Some Landmarks in New Zealand’s Cricket History

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 867, 10 January 1930, Page 7

Some Landmarks in New Zealand’s Cricket History

Yy r ITH the commencement of the first . * of the series of three tests New i Zealand versus the Marylebone Cricket Club’s team at Christchurch today, ; T .here will be ushered in another epoch ! in the history of the game in the DoS minion. This match is the first trial | of strength between a fully represen- ; lative New Zealand side and an Engi lish eleven since Archie MacLaren’s j men toured the land seven years ago. The lirst English side to tour New Zealand was Parr’s team in 1863, but j no representative matches were included in the itinerary. Indeed, it j was many years before such a game was played. There were no New ! Zealand teams against Lillywhite’s All i England XI. of 1876-77. the Austrai lian side of 1577-78, the Australian side of 1880-81, Shaw’s English team of 1881-82, Tasmanian team of ISB3-S4, the Australian team of 1186-87, the English eleven of 1887-88, or Davis’s New South Wales eleven of 1889-90. But, in 1893, Davie brought his second New South Wales team to New Zealand, and as a New Zealand v. N.S.W. match was included in the itinerary, a New Zealand representative team took the field for the first time, to be defeated by 160 runs. It is interesting to recall the names of the men who first wore New Zealand caps at the present stage in the history of the game. They were:—l. Mills (Auckland), H. Deniaus (Canterbury), J. C. Lawton (Otago), T. D. Oondell, R. W. Barry, .T. D. Lawrence (Canterbury), A. R. Moldship (Wellington, captain), L. A. Cuff (Canter-

bury), J. N. Fowke (Auckland). C. Gore (Wellington), A. M. Labatt (Canterbury), E. V. Palmer (Canterbury), and W. Robertson (Canterbury). In 1895-96 New Zealand scored its first win in test cricket by defeating the blew South Wales side which toured the country as a result of arrangements made by the newly-formed New Zealand Cricket Council. This was only the second match played by a New Zealand representative team, and the victory was decisive to the extent of 142 runs. The next representative match was against the Queensland side of 1896-97, when New Zealand scored its second test victory up to that time, winning by 182 runs. In 1899 the first New Zealand team toured Australia, and it was then that Dan Reese first appeared as a New Zealand representative (although the previous year he had played for a New Zealand thirteen against Otago). Another member of the team was George Mills, now caretaker at Eden Park. The team drew against South Tasmania and defeated North Tasmania by 150 runs. Victoria defeated the tourists by an innings and 132 runs, and New South Wales won by ail innings and 388. The incomparable Victor Trumper scored an almost faultless 253 in New South Wales’s only innings. The first matches played by an lingiish team against New Zealand sides came in 1902—3, when Lord Hawke’s side, captained by P. F. Warner, toured the country. 'The visitors won both Tests, the first by seven wickets, and the second by an innings and 22 runs. Dan Reese and I-Cen Tucker were the batting stars in both matches, the former batting attractively for 14S in

the first innings of the second Test. This was the second century scored in New Zealand Test cricket. In the same Test Warner scored 125 in England’s only innings. Games against New Zealand were now played by almost every team which toured, the following being a summary of those games played up to 1914: Australia, 1904-5: New Zealand drew the first and lost the second by an innings and 385 runs. Melbourne Cricket Club, 1 905-6: The one Test played was drawn. M.C.C., 1906-7: England won the first by nine wickets, but New Zealand gained the decision by 56 runs in the second —New Zealand’s first Test victory against the M.C.C. On that memorable occasion, at Wellington, New Zealand’s first innings realised 165 runs to which L. G. Hemus (Auckland) contributed 38, and the second 249 (Williams, not out, 72, and A. liaddon, 72). England scored 160 in her first innings and 19S in the second. England made a great fight to overtake the New Zealand score, but after a game of thrills the last wicket fell leaving the tourists 56 runs short. Australian XI., 1909-10: New Zealand lost the first Test by nine wickets and the second by 162 runs. Australian XI.. 1913-14: The visitors won the first Test by seven wickets and the second by an innings and Another landmark in New Zealand cricket was reached in 191314, when the Dominion sent its second team to Australia. Nine matches were played and New Zealand won five, lost two and drew two. New South Wales defeated the visitors by an innings and 247 runs, and Victoria by an innings and 110 runs. Post-war visits to New Zealand can

bo briefly summarised. Australian tours were frequent. Hansford’s Australian eleven came here in 1920-21 and carried all before it. Ilornibrook and Ironmonger being outstanding with their left-hand bowling. Then came Macartney’s New South Wales side and Mayne’s Victorian team, and in 1927 Warwick Armstrong headed a strong Melbourne club side. The last Australian side to visit New Zealand was 1 Vic Richardson’s Australian eleven, a very powerful combination which did not lose a match in New Zealand during the 1927-28 season. Woodfull, Ponsford and Jackson were in great form with the bat, Grimmett took the wickets, and Richardson himself was a champion in the field. The last English team to visit these shores was the M.C.C. side, led by tho veteran Archie MacLaren, which came this way in 1923. Besides the captain, that team included Percy Champan, who led the English team to victory in the last two series of fights for the Ashes, and Tom Lowry, who captained .the New Zealand team on the English tour in 1927, and has led the Dominion team ever since. Others in the M.C.C. team which came to New Zealand in 1923 were Titchmarsh, Wilkinson, Caltliorpe, G. Wilson, Brand, McLean and Freeman. England won the first test match at Wellington by an innings and 156 runs, MacLaren playing a magnificent innings of 200 not out in a total of 505. The second test of the series, at Christchurch, was drawn, and the third test, at Wellington, England won by on innings and 20 runs. In England’s only innings of 401 in the third test, Lowry contributed a dashing score of 130. The forerunner of the New Zealand team which toured England in 1927 was the side which visited Australia

in 1925. Captained by W. R. Patrick, it played nine matches in Australia. Three were won, live drawn and one lost. Among others, it drew with New South Wales. Victoria and South Australia. A curious feature of the tour was that Allcott and Blunt, selected primarily as bowler and batsman respectively, were outstanding in tho opposite direction—Allcott as a batsman and Blunt as a bowler. Allcott scored centuries against both Victoria and New South Wales. Worker was also a prolific run-getter. The doings of the pioneer New Zealand team to tour the Old Land in 1927 are still fresh in the memories of cricket enthusiasts. It was with some trepidation that it ventured forth, but before long it had made its mark. In all, 38 matches were played, and the New Zealanders won 13. lost five and drew 14. The New Zealanders made a great name for themselves by enterprising batting, but their bowling could have been better, and the fielding did not teach the highest standard." R. C. Blunt had the distinction of being the best all-rounder in the team, as a result of which he gained a place in Wisden’s almanac as one ol the five outstanding cricketers of the year. C. S. Dempster was the most consistent batsman, and J\ E. Mills impressed by his stylist left-hand batting. C. C. l>acre gave many displays of dazzling batting, and W. E. Merritt, then not 19 years old, had phenomenal success with the ball. Today all eyes are on Christchurch as New Zealand cricket enters upon another stage in the pageant of its history.