Cricket Outlook Is Good in Wellington

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 797, 18 October 1929, Page 13

Cricket Outlook Is Good in Wellington

BIG ENTRY LIST CLUB NOTES AND NEWS ( Special to TUB SUN) WELLINGTON, Thursday. The outlook for cricket in Wellington this year is again excellent, and ! players and followers of the game are I looking forward to an interesting sea- 1 son, provided, of course, the clerk of j the weather is kind. All the grounds are in splendid condition and practice has been well patronised by most of the seniors and quite a number of juniors. The entries received by the Wellington Cricket Association are as numerous as usual, and once again the chief difficulty will be finding accommodation each Saturday for the large number of teams which will be taking the field. Old Boys, last season’s champions, expect to field almost identically the same team ns they won with last year. Badcock, at one time coach to the local association, remains with them and will fulfil like duties to the club, taking his place with the senior team each Saturday. Among the club’s senior eleven will be numbered some successful bowlers and batsmen, including Lamason, Lambert, Patrick, Barclay, James and a number of others who played last year, while there are several juniors who will be looking for a place in the senior team. Among these are four lads who did remarkably well for Wellington College last year—du Chateau, Crammond, Stephenson and Hanks, and their advent will make it difficult for the club’s selectors to finalise its senior team. Among the club’s colts there are also some likely players, Reynolds in particular having all the ability necessary to make a first-class senior player. The club’s only likely loss is that of W. Dustin who, it is stated, may play for Kilbirnie this year, but even with his defection the eleven should be a strong one. Institute has suffered mostly by loss of senior players, the chief loss being H. B. Massey, who has gone to Masterton to join the High School there as a teacher, and H. Foley, who has linked up with Petone. Added to this, it has lost Bryant and Crook, who have also joined other city clubs. Even with these losses it still has a formidable side which will be led by C. S. Dempster, last season’s recordbreaking batsman, helped by Banks, Bilby, Prince, Henderson, Rogers and a number of promising juniors. Petone will probably bo one of the most difficult teams in the senior competition to defeat, as during the past year or two the club has been slowly but surely building up a strong and capable batting and bowling side. Led by Stan Brice, and assisted by Rotherham, M ark and “Ginger” Nicholls, Hope, Patrick, Reyiing and probably PI. Foley and Geoff. Nicholls, the suburban spme beating. Added to players mentioned are also some likely juniors. Capstick, who went to Sydney last year, has now returned to New Zealand, but will not be playing for Petone, as he has gone to Canterbury. It is probablo that Mark Nicholls will be the senior wicket-keeper. University teams are always changing as players come and go much more frequently than they do in other clubs. Victoria College’s most notable absentee this season will be A. M. Hollings, who is to play for the Wellington Club, but they have also lost Greig and Vietmeyer, both of whom have removed to other North Island towns, and A. C. Tripe, who is shortly going to England. These are notable defections and cannot fail to weaken the strength of the eleven, even though some excellent material is in sight. Among the club’s newcomers are Macallan, last season prominent with Parnell seniors in A.uckland, Walker, a, Taranaki player, Kirkcaldie, "who last season played in the first eleven at Wanganui College, Cowan, from Napier Old Boys, Rae, a colt from Dunedin, said to be of great promise, and Paetz, who captained Wellington College last summer, while several of the club’s own juniors are said tt> be quite readv for promotion. Mackenzie, Rugby and cricket captain, Leys, All Black halfback, R. Tripe, who has returned from Auckland, Osborn, Nelson and others of last year’s eleven should mean, however, that University will be able to field a strong side. Among the four remaining senior clubs there are also several material changes. Hutt has lost L. Beard, a fine club bowler who has been compelled to rest owing to an injury received last season, and his place will be hard to fill. Watson and R. Wall are also defections for private reasons. Herb. McGirr remains with the team, and lie will be assisted by several of last year’s players, as well as bv several new men, including Irvine, a left-hand bowler from Wairarapa. The Wellington club has lost O’Connor, who -has gone to Gisborne, and Burton, who. is to play in Auckland, but Hiddleston, Airey, Whyte, Cousins, Hyder and others still remain, while they have gained Hollings, L. Goodwin late of Auckland, and H. Allardvoe last year a player for Sydenham, Christchurch. Hollings is both a batsman and i bowler and is bound to strengthen the team, while Allardyce has represented Canterbury and Marlborough and Goodwin last year played for Grafton seniors in Auckland. Teddy Roberts, who - , ousily ill, has now recovered and will ! again be playing for Midland, as will j Tindall, Baker, Grant, Cleverley (better i known as a boxer, who made quite a I name for himself as a bowler last season), and other good material. Among I the new players are L. J. Bryan, who comes from England with an excellent j reputation as a batsman, Evans, from ! Waitaki High School, and several | others from junior clubs in Wellington. W. Ch.ristopherson. who was a good I second to Dempster last season in the J batting averages, will again turn out for Kilbirnie, and he will be assisted by Greig. Hayman, Harris, Bramley, and others of last year’s team. NEW TENNIS STAND | The Wellington Lawn Tennis Association has now completed its arrangements for the erection of a new grandstand at Miramar, and when this is built it is considered that the new grounds will be the most complete in New Zealand T he erection of the new stand has an important bearing on the game in Wellington, as upon this being made possible rested the fact that the New Zealand championships would take place this summer at the capital city. They will now commence on February 27.