Dull Cricket Won’t Attract Spectators

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 189, 31 October 1927, Page 11

Dull Cricket Won’t Attract Spectators

Wearisome Play in Saturday’s Matches MORE ENTERPRISE WANTED ; i What is wrong with Auckland cricket, as judged from the spec- , tator’s standpoint? This? question is prompted by the J meagre attendances at Saturday s ( matches. Only a handful of spectatois attended at Eden Park. Over at Devon- i port, where the North Shore Club has ’ a very loyal following, the attendance was much better. It should be the same , at A C.A. headquarters, i The straggling knots of spectators at • Eden Park found little, in any ease, to enthuse over. With few exceptions, it was a day of dull and uninspiring cricket. In this, it is safe to say, lies the primary reason for the lukewarm support of the public. "ATMOSPHERIC DEPRESSION” The games were late in starting, and the general atmosphere was casual. There used to be a time-honoured tradition that the outgoing and incoming batsmen should cross, but this excellent custom was more honoured m the breach than in the observance by dilatory batsmen on Saturday afternoon. It was typical of the day’s play. Now, for the games themselves. The match between Y.AI.C.A. and University was allotted pride of place in front of the stand, but for all some of the players seemed to cai'e, they might have been playing in a paddock “somewhere down the line, with all day to do it in.” One of the few redeeming features of the game was the bright partnership of Bowjev and Elliott at the start of Y.AI.C.A.’s first innings. Both batsmen went for the bowling in fine style, and gave their side a splendid start. But with the exception of a bright flash by Miller and Wells, the rest of the side poked and pottered about like a lot of old hens. Varsity was little better. WELL PLAYED, WARNEFORD Ponsonby was equally dreary against United Suburbs. When the last two men got together the position was revealed in all its absurdity. If the two tail-endcrs could score 95 out of a total of 152, what was wrong with the other nine men? Simply that they fiddled away at the wickets, and made the bowling look a great deal more impressive than it really was. Even granted that the ball was “doing something” at times, the fact remains that the wicket was on the slow side, and the long handle would have paid. Warneford and Roy are to be congratulated on their courageous and enterprising batting. It was one bright spot in a gloomy afternoon. The same lackadaisical spirit was in evidence at the other grounds. It took Shore nearly all the afternoon to knock UP a couple of hundred odd at Devonport against bowling that was by no means strong. Grafton made the best showing of the day out at the King’s College ground, thanks largely to Horspool’s batting. But even though he and Pope gave the side a splendid start, the remainder of the side took little advantage of it, A little plain speaking may not be out of place. Even if the players do not care twopence for what the public thinks about their play, they would do well to realise that they have a duty to the association; and indirectly the public comes into this, too. AUCKLAND WANTS TESTS The why and wherefore is this. The A.C.A. has been making a big effort to secure test matches for Auckland and better treatment all round from the New Zealand Cricket Council. But the council wants money and the only argument that is likely to carry real weight with the council must be translated in terms of £ s. d. It has been made plain to the Auckland Cricket Association that Auckland will have to show a return comparable to the gate receipts that are taken in Christchurch and Wellington before it can secure any permanent recognition as a test match centre. This may seem a mercenary business, but it is dictated by stern financial necessity, not by choice. And if the public finds that it is only wasting a good afternoon to go out and watch players sitting on the handles of their bats or taking things easy in the field, it is going to take a lot to get them back again. Club cricket is the backbone of the game and unless preliminary interest is fostered in this way it is a poor lookout for the bigger matches. Admittedly, all batsmen are not Dacres or Horsnools. Every consideration must be given to the man who is a naturally slow scorer, but he is the exception rather than the rule, and there is rude virtue in the old maxim: “’Tis better to have hit and missed, than never to have hit at all.” It is granted, too, that Saturday was the start of the season and that players are not yet properly into their stride, but past experience shows that it is not the main reason. A WORD IN SEASON It ma5 r not be out of place to address a few words to Messrs. Gillespie, Frater, N. C. Snedden, Williams, Bowley, Garrard, A. C. Snedden and Duncan. You are the captains of the senior teams and it is u 0 to you to see that your teams take the field at two o’clock sharp, that there is no dawdling between the fall of wickets, or that • other intervals are exceeded. That duty is primarily yours, rather than the association’s or the umpires’. As captains, top, you can do much in other ways to see that play is kept up to the mark. To the rank and file of the players, it may be said that more en-

terprise is wanted in batting and fielding alike. It would be fooli;h to look for 100 per cent, perfection on the opening day, and. no doubt, the position will improve as the season advances. But the points dealt with here are questions affecting not so much the standard of Play as team organisation and the spirit in which the game is played. It is here that room for improvement is greatest. —J. M. McK.