 1 that Heenan acquitted 1 :h.imfielf m Very creditable style-. :'.- with the gloves. ' y y '.'. His two catches behind the sticks m no small measure counterbalanced; the rather,; large' number,; of straight-out byeg. :'■'■'■ —Y'-- : yy. ■■' ..""■• -V' •■■" Y^-Y L' ;Wh'en .Otago's first -innings opened.

:The openers; Hamilton and Page, laidyay solid foundation, of 104 • before ■they were parted, and things looked rosy for the visitors -when the board showed 217 for four wickets when the stumps', were., drawn" for the day. „ On resuming, however, the last '. -six batsmen only yielded a 'paltry . 83,, Eastman/ and Monk being their chief trouble, . ;"With a difference of 27 runs and the bpst'Vpart 'of two, days ahead, of them, the Otago. batsmen took the crease to commence what resulted m one of the finest exhibitions, by the home side. (Aggressiveness was the, code word, though .none of the Canterbury bowlers could :■ be treated; with anything but respect..' '.-.'-..' '...' " •