CRICKET.

Shannon News, 24 November 1922, Page 3

CRICKET.

The following will represent Shannon against Weraroa at Shannon on Saturday: Prain, Randall, Grainger, Main, Stewart, Gunning, Hunt, Rev. Abbott, Harris, Johnson, Parsons; emergencies, Ellwood, Mason. Play will commence at 2 p.m. prompt. Public Works against Foxton on Saturday, at Foxton: Picard, V. Pope, Mason, Doidge, Newth, Burrows, Terry, Bishop, C. Morgan, P. Morgan, J. Holden, C. Newton (twelfth man). The bus leaves Aldersey’s corner at. 1.15 sharp.

NOTES OF THE GAME. The first match for the O’Connor Primary Schools Cup will be played in Levin to-morrow between Levin Convent (holders) and Shannon School (challengers). Senior competition matches to-mor-row are Weraroa v. Shannon at Shannon, and Public Works v. Foxton at Foxton.

Y.M.C.A., which has a bye to-mor row, will play a friendly match against the Boys’ Training Farm at the Farm. The new Shannon, team, Public Works, was suffering somewhat from nerves when taking strike against their opponents last Saturday. They are capable of better things with the bat, and will do themselves justice before very long. Their batting was very scratchy, and at no period of the game did they look like putting up a score.

The Public Works Club received plenty of encouragement from supporters at Shannon to assist in the initial equipment of the team, the subscribers’ fist, numbering over JjO names.

Mackenzie’s 35 not out for Y.M.C.A. arrainst. Weraroa last, Saturday was a specially good effort when the other members of the team were failing to p+av with him. The Weraroa team’s round of applause for the batsman at the close of the innings was a generous recognition of a good perform-

ance. Casey and Conder put up useful performances with the bat for Weraroa, > and future games should find both going stronger. Claridge and Hughes also look like being consistent scorers. The Patrick brothers are a good pair in any department of the game, and’ gave evidence of this on Saturday. Field’s bowling for Y.M.C.A. was the best performance of the side, securing four for 40 in 13-overs, the first and last of which were maidens. In taking five wickets for 20 in nine overs, Pringle is rapidly approaching his bes't -form. Luck has not been with him so far wth the bat, which is unusual seeing this player topped both

the batting and bowling averages for Weraroa last season. Whilst Y.M.C.A.’s fielding was fairly good on, Saturday, it did not equal their work against Shannon. Weraroa’s performance in the field was a . vast improvement on anything they nave done before, and members should see that it continues. The Shannon team registered their first win this season by easily defeating the. newly-formed Public Works team. The Shannon eleven has not yet reached its full strength, Merwood,

Horgan and Main being on the sick list. The latter will play for his club against Weraroa on Saturday. E. Mason, for Public Works, showled in his short stay at the wickets I against Shannon that he could wield j the willow to some purpose and would , be a rapid scorer on a fast ground. Newth was the mainstay of Public Works with the ball and kept tbe Shanl non batsmen on the quiet side. He i finished with an average of three for | 33. ! J. Doidge, one of Shannon’s oldj time trundlers, came out against them , and secured two wickets for 15 runs i for Public Works. 1 Burrows, captain of the Publics j Works team, tried seven bowlers ! against Shannon last Saturday, but th;e score reached the handy total j of 122.. j Shannon have been fortunate in sej curing the services of R. Sands as an umpire. Although he did not have a 1 very great knowledge of the game at: ! the commencement of the season, he j looks like being Horowhenua’s leadi ing umpire before the season finishes. . His decisions are crisp and spontaneous, and when he masters the finer ■ points of the game there is no doubt. • he will be of great assistance to the. , Horowhenua Cricket Association and the competing teams in general. T. Torrey, official umpire to the i Public Works club, shows a fine spirit

i of sportsmanship in holding that position for them while he is also a vicepresident of the Shannon Club. Clubs . would do well to foster this spirit in | the interests of the 1 game, j Cliff Hunt, who knocked up 28 (top . score) for Shannon on Saturday, is | only 15 years of age, but he is going i to be amongst those to be considered i when the rep. selector casts his eye round for the batting and fielding por- , tion of his teaim There is no better I out-field in the Horowhenua, than this boy.

Stewart, one" of Shannon’s leading bats, played sound cricket for 25 against Public Works. Anything loose was severely punished, especially leg stuff. Misfortune dogged Stewart with the bat last season, and it is to be hoped he will get » little of his own back this year. Grainger, Shannon’s captain, made 21 in nice cricket, but succumbed to a bailer from Doidge. Prain, Shannon’s wicket-keeper, Was a big factor in keeping Public Works score down to 48, taking two very nippy catches behind the wickets, and' also accounting for another wicket by stumping. ’ '

Grainger is practising bowling again, and is going to be of considerable assistance to his team in that line His average against Public Works was three for 17.

Randall bowled with his usual length, and finished with an average of five wickets for 22 runs.

Stewart, who had the best average for the Shannon team last year, took two wickets for nine runs against Public works. ’ If he keeps that going he will again be in the hunt for the average this season.

An esteemed correspondent (J.C.) writes concerning an incident in the Weraroa-Y.M.C.A. match last Saturday. A Weraroa batsman played. a ball for a single and on the ball being returned to the wicket-keeper he failed to hold it and it went to the boundary, the Y.M.C.A. umpire allowing the extra, four. The wicket-keeper appealed that the ball was 'dead after haying passed his hands, but the appeal was disallowed. "J.C.” writes as follows: "Reading the rules in front of me I see: ‘After the ball has been finally settled in the wicketkeeper’s or the bowler’s hand, it shall be dead.’ From this you see the wicketkeeper enjoys no privileged position. The bowler is on the same footing. To my mind the true interpretation of the clause centres in the words ‘finally settled,’ and when a wicket-keeper or a. bowler bounds, after a ball in the field he cannot hold up the game as soon as he •atches or stops the ball. This would lead to a position analogous to a player in a game of rounders calling_out ‘bowler’ as soon as he stops the hall. This position has arisen from a practice (w'rong, I think) of wicketkeeper running into the field away from the tickets. I think that Mr Fletcher’s decision is the only sound and possible one.”

HOROWHENUA CRICKET ASSOCIATION. O’CONNOR CUP MATCH SATURDAY. - : c ““ A meeting ol' the Association was held at Foxton on Wednesday evening, >ne delegates present being Messrs. L~ Martin and H. Murray (Y.M.C.A.), G. Thomas and J Hall (Weraroa), R, Bishop and V. Pope (Public Worgs), L. Randall and M. Main (Shannon), R. Procter and W. G. Nve (Foxton), and A. H. Morgan (secretary,. The Tararua Cricket Sub-Association wrote asking for a representative fixture with the Horowhenua Association. —lt was decided to arrange a match through the Manawatu Association, and suggesting New Year’s Day or January 22 for the game. In event of the Palmerston grounds not being available, the match to he played in Horowhenua.

Messrs. A. Dinnie and .1. P. Goodwin (Shannon) wrote • accepting the positions of patron and vice-president respectively of the Association, the latter gentleman expressing the hope that the teams would have many pleasant games and a successful season. The Otaki Railway Cricket Club informed the Association that it had decided to alter the name of the club to the “Rahui Club” to prevent confusion. It was also desired to nominate at team for thei Southern competition. The Rahui Club further said that Manakau would more than likely enter a team, and suggested as it was difficult for Manakau to travel, Rahui was willing to play all its fixtures with Manakau on the latter’s ground. The secretary stated that the Otaki Club had nominated two’teams for the Southern comuetifion. Imf had l'eceived no word from Manakau. He had notified all the teams in the Southern district that nominations must be in before the end' of this month so that, the fixtures could be made. THE O’CONNOR CUP.

The proposed rules to govern the games for the O’Connor primary schools challenge cup were then considered, and some , slight amendments were made on the initiative of the Weraroa delegates. These refer to. the mounting of the cup on a stand, povision to he made on the latter for discs bearing the names of the winners. Matches may commence before 10 a.m., if it is convenient for the competing teams to do so, an interval of a; quarter of an hour to be allowed .during the game for. refreshments. If mutually agreed to by those in charge of the respective competing learns, a lighter leather hall than the regulation one may be used, but if an agreement cannot be come to, the regulation hall must he used.

A suggestion was made that the length of the pitch be shortened, as was done in the case of boys’ matches in other places, but it was pointed out that in Shannon and Foxton concrete pitches were laid, and these could not he shortened. On a proposal that the smaller schools be allowed to play 12, players, it was decided to adhere n : the 11-a-side teams for the present season at least, and if a change was deemed advisable, this could be made next season.

The secretary stated the first match for the cup would be played between the Levin Convent and Shannon schools at Levin on Saturday. The Levin High School had the next challenge in.

A vote or appreciation was passed to the Shannon delegates for their excellent work in drawing up the rules.

TIMELY POINTS RAISED

Mr Bishop brought np thei matter of rain interfering with the , play after one team had batted. Was there a. rule to cover that point? The chairman said there was no rule on the point, but in a case of the sort the* game l would, he thought, have to be postponed or the match drawn. This opinion was generally supported, and .it was unanimously decided, on Mr Ma&on’s motion, that if the weather interferes after a match nos started, the game bei drawn. The chairman raised the question of the postponement of fixtures on account of weather, and suggested that the president and secretary of the Association in Shannon have power to communicate with the Levin and .Foxton clubs, and if all agree that the weather is unfavourable, the president and secretary have 1 power to postpone matches, this to be done before 1.30 on the day of the matches. . In reply to a question, the chaiiman said the" matter of arranging a rep. match to be played on the Shannon ground could be left till later in the season, as the grounds would be in better order then.

After the meeting the visitors were generously entertained at supper by the Foxton Club.

The .Weraroa team, to play Shannon as follows: Claridge, Conder, Casey, Patrick, Thomas, Hughes, Hall, McGill, Pringle, Sloan, Bevan and .1. Young (twelfth man). Emergency, Nees; umpire, C. Simons.