CRICKET COMMENTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 170, 11 March 1932, Page 2

CRICKET COMMENTS

"Cover-Point") .

M'LfeAN CUP MATCHES SOUTH AFRICAN BOWLERS AGAIN DISMISS N.Z. CHEAPLY. CHAMPION SHIP POSITION.

• (Notes by

The series of MeLean Cup matches completed last Saturday was noteworthy for the; moderate scores and drab batting displays of all teams, only three innings out of the twelve durmg the series producing over one hundred runs. The decline ih the batting form displayed earlier in the seaSoii has been very marked in the later games, and while some good'. perf ormanees have been made by bowlers, this cannot he the reason for the almost unanim ) s inability of batsmen to secure runs. It is hoped that the lack of inte. A by some well known players, wlu-h is unfortunately having a wearing down effect on qven the lceenest of players, is not due to the fact tt-'at the team to engage in the Hawke Cup match has been selected. The knock-out competition announeed by the Crieket Associatiorf to eommence after Easter should have a stimulating effect on the game, partieularly in view of the fact that the matches being confined to onje day's play and two hours at the crease only being allo'wed each team, "splice sitting" will not pay from a run-getting point of view. Those teams which have in the past been in the habit of arriving late will in this competition do so at their own risk, the opposing captain* having the power to dispense with the toss and require the offenders to occupy the crease, the innings in every case to close not later than 4 p.m. Championship Decided. Although the final matches will not. be commenced until to-morrow, the Albion team has already an unassailable lead on points and are therefore winners of the McLean Cup for the season. The position of the team to occupy the second place, and secure a ball to be donated by the Crieket Association, is, however, still open, the Mamaku side being at present one point ahead of High School. Old Boys and High School have still an uncompleted match, commenced during the first round, to decide, but this will only he ,played if it has a bearing on the final placings of teams. The points gained by teams after the completion of last Saturday's matches are: Albion, 28 points; Mamaku, 19 points; High School, 18; City, 17; Ngongotaha, 14; Old Boys, 8. Springboks Win. The result of the second Test match between South Africa and New Zealand does not make very encouraging reading to crieket followers in the Dominion and it would appear that the only branch of the game in which New Zealand could claim advancement during the past few years, batting, is still far from the stage when it may be relied upon. Vivian was the only vel".e >le batsman on the New Zealand side and secured a good average for the match by making 100 runs in the first innings and 73 in the second. He was also the most reliable bowler and took four wiekets for 58 runs in the first innings off 20 overs. It has been a noticeable feature of New Zealand crieket that when placed against teams which possess plenty of variety in bowling talent, particularly fast and spin bowling, batsmen are hopelessly lost, and for this reason the tour of the South Africans, who, without doubt, possess some fine bowlers, will be invaluable to the cricketers of the Dominion. Australia DisinterestcSd. The selfish aetion of the Australian Board of Control in refusing without reason the New Zealand Couneil's request for a short tour by the M.C.C. team, before or after its engagement in Australia this year, is to be deplored. Aecording to the report of Mr. A. T. Donnelly, who made special representations to the M.C.C. on the subject, the latter body are anxious that the request be granted, bnt the Australian Board of Control have definitely ruled against the proposal. New Zealand has in the past served a useful purpose in assisting Australian teams to adapt themselves to a wicket practically identical to those which they would play on in England and the unwarranted refusal by the Australian authorities is in direct contrast to the help which New Zealand has given the Commonwealth in many other branches of sport. Lowry's Average. In an English publication Tom Lowry is stated to have scored 9225 runs, at an average of 31.81 an innings, in first-class crieket. The compiler of these figures, however, has for some reason included Hawke's Bay and Southland among the associations playing first-class crieket in New Zealand, and therein he is wrong. Still, Lowry has actually scored over 9000 runs in first-class crieket, with the assistanee of his matches for Cambridge University and Somerset, as well as for Wellington and New Zealand.