NOTES BY LONG SLIP

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 60

NOTES BY LONG SLIP

-More than one Otago man was approached , with a. view to- his playing for, the' Best of ISew Eea^nd against Auckland. -*' None cared to make k the trip, and- the < match "was abandoned 1 . " l J"red lAffgina, iihe old Cariabrodk pfcyerand Otagc representative, .was captain of ~ the Southland team- against Otago last week. Fred has lost some of his dash, but on, occasions jjave a glimpse •of the form for which he_ was famous in days gone by. There is some -grim superstition amongst - the members of the A. and B. Elevens of Carisbrook about practising on Monday and Friday nights. Monday is reckoned too soon after Saturday, tmd Friday is regarded as being too close on next Saturday's game. The ascendancy of .the' ball over the bat. in Saturday's cricket is evidenced by the number of bloba in the various games. Albion- furnished five, Opoho three, Dunedin five, Grange two, Carisbrook B four, and _, the A (for five- wickets) one. Altogether 20 batsmen out of 60 failed to score, while 19 compiled 63 runs, leaving 21 bats-ien to account for 504 runs, exclusive of 51 extras. Five baits ' onlr were sufficient to settle one family of well-known cricketers on Saturday, and their total contributions when . added together amounted to nil. | The humour of Curwcn. of the M.C.C. ' team, is noted by P. R. May. "After we ' left Plymouth the sea 'became very choppy, and «ome of us very scon 'lost our sfing.' The Ba> lived up to its evil reputation, andi had three of us- as its victims — Torrens, Simpson-Hayward, and myself— for two days. When we did arrive on deck once \ more Wilfred Cufrwen very nearly bronght i on a relapse with one of his numerous : yarns. It began tiius^ Some wretched' soul : was' 'throwing it over', for all Tie was worth, j A sympathetic voyager came up and said, { j 'Weak stomach, I suppose?' '"WhatV ref plied the victim-, 'ain't I throwin* it as far as the others?' " j On running between the wickets P.. R. I May. the fast bowler of the M.C.C. team, has this to aay : "As usual, several of our j opponents were run out, and the running | between wickets generally in New Zealand impressed us most favourably. Time after \ time both batsmen were discovered in the middle of the pitch, neither having uttered a word." ' The members of the M.C.C team must have heen pressed financially after leaving ' New Zealand. JSays P. R. May: "We ar- j ! rived at Sydney on the 21st, and, of course, j • missed the Ophir This meant a day or two at Sydney and a iTsin journey to catch the Ophir up at Melbourne. The amusing part iof the situation was,' though it hardly ap- J pealed to us as a joke at first, that we were all so low in the way of funds that we ((11( 1 scarcely had any means of subsistence t ] Thus we had quite a little experience of ! 'roughing it,' and had to seek devices' for staying the pangs of hunger at a nTinimufn \ of expenditure. This led to some of "our ' party staying in bed until ■ absolutely - ' famished, when they sallied forth to fill ,' themselves witn -bun 9! We stayed -at * | cheap hotel, where the more opalenfc re- ," 1 galsd themselves on a two-shilling feast, > ' while the impecunious slunk away to the pork-pie shop round the comer, where six- 1 pence sufficed for a -meal, which was, at all ) events, filling at the price." _ ' < .Apropos of a, muofr-ciiscusgexr incident during- the match, Victorians against Otago, i a -couple of seasons ago s "It will be seen ] that (something went- wrong 1 .with Mcl- i bourne' 4 second innings, Armstrong (b -i Dowries), Mailer (b Fisher), and three others i failing to score, end they had a narrow squeak. No doubt they began slogging to i force ft win, having to get 112 runs in 85 ( minirtek, tut after losing tiiree men for 1

. 0 each in three overs, they scratched at ths bowling and were kept on the defence. ExtttfOrdinary to relate, -when eight had , fallen for 59, five minutes before time, Arnrstrong, the Melbourne skipper, claimed by Australian rules (sic!) stumps should now be drawn, and the Otago captain consented ! Wonders will never cease." , . A good yarn is told about the Canterbury wicket during the visit of the Queensland team. When the Queanslanders batted on it they found the grass too lonjr, and called •the groundsman's attention to it. This worthy promised that it should not occur again. And it did not, for next morning (Oanterburv's turn -to bat) it was beautifully shaved ! No doubt groundsmen in New Zealand know better (says P. R. May) than that now, but after the M.C.C. tour theEnglishmen made a very similar criticism to M.A.N.'s in this respect. Tho amount received to date- by Major Trevor on behalf of the Marylebone C.C., with respect to the £10,000 guarantee fothe tour of the English team, is £6000. ' The receipts of the fourth test match between England and Australia to date total £1606 19s 3d, of which £600 goes to the Marylebone Club. j As showing the keen interest oaken 1 throughout Australia and 1 in England in the recent test match, played -in Adelaide, the following details of telegraphio work "should be interesting. An unusually large staff of inter-State pressmen and cable reporters waa B-ocommodat-od in the Press box on the Adelaide-t^val, and during the 'she daya o£ the third test match they sent 1495 messages; containing 68,140 words, and costing (Press rate) £172, to all parts of the Commonwealth and New Zealand. Altogether 276 cables were sent to England, an i ; the 5?65 words cost .€449. The wicket was soft and slow on the North Ground on Saturday when the Grange and Dnnedin senior elevens met again to fight out cricket supremacy. The conditions generally were in favour of the bowlers, who held the upper hand throughout. Dunedin made a deplorably poor stand, the 'whole side- being trundled out for the * miserable" as against "respectable" total of 68 rune. This works out at a poor average,, and speaks volumes for the indifferent cricket of certain batsmen. The run-getting was most inconsistent, three Dunedin bate only hitting their way into double figures. These three— Eckhold, Graham, and Harris— are hereby highly commended. 'Bannerman, who furnished the- sensation of the Otago-Southland match," did not get ' going in aggressive mood, and was bowled! without scoring. Ebkhold, who is developing steady and 1 careful tactics, hit his way to 27, and would ■ iiave been there yet had anybody the nerve to stay with him. Eckhold scored the majority of his runs by bis favourite stroke, which he now waits to develop with grim certainty. The fatal "0" was written, outside Reid's name; W. Mackersy succumbed to the fatal run out for 3. Bert Cramond, who is usually good for a few runs made ' in champagne style, was not .in the mood, I and was caught and bowled for 0: .That aggressive 'batsman, J.. Graham, gave a good display for his 21, and was the only batsman next to Eckhold •to make any 'stand' against tile bowling of Daviea, Ogg, and co. The wickets of Wilkie, JWatkins, Melville, and Courtis fell faster ijhan -atttumn leaves; but'* Harris made a bit of a stand; and got into double figures. As previously stated, the whole side was out for the poor total of 68. The bowling of Grange was above standard, but Davis and Ogg, who were the destroying angels', were assisted 'by tho wioket. The former is congratulated on ( his four for 19, while a similar compliment is extended to Ogg i<ft five for 41. Grange on going to the crease nfade & much better stand than their opponents, and have now a useful lead on, the first innings. Again {he batting was somewhat inconsistent, four men, assisted oy extras, accounting fox the bulk of the 117* Roberts showed good form for his score of 26, obtained by attractive batting' alt round the wicket. Henderson, tool showed good form for 19 until caught and bowled by Harris. C. Beal, who is a promising bat, did not get going to any run-getting extent, .and was out to « good ball from. J. Graham. That usually sound and aggressive bateman, Ogg, hod a short life, and the tune he played with the blade was not a merry one, B. Cramond finding a cmck in his defence before he could get going on the lyre. Downes, too, succumbed early, and never had a chance to afford & sensation before Mackersy had found bis weakness. It was left to Brydon to put up vthe top score of his' side; and in the getting of' h» 29 exhibited eeveral good strokes. Wright was ' out caught ' Bannerman, b Mackersy, for 6, which requires no particular comment. * ' " W. Beal, who has not been much in the public eye of late, showed fair form for his" double-figure score; but Bond and Chadwick went under early, leaving Davis the honour of the not out. Seven changes of 'bowling were tried by Dunedin to bring about the Grange downfall. The, most successful trundlers were Mackerßy, who secured three for 25; Wilkie, two for 9; and; Graham, two for 17. " Frank Williams, the- "Albion captain, has evidently struck form, judging by his 48 against Opoho on -Saturday. He compiled his runs by good cricket all round the wicket, being particularly sever on anything loos*. Williams was unfortunate m 'being dismissed in that always unsatisfactory manner — lbw. Strang, of whom the writer has previously written an appreciative notice, .compiled 19 in stylish manner, acquiring his rune by a crisp cut! The batting of Hiddleston was good to look upon. He scored the majority of his runs by powerful on driving- and leg hitting. Hiddleston showed some partiality for EckhbfFs leg breaks. That usually .good bat, N. Cramond", failed to get going, and was out-firet 4j»U c. Kilgpur, b Eckhoff. / ' Duthie had a short and merry innings, batting to' the tune of 13 in a spirited manner. He was out off a mishit and was caught and bowled by Etethoff. _ The feature of the bowling of the enemy was the consistent of Eckhoff, who/ bowled unchanged thrbughout the , innings. He kept a good length, with *■ nice turn, from leg which appeared to trouble the batsmen. The feature of the Opoho innings was the batting of W. Kilgour, who compiled 61 out of a total of 124 U and appears to have struck something of his old form.

He batted freely and his runs were compiled mainly by pull and leg-hitting. Peterson, the Wednesday cricketer, was particularly seyere on the Albion bowlere during- his short and merry innings. Included in his ecore were two hits for 6 each, pulls out of the ground. Eckhoff was Kilgour's partner during the time that worthy was compiling his runs, but the Opoho bowler was content to keep up his wicket, playing strictly defensive cricket. As showing how this strictly defensive game 'works out sometimes Eckhoff compiled 18 runs. ' A word of praise is due to M'Kay, who kept Up his wicket until the Albion soore was reached, being content to play ball after ball back to the bowler while Kilgour was making the runs. Several bowlers were tried to bringabout the downfall of Opoho. Corbett, with five for 49, was the most successful, but he wa» ably supported by Dry, with three for 35. Cumming-s was sadly missed from the bowling crease. M'Farlane, who shaped so well in the match against Southland, was nicely taken by M'Kjay at fine leg for "0." W. Drake failed to get on to one of Eckhoff 6, and was caught by Webb in the slips. Dry went out to hit Eckhoff out of the ground but was smartly stumped by Lear. •There was nothing wildly exciting about the contest for supremacy between those rivals, Carisbrook A and B. Truth to tell the game Jacked thrill and was slow and uninteresting, and the few spectators present were not rewarded for their enthusiasm by anything approaching " champagne" cricket. ! The weather was not altogether pleasant. a cold wind blowing across the ground making it decidedly unpleasant for the spectators. < The B's. lost the toss and had to go in to bat on, a slow wicket and one affected by th© rain. The bowlers held the upper Siand. Nevertheless the B's put together 141 before the last wicket fell. j The well-known pair, Austin and Siedeberg. opened for the B Eleven against the attack of Fisher and Watson. Austin was the first to go. being caught by Johnston off Fisher foi' 6. Sicdeberg batted aggressively Jfor his score of 56 in the getting of j which he exhibited good form all round' the wioket. Ussher did not trouble the bowlere, and _ was, clean bowled by Fisher • without scoring. t Burt made something of a stand until | being cleari ' bowled by Rutherford, who ewings down a -good ball. The ex-Chri«t-church cricketer West, who is & defensive rather than an attacking: bat. compiled 20, but was much in trouble to Fisher, who was just beating his wicket. _ Roberta did not get properly going in his thoroughly aegressive manner, but on one occasion he hit Fisher clean out of the ground for 6. George Thompson failed after compiling 3, being- caught by Bannerma-n and bowled by Adams. W. Sparrow, back from his trin on the road, was clean bowled by 3Tiehe>r for 4, while Ritchie, Stables, and Campbell were ■ .non-contributors to the score. J The - bowling honours were divided between -Fisher, who secured six wickets for 67 runs, and T. Adams, who took three • wickets for 3 -runs. 1 Going in for the first strike the As. at * the drawing of stumps, had lost five good wickets for 46, leaving the contest at an in- ! teresting stage. T. Adams failed to get going and was caught by Stable* off "Aus- ( tin. S. ISoster made a •useful stand and .' played ■ erood cricket for his runs. Ruther- j ford, after compiling 13. was ■ oufe. oaueht ! by Ritchie off thejast ball of -the day. The match will be resumed on Saturday next. | Otago has won , her first interprovincial . cricket match -this 6eason, defeating " little j Southland " by an innings and 78 runs. } The feature of thp match was undoubtedly r the batting of D. Hamilton, who is known on- the- football ac well as the cricket field. , This player compiled 95 out of Southland's first total. It ' was a. masterly display of powerful and aggressive batting, each ' strike being accurately timed and splen- , didlv executed. Hamilton batted in a finished manner all round the wickete, his : driving-, ' pulling", an 4 cutting being re- j

freshing- to look upon and delightful to watch. Never have I seen a batsman play with such confidence nor -with such freedom of wri6t movements behind the "trlade. It were as if a Bonnor was wielding the bat with_ the jfrace and execution of a, Rangitsinhji. Old-time cricketers look upon it as the finest innings they have aeen on the historic Carisbcook for year«, a.nd they are not, unmindful of some masterly efforts of Tr*mper, Duff, Taylor, and Co. in the days gone by. Hamilton never gave a. ohance during- his time at the crease, and was batting 108 minutes for hi? 95. On the OtagO sido several of the pla.yer3 shaped attractively, notatJy "Jerry" Austin 46, Siedeberg 57, MacFarlane 46, and Bannernan 59.. It was left to Eckhold to compile the highest score for the Otago side, equallnip that of D. Hamilton in figures (95) bui .falling far short of the Southlandsr s effort as a display of batting. EokhoH was at the crease three and three-quarter Jiours for his score. The batsman played nis own and evidently tore a. leaf out of Re;f's -book. fo%be followed closely the arguments of the professional— punished the loose ones and played the straight ones. EckhoW cut like a demon, the balls making music agta-inet the rails, .and occasionally «tot in a. iew swinging leg hits, but his driving was weak. After playing for safety for hits "hundred." Eckhold threw hia wicket away at t'ae finish. Bannerman furnished the sensation of the match, hitting hard and often, and scoring ■his runs at race pace. The batsman went for the bowling at the outset, and twice in succession drove balls ihigh and hard over the rails into the members' pavilion for six each. Getting to the opposite end. Bannorinan lifted another over the rails at the south end from the centre wJcket at Ca.mbroolc. Bannerman compiled 18 -in three successive boundaries. It was a freo innings, not correct cricket by' the book, hut his good strokes were powerfully and well executed. Included in the "Southland team asainsfc Otagio was Frank Gla=gow, the "AH Black" amateur footballer. In a chat he informed me' that D. Hairilton was one of the best forwards in New Zealand, a statement which I can support, having seen him»play against Ota*o last season. The principal weakness of Southland /lav in the attack, the bowling lacking sting and , variety. There was a superabundance of leg-break bowlers. They aopear to cultivate tlm style in InvercaVgill. A' world's wicket-keeping feat in any class of cricket is said to stand io the credit of j Major Trevor, who caught six and sfumoed : two in one inninsrs.for Dr Cbnan Doyle's Eleven v Mr J. V. M'MilWs Eleven at Undershaw- (England) on Aup/jst 2, 1898. The Middlesex County Club has advised P. A. Tarrant that if he "lay any more first-class cricket in Australia, he will be subject to disqualification. The cable message was sent to the -Melbourne CC.,and is asfo'lows: "Rule pas«ed forb'dding cricketer to play for colony and English county in the same year. Feefinp strong. Please not play Tarrant again for Victoria. Compensate if necessary." It appears that at their meeting- a week or so baok the Advisory Committee decided to alter Rule 1 respecting county cricket as follows : "A cricketer may not play for jfio*re than one ;ountv within a calendar year. The .penalty for infringement of this rule sh^all be disaualification for two years. Any British colony, dependency, or State" shall 'be regarded as a oountv." Here is a curious cricket coincidence to which attention has been drawn by an Australian writer: — In the last New South Wales-Victoria match, played in Sydney, J. Saundera bowled 121 balls in the first innings, and M. A. Noble "made 121 runs. In the second innings Noble made 128 runs and Saunders bowled 128 balls. Good as the English bow) or has been this summer on fast and perfect wickets, few who saw Lohmaun, Afrtewell, Peel. Barnes, Ulyettr »<nd others on the hard wickets ©"f Australia in the eighties, and one or two of them still later, would place the bowlinp of the present English ,team on a par with that of some of the professional teams of the period referred to. Besides havinsr all the deadlines of the most >en<m«d left-handers on ft bad Thicket,

Peel was a great bowler on ihe best of ■wickets. Briggs, of course, -was quite different; he needed a patch of moisture. Rhodes is not a Peel — that is, on Australian wickets. Comparatively few instances of a batsman being run out by a bowler through leaving the crease in backing up before the ball is delivered occur in first-class cricket of the present day. But in the early years it was. not^ so uncommon. In minor cricket _ it_ occasionally occurs, one of the latest victims being Mr G. King (a former hon. secretary of the Paddington CC.) in a departmental match (Publio Instruction "■ Department). In this case the bowler" put the wicket down, but said, - " I won't appeal." But the skipper, seeing how things stood, promptly said, "How's that," and "up she went." W. W. Armstrong- made his first hundred in first-class cricket in 1899 against South Australia, and to-day he has 20 hundreds to his credit — seven against English bowling, three against'^ South Australia, five against New South Wales, two against .one against South Africa, and one against New Zealand. A unique performance in its way was the compilation of a century and over in the senior competitions of Wellington the other day by three ex-Victorians — viz., Patrick, 107 not out for Midland ; Hodge, 104 Hot out for Gasworks; and Spottisvroode, 100 for the same combination. Seeing that there are only five Xv? six Victarianß taking "part ,in senior crioket in Wellington the, feat is all the interesting. A game of cricket ' was played -at Montecillo on Wednesday,, between, the .employees of the New -Zealand" Hardwire tend Laidlaw and Gray (Limited). Hardware won the toss, and elected to bat, but were, soon disposed o£ for the sum of 28 runs. Laidlaw and Gray replied with a total of 72 (Gee 23, Mitchell 14, and Broadbent 11). In their second innings the Hardware 'did much better, making > 56 " (Garrick 14, M'Leod 15). Laidlaw and Gray easily made the required runs, and won with three wickete to spare. For the winners. M'Neill, Johnston, and Broadbent bowled -well, as did M'Leod and Hill for the Hardware.