CRICKET

Opotiki News, Volume X, Issue 1041, 28 October 1947, Page 3

CRICKET

WARREN SCORES WELL Town batted first against the Country side, and Warren and Robb gave the side a splendid start, sixty being on the board before Robb was bowled by D. Beattie with his score at 21. both batsmen had let alls through faulty catching, but nevertheless played some nice shots for so early in l ie season. Up till this stage J. Beattie had bowled exceptionally well,

but his. luck was right out as both batsmen would have fallen to him if catches had been accepted. Black was the next i atsman and after scoring eight was bowed by Mason, the ball just taking the bail. Warren and Stephenson were together at lunch time and after the resumption carried on nicely, picking the ball to score off. Warren eventually fell to a shot that had brought him a lot of runs. lie tried to- cut a rising ball from Clement and was nicely caught in the slips by Mason. Except for his early escape Warren’s 69 was a splendid effort and if he is prepared to go along quietly as he did 'On Saturday, he should be in for a splendid season. He and the evergreen J. Robb look like being a very good opening combination for the representative side. i

Burton made short work of two loose balls on the leg side, dispatching them both to the boundary, but he was soon bowled by a nice off break by Rowe. Stevenson and Stern then became associated m a useful partnership until Stevenson was bowled off liis pads by Hedlcy. Stevenson’s 24 was a very good effort and he should get a lot of rubs this season especially if he gets out of the habit of occasionally pulling away from a ball outside the leg stump. Stern 11 and Woodwood took the total to 190 before the last wicket fell. Considering the length of the grass in the outfield this was a splendid start for the season and some of the batsmen must have gained heart from their efforts. The bowling for the most part was 'cij steady but the same cannot be said of the fielding. Some of the bowlers would have had much bettci figures if the fieldsmen had been on their toes. With about 15 minutes of play left D l . Beattie and Hedlcy opened the innings for Country and were still together at stumps with 0 runs on the board. Unfortunately the match was unable to be finished on Monday due to the heavy rain durin the week-end and the long grass in the outfield. The game will however be concluded next Saturday when the Country side "ill make a strong bid to overtake Town’s 190. It is hoped that the grass will be cut before the end of the week and an interesting finish should result as the Town’s bowling is not over strong.