NOTES BY LONG SLIP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 60

NOTES BY LONG SLIP.

Tae following 1 table shows the positions - of the First Gn~.de teams in the competition : —

The time-worn excuse which we so often useil to indulge in to explain away our poor cricket : " Its the weather that kills the game" is now empty and void of meaning, and we will have to fall back on some other and more reasonable explanation for the standard of cricket. With a view of publishing the batting and bowlin? averages of the Senior Grade players in the various clubs immediately at the close of the season, I would respectfully request secretaries or other responsible persons to compile such averages and forward to nve at latest on the Tuesday after the termination of Senior Grade matches. In times pasr these averages have been allowed to hang over until football was well ad- , vanced, when not only was the interest ' gone, but the space devoted to cricket was taken up by the doings of the winter pas- ! time. I hope those responsible will accede to thi3 request and forward th-e list of senior batting and bowling averages immediately after the closing of the season. In last week's notes I had something to "=i.y concerning the strangeness of umpires* riiH'feions generally, and the lbw decision m pavtioulai. In one match on the North Ground this week three batsmen were given out lbw, but so far as I could judge the derisions were quite correct, and there wa& apparently no doubt in the batemen's mind coneernine, the manner of the dismissals j At ten past 6 o'clock on the North Ground' on .Saturday, what time the wickets of the Grange second innings batsmen were falling like autumn leaves, the Grange captain appealed against the light, and was successful in his* appeal. I quite recognise that in this particular match It would have been folly to sacrifice a single wioket to failing! l'ght, but was the light really that bad on Saturday that it was necessary to appenl before the time for the drawing of stumps? The weather was again beautifully fine for cricket on Saturday, and the overhead conditions were generally reflected in the turf. , Despite those things, the cricket did not lise much above the standard which has prevailed throughout the season. The scoring was somewhat inconsistent, and there was nothing sensational in the matter of run-gettiiiß to diirturb the usual serenity of those whom Kipling — he who rejoices in the Christian name of Rudyard — delighted to honour. The principal - cricket contest on Saturday so far as the classic honours of premiership are concerned, was the match between Graii p-e and Carisbrook A, played on the North Ground on an indifferent wicket and on an outfield no better than it should be. ( In writing thus I am not unmindful of the fact that Grange have spent a good deal of time arid labour on the north-end wicket, and it is not their fault that the wicket was not exactly a billiard table on Saturday. Next season both wicket and outfielrl should be greatly improved. But, to return to our cricket, Th*j Grange captain, who is none other than Alex. Downes, won the toss and elected to bat. The innings produced nothing thril.ing, and was all over for the poor total of 87. _ | Downee was unfortunate in losing his wicket in the manner he did. The Grange captain stepped out to a fast ball from Rutherford. The ball rebounded off the wicketkeeper's pads on to the wicket, and found Downes ISm or so out of his crease. A simple wicket. ' The ton scorer, Roberts, played sound defensive cricket for his score of 31. The batsman showed some partiality for leg balls A., showing the nature of his innings, Roberts took an hour and a-quarter to compile his runs. He was eventually out to a, confident appeal for lbw. i By the way, although Roberts had the highest scorinsr honours he was in a mea- ! euro responsible for losing the wickets of Brydone and W. Beal by run outs. Roberts is not the best man on the field at running: between the wickets. He .should cultivate judgment in this direction. C. Beal who compiled 12, exhibited sound . defence, and played the bowling with the j utmost confidence. This batsman was out "leg before" to Fisher. The only other batsman on the Grange side to show form was Henderson, who put together a useful 13 before being caught by W. Foster off Butler. As showing the inconsistency of the batting on the Grange side, one has but to note that three batsmen only got into double figures, while " Extras," sometimes a useful rrun-getterr r was responsible for 12. The captain of Carisbrook A handled his bowling much better than he has done during the past few Saturdays— that is, he gave/ liis change bowler* sufficient overs to acquire ' their length, and it was not his fault if they dia not get wickets. The highest bowling honours went to Butler, who ca.m<e out with a splendid average, hiß figures reading 6 overs, 11 runs. ! 4- wiekete. Fisher bowled unchanged throughout, and finished up with three for 35. As usual, Fisher kept a fine length. The fielding generally was up to the Carisbrook A standard. On going in for the first strike Cariebrook made a disastrous start, six good ! wicket? falling for 27 runs. Adams was j bowled by a full toss, Watson succumbed! to Downes, S. Foster caught, Fisher brilliantly j thrown out by Henderson, Rutherford bowled br Davjg, and W. Foster suocumh- 1 ing to thf same bowler. Bannerman and But' ar were the only batsmen on the A ( side to stand up to the bowling of Downes and Davis. The former played with the confidence of hir illustrious namesake, and com oiled his 28 runs by vigorous cricket. Tne batsman, however, threw his wicket away at the finish by hitting out at a etraicht one from Downes, which proved fatal. There was ■nothing remarkable about Butler's 13 and when it is stated that he got them in his characteristic style there ia nothing more to be said. By the way, has it struck anjone else that i Harraway is too far down on the battine

li«t to give him a chance. On Saturday,, he was again not out. It might be a good 1 plan to place this batsman fiigher up the list in future. The bowling of Grange was excellent, that of Downes being particularly good. The. wicket suited the" Grange captain, and he took every advantage of it, coming out with the splendid figures of five for 39. He was well supported by Davis, who annexed—four for 39. Grange are recognised as the best fielding team in town, and on Saturday the eleven quite li\ed up to their reputation. Hen--ierson was particularly brilliant, and stood out for much that was good to look upon. The match Opoho v. Ihinedin, played on the Opoho* wicket on Saturday, was devoid of thrill of any kind, and was for the most part tame and uninteresting. As one put it to me, "It was that tame that it would eat out of one's hand." Dunedin took first strike on the wicket, and as the last wicket fell scorers assessed , the lolal at 178. Of this score B. Cram- , ond, who fared somewhat badly last week, compiled 18 befora being clean bowled by , Chaawick. I That lusty batsman Bannerman was not given a chance to show his hitting powers, and succumbed early, being clean bowled by Eckhoff for 7. W. Mackersev, too, was dismissed earlier than usual, and went under to the Opoho bowler. Eckhofr with 4 to his credit. i A cricketer who has not figured very prominently before— one named Reid— put together 13 before giving a chance to Timlm, who accepted the catch. i The dread "0" was written opposite the name of J. Graham, the Dunedin batsman who gave a good exhibition a couple of 1 Saturdays ago. Graham was not in the mood, and was c!ean bowled by Chadwiok. Eckhold forgot for a time his usual style, j and was only able to put together 9 before the destroyer Eekhoff pierced his defence. I It was left to the Otago representative I R. Torrance to compile the highest score for his side— to wit, 46 out of a total of 178. Torrance batted well for his runs, scored ah round the wicket, and showed several fine strokes. He was eventually out to Chadwick, who clean bowled the player ■ who made himself famous in Wellington. I T. Delamere proved more than useful with 12 which she put together by decent cricket, while J. Wilkie hit. up 35, in the compilins' of which he exhi&vted some of his old-time form. Percy Watkins, the Dunedin wicketkeeper, was responsible for 16 - not out. Extras accounted 1 fox no fewer than 18, which conveys the impression that there wa= something wrong with the Opoho wicketkeeping. . The bowling 1 of Opoho was in the hands of thre& trundlers. Of these M'Gayia's two for 11 are the best figures. Eckhoff secured five Rood Dunedyi wickets for 83, and Chadwick three for 67. At the drawing of stumps on Saturday Opoho had lost two wickets for 36, Chadwiok being dismissed (c Graham, b Mackersey) for * and Turnbull (b Mackersey) 6. The not out men are Kenny 8 and Jas. Timlin 4, who will resume-the battle next week. By the way, 14 extras out of 36 runs is not bad— or i* it not very bad?. Some good Second Grade figures on Saturday were:— Reid (Roslyn), 56 not out; Wilkinson (Roelyn), 48; Brinsley (Albion), 62, and Shepherd 36. In bowling: Beeby (RosJvn), five for 12, and Spong (Roslyn), two The Carisbrook B and Albion match was commenced at Carisbrook on a fairly easy wicket. Austin won the toss, atid decided to bat. Austin and Siedeberg were th« open:nj? batsmen. The former did- not last long, playing. Corpett on. Drumm failed to stop a good ball from Cummings. and' retired foi nil. Thomson shared the samefate. Ussher played steady cricket until beaten by a good ball from Cummrngs, wlr> was swerving in from leg with the whk*. West did not seem at home to Corbetta^ breaks, and did not trouble the scorers. Robt.vt« failed to get hold of a ball from Corbett and retired caught by that bowler. In the meantime Siedeberg had been plodding away, (*ettinjr an occasional good strokein, included in which was a nice hit over-^ the fence for 6 off Corbett. Siedeberg was nevei at home to Cummings, whom he eventually put up in the slips, and was well rauplit by Corbett, retiring for an invaluablo 26. " Campbell was the only other batsman to trouble the bowlers, being bowled by Cumminge for 13. The whole team, admittenl.- the boat battinsr team in town, wero disposed of for 71. The feature of the innings was the bowling of E. Cummings, who finished up with the fine average of six for 25. Cumminjrs kept a splendid length throughout. His swerve from leg seemed to trouble all the opposing side. He had had luck in not securing Virtue's wicket, a* the bail struck the wicket without dislodging the bails. Corbett also kept his end up to the tune of four for 38, but was lucky in securing - - Austin's wicket. The fielding of the Albion was very solid, only one chance being missed, & difficult one by Hiddlestone at point from Campbell. Williams and Strang opened for th« Albion to the bowling- of Campbell and Austin. Campbell's first over proved too good for Williams, who made way for M'Farlane. These two carried the score to 37 before the latter wae nicely taken by Thomson for 19. Hiddlestone, who, by the way, is playing his last game here, 'having been transferred to Timaru, was the incoming bateman, but the change was fatal to Strang, who was foolishly run out for a nicely compiled IC. Duthie and J>. Cramond were quiokly got rid of. On N. Cramond joining Hiddlestone, who was batting nicely, a splendid stand waa made. Cramond seemed to relish Campbell's bowlins, driving him in splendid style to the rails, including one fine hit over the rail for six. Cramond was eventually bowled by West for 26, compiled at rare pace. Drake and Hiddleaton kept the game going. The former, after placing a nice one over the rails, was caught in the long field by Roberts for 16. Hiddlestone was now bowled by a aood one from West for 39. Thk wm Hiddleston's best innings this season, and Albion are unfortunate in losing such a promising batsman. Corbett and Cummings played) out time, leaving the score at 137 for eight wickets, or a lead cf 66, with two wicket* ha hand. West bowled very steadily, and finished up with four for 33. The fieidinjt of the B team was good, Drumm doing particu-' larly fine work. The following 'our players have scored over 1000 runs in Otago representative cricket:— J. Baker, W matches, 1800 funs; H. 6. Siedeberg, 32 matob.es, 1181 runst G. G. Austin, 34 maioheß, 1111 rune; A. H. Fisher, 46 matches, 1073 runs. "Joe" Bennett, the popular Stydenhaoj

trundler, iias decided (writes my Christchurch correspondent) to try his luck on the ' playing fields of England, and will leave for the Old Country in the course of a few -weeks. An unassumiqg, good-natured younsc fellow, his large circle of frienda, which extends to all parts of the Dominion, will ■wish him the best of luck wherever he may have a chance of "chucking down a few." Bennett was one of a few school boys whom the old Midland (Christchurch) Club provided with <he services of a professional coach several years back, and he has done j credit to his cricket, godfathers (Wheatley, [ Pearoe and Company). His promotion was epeedy, and he developed into a really good medium-fast bowler. With the bat lie has made many good scores, and when tie gets on the job he invariably pleases the crowd by hitting them " 'ard, 'igh, and hoften." Bennett's weak spot — and it is a serious handicap — is fielding, which appears to be due solely to lajyty. However, when rubbing shouldet^ with strangers in a strange land he will probably brighten up in this department, and he has the benefits of youth on his side. Wherever Canterbury teams have travelled of recent years Bennett is knovn as a bowler. With a high, easy delivery, one of the main secrets of his success with the ball is the splendid length he maintains under all oiroum- ~ stances. His stamina ha& never failed him, and it -would seem that Joe could keep going- all day and every day — if perhaps, a little too mechanically. His deliveries nip off the pitch well, and he can /get a nice off break on a fast ball. He can "move over" a little from leg, too, and veils his intentions well. There are many years of good cricket before Bennett, and it would not surprise those who know him best if he were to be found high up in the cricketing circles of the Old Country before long. I understand Bennett Jis in no way "engaged," but it would notr be surpr*Hivr£ to find that the influence of come of the recent visiting 'cricketers had something to do with depriving Canterbury and the Dominion of one ok their foremost bowlers. Good luck, Jos, wherever his cheery smile m»v be carried. n view of Bennett's departure at the close of this season, the Canterbury Cricket Association postponed all other grade cricket on Saturday except the SydenhamWest Christchurch game (which will decide the premiership), and constituted it a benefit match for Bennett. Consequently their was a large attendance at Hagley Park. Twenty-one pounds one shilling was taken at the gates, and Vac returns from the tickets sold will swell this sum considerably. — C Hill and W. Armstrong hold the distinction of being the only Australians to make two centuries against the English bowhnp this season. Hill has now made four centuries in test cricket, two in England and two in Australia, but Armstrong has only reached the century once in similar matches. '. Trumper has put up five centuries against the Englishmen in test games. It very rarely f'« 's to the lot of a bowier in Australia to secure seven wickets in. an innings on his first appearance against an English team, a more severe test than any inter-State match. That has been the pleasurable lot of I/eslie A. Minnett, who, besides, had one or two catchable ones missed off him. In this match (says Sydney Referee) his bowling- was v ( aried from fast with the wind to fast-medium against the wind, in the later case with the ball often, ewining- away to the off. He appeared to be quicker and higher off the pitch, and thus more dangerous, at the top Dace. Possessing an easy run, finished with a natural free-swinging delivery, he loots all over a bowler, there being nothing forced or halting in either run or delivery. The run, however, appears to be rather too lengthy for the pace. Mr Charles Absolon, the, famous English veteran cricketer, died in London on January 4. By the death of Mr Abso'on the Sportsman remarks that another link with the past has been broken v He was ■undoubtedly one of the most remarkable of all cricketers, a man who sacrifioed himself io the sport he loved so well, and one who astonished the cricketing world by actively participating in the g&me until he had lived SO years. Indeed, this wonderful cricketer, ■whose earlier deeds are almost forgotten by the present generation, actually took 209 wickets in club cricket in 1893, then being

76 years of age! In 1832, when he was 15 years of age, he scored 137 runs for Wailingford against Berwick. In those days, it should be remembered, wickets were not good, and a century was a comparatively rare feat.

Carisbrook A Grange Albion Dunedin . . Oarisbrook B Opoho -b ir9t second Innings.lnnings. Lost. . 5 2 1 . 14 3 — 4 4 2 2 4 4 — 4 — _ fl Pts. 16 14 12 10 8