Draw In Second Test

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 882, 28 January 1930, Page 13

Draw In Second Test

N.Z. UNABLE TO FORCE WIN First Innings Lead i Special to THE SUN WELLINGTON, Today. FAILING to get the M.C.C. team out before stumps yesterday New Zealand was unable to force a victory in the second Test and the game ended a draw, although the visitors were 120 runs down on the first innings. Yesterday's play saw the completion of the Englishmen's first innings, New Zealand's second innings and the first half of the M.C.C.’s second. The wicket was good during the morning, but helped the spin bowlers later in the day.

By far the brightest batting in New Zealand’s second innings was Page’s. Going in when two wickets had fallen for 91 runs he played dashing cricket from the first ball he received and in 27 minutes had scored 32 of the 44, which were added before he became the third man out. tie was both vigorous and sound in making his first 20 runs in 1G minutes. Among his scoring strokes in that period were two fours off successive balls from Worthington, the first of these being a late cut and the other a glide. Both were fine strokes. Page got only three fours, the third being behind* square leg and also off Worthington. A square cut for three off Woolley was a sparkling stroke and h© also drove Woolley forcefully for t\yo3 and singles, the deep fields preventing several fine carpet strokes from reaching the boundary. Page did not play an uppish stroke until he had made 25 and then he started to take more risks for quick scoring and was caught at square leg by Bowley, off Woolley. DEMPSTER’S INNINGS If Dempster had been able to drive Woolley’s bowling as successfully as Page he probably would have been the lirst man to score two centuries for New Zealand in one test match with an English team. He did play some good strokes off W oolley, but they were chiefly behind the wicket. His fours off the left-hander in the order in which they were made were a square cut, & late cut, an oil’ drive and a hook. Altogether Dempster hit eight fours in scoring his SO runs tv 150 minutes at the wickets. Dempster played a very sound innings and his only actual chance was the exceedingly hot one which he gave low down to the slips off Nichols in making his first scoring stroke. Dempster did not see that ball and could not imagine how lie had 'touched it. He was pretty sound in his off strokes behind the wicket after that and made many good ones for singles. He glided Allom well for singles to fine leg. New Zealand’s batting in the first hour had been constrained and some of the spectators became a little restive though they did not indulge in much barracking, but the state of the game did not warrant early forcing tactics, especially as the captains had the option of extending play to 6.30 p.m. The wicket certainly had stood up much better than had been expected and at the start of the day’s play it was quite good, but it was certain that with a little play it would enable spin bowlers to turn the ball quite appreciably. The faster bowling of the Englishmen went straight through without meeting any resistance from the pitch, except when it was pitched short of a good length to make it fly. Woolley was turning the ball, but pitching many deliveries outside the oft’ stump and his efforts to entice the batsmen into indiscretions failed until he had bowled 14 overs, eight of which were maidens, for 23 runs. Then Weir hopped down the wicket to him and edged a soft catch to Duleepsinhji, who was the only slip to the tall left-hander. N.Z. BATSMEN WISE New Zealand could not afford to collapse, and the batsmen did right in playing themselves in before they tried to quicken the rate of scoring, especially as the first wicket had fallen with only 23 runs on the board/ Mills having been bowled by a trimmer from Nichols. He had gracefully made seven. After the first hour the scoring did brighten perceptibly. The first 50 had been scored in 65 minutes, but the second 50 took only 38 minutes. Then Pago brightened it still more by making his first 20 runs in 16 minutes, while Dempster was also fairly vigorous when he got the bowling, although he was not as successful as Page in dealing with Woolley. Weir was in for 57 minutes for his 21 runs. As he was playing in his first test match and had been dismissed cheaply in the first innings, Weir was very careful, although he did run a risk of being caught in the slips off Nichols off the first stroke he made to the boundary. Later he became fairly aggressive and used his feet to the slow bowlers. Twice he swung Woolley to the leg boundary very well. The fourth boundary hit he made was a good off-drive against Bowley. Blunt hit two boundary strokes in making 12 runs. Both were hits to leg off Worthington, who eventually bowled him with a ball that took the bails. BOWLEY OFF FORM Bowley, who caused a revival of interest by giving New Zealand one wicket for eight runs in the Englishman’s second, did not bat at all well. He was neatly caught by Weir at first slip in Dickinson’s third over, giving the fast bowler one wicket for seven runs. Dickinson made the ball fly in his early overs, but could not keep it up. Dawson, who went four runs later, popped a bumper from Badcock into the hands of Lowry at forward short leg. Woolley clearly was'disgusted with himself when he succumbed to Merritt. He had batted very steadily and gracefully against Dickinson. Badcock and Blunt, then Merritt, came on to bowl with the wind. With the score at 54 Woolley beautifully square-cut to the boundary Merritt’s first delivery, but a big break clean bowled him. Woolley had hit three fours off Badcock. Duleepsinhji had scored 20, including two fours to leg off Dickinson, when Woolley was bowled, but he had become very careful to Badcock, who was bowling a very good length at just under medium pace against the wind. Duleepsinhji had just played a maiden over from Badcock and he i played two more after Legge joined | him, before he broke the spell, but ! he got on to Merritt, who had become | inclined for a while to overpitch the ball. Duleepsinhji smote Merritt to the on-boundary twice in successive overs, and square-cut him to the fence in the next. The Englishmen’s fourth wicket fell at 93, Lowry making a smart catch at backward point to dismiss Legge in Weir’s first over. Legge had batted rather painfully for 27 minutes. Soon afterward Duleepsinhji got into the fifties after he had been 78 minutes at the wickets. Apart from the fact that better judgment by Dickinson at mid-on of a chance off Badcock would have dismissed Gilligan when the M.C.C. captain had scored 20, the only feature of the Englishmen’s batting in the When in training rub in ELLIMAN’S EMBROCATION. For strains and pains and muscle soreness. Used by great athletes •’after the game."—22.

morning that was worthy of note was Nichols’s stern defence. He punished for lour a-piece a couple of overpitched balls in Merritt’s second over, but once he struck length Merritt had the left-hander defending in a way seldom seen when a left-hander is batting against a slow right-hand bowler. lie made some excellent straight drives against Badcock. In the whole of hi?: innings, which lasted for 158 minutes, Nichols hit 10 fours. Although not the most attractive. Nichols’s was by far the most useful innings for the Englishmen, whom it saved from a follow-on. Details: — NEW ZEALAND First innings 440 Second Innings. DEMPSTER, not out SO MILLS, b Nichols 7 WEIR, c Duleepsinhji, b Woolley .. 21 PAGE, c Bowley, b Woolley .. .. 32 BLUNT, b Worthington 12 McLEOD, not out 2 Extras .. 10 Four wickets (declared) for .. 164 Bowling: Nichols, 1-22; Allom, 0-21; Worthington, 1-44; Woolley, 2-4 S; Bowley, 0-19. M.C.C. First Innings BOWLET, b Blunt 9 DAWSON, b Badcock 44 DULEEPSINHJI, o Blunt, b Badcock 40 WOOLLEY, c Lowry, b Dickinson .. 6 LEGGE, c James, b Dickinson .. .. 39 NICHOLS, not out 7S WORTHINGTON, st James, b Merritt 32 GILLIGAN, b Merritt 32 BARRATT, b Badcock 5 CORNFORD, c Page, b Badcock .... 10 ALLOM, c Lowry, b Dickinson .... 2 Extras 23 Total 320 Bowling: Dickinson. 3-66: Badcock, 4-80; Blunt, 1-44; Page, 0-S; Merritt, 2-94; McLeod, 0-5. Second Innings BOWLEY, c Weir, b Dickinson .... 2 DAWSON, c Lowry, b Badcock .. 7 DULEEPSINHJI. not out 56 WOOLLEY, b Merritt 23 LEGGE, c Lowry, b Weir 9 NICHOLS, not out .. .. 3 Extras 7 Four wickets for 107 Bowling: Dickinson, 1-24; Badcock, 1-22; Blunt, 0-12; Merritt, 1-41; Weir, 0-1.