Wellington—Auckland Battles—Great Days in Ret Respect—Fight for Plunket Shield

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 915, 7 March 1930, Page 7

Wellington—Auckland Battles—Great Days in Ret Respect —Fight for Plunket Shield

Edward and George Mills bowled unchanged in the first innings, and George Mills and Meldrum in the second. It was George Mills’s first representative game, and he did well to take ten wickets for 71, and score 39 not out in his one innings. In 1890, thirty years after the first match. Wellington scored its first win. Auckland was once more on a tour, and before it met Wellington bad defeated both Canterbury ad Otago on slow wickets. The Basin Reserve wicket, however, was hard and fast, and the Aucklanders, unable to accommodate themselves to it. were dismissed in their first essay for 48, W. Frith and Dryden bowling unchanged, and taking four for 24 and five for 18 respectively. Wellington replied with 179. Firth rattling on 46 when things were not looking too well. From now on there was a fairly regular interchange of visits, and between 1593 and 1900, five matches were played, four of which were won by Auckland, tho other, played in Auck-

land, being abandoned owing to rain when Auckland had made 137 and 77 (Dryden seven for 24), and Wellington 89 (Neill six for 46). A very exciting game was that played in Wellington in January, 1894. Wellington batted first, and | made a good start, 129 being up for three wickets (Holdship 70). Neill then asserted himself, and the whole side was out for 180. | Auckland, on the other hand, started i badly, losing five wickets for 29, but ! Kallender and others batted well toi ward the end, and the total was 168. j Wellington's second innings realised | 131. with seven men making doubles. | and R. V. Blaeklock’s 24 the highest I score, and Auckland was left with 144 i to get to win. ! Auckland lost one wicket for 3, two I for 36. three for 32. four for 34. five for 46, and six for 55. The seventh • wicket added 29, but the eighth only | nine, and when Lawson joined Neill i 51 were still required, with two ! wickets to fall. They added 11, and j Lawson was'then caught by Gore, but

the umpire ruled that the catch had been taken over the boundary. Another 27 runs were added before Lawson was caught by Upham off Dryden. and J.lolle and Neill then knocked off the balance, Auckland winning by one wicket. Among the leading Aucklanders during this period pride of place goes to Bob Neill, a slow bowler with a deceptive delivery, who over a period of ten years took 130 wickets in. representative cricket for 12 runs apiece. He was also a useful batsman. His chief supports with the ball were YV. Stemson, a medium-pace bowler coming quickly oft the pitch, and J. A. Kallender, a fast bowler. The principal batsmen were the Mills brothers, George (father of Jack) and Ike, F. J. Ohlsen, and Kallender. George Mills's 106 not out against Wellington in 1896 was the first century ever scored by an Aucklander in a representative game. The wicket-keeping was in the

hands of J. N. Fowke, a genial soul, always ready with a word of encouragement for a nervous young batsman. Wellington was now beginning to make a better showing against the redoubtable northerners, whom it defeated three times on end in 1901, 1903. and 1906. In 1907 the Plunket Shield was presented by Lord Plunket. In the early years of the competition the challenge system obtained, while in later years, whfen the Shield is awarded on the season’s games, Wellington and Auckland have usually been the two strongest provinces. Their meetings have therefore, for a number of years, been invested with special interest on this account. Wellington's first challenge for the Shield, in 1909. was easily repulsed. Auckland winning by ten wickets Auckland won the next year by four wickets, and again in 1912. not for the Shield this time, by one wicket, Wallace and Mason putting on 37 runs at the finish. Following this match Auckland

regained the Shield from Canterbury, and Wellington went to Auckland in quest of it in 1913, failing by nine wickets. The last match before the war was played in Wellington, and after a game full of ups and downs, was won by Auckland, for whom Horspool made 54 and 113, by 28 runs. In December, 1914. Wellington visited Auckland for the twenty-first match between the provinces, a game in which the scores in each innings were curiously alike (Wellington 288. and eight for 286 declared. Auckland 237 and 236 for seven), resulting in a draw. Of these 21 games Auckland had won 14. and Wellington 4, while three had been drawn. It was during this period that Auckland adopted its policy of overseas coaches with such conspicuous success, the first and probably the best of them being A. E. Relf, of Sussex, a great allrounder. Other prominent Aucklanders of this era were L. G. Hemus, one of Auckland's greatest batsmen, E. V. Sale, a stylish bat and useful wicketkeeper, W. Brooke-Smith and E. Horspool, the latter a prolific scorer for many years; Alf Hsddon, an Australian and a good captain and allrounder; and C. Oliff, a diminutive and effective slow bowler, while C. C. Dacre, then only a schoolboy, was making centuries for his school on Saturday mornings, and doing well in senior cricket in the afternoons. Leading Wellingtonians were J. J. Mahony, the little Sydneyside batsman, W. R. Gibbes, a punishing left-hander, J. P. Blackloek, J. V. Saunders, the Australian eleven left-hand bowler, H. W. Monaghan, the swerver, and J. S. Hiddleston and C. G. Wilson, from Otago, while W. S. Brice, C. V. Grimmett, and H. M. McGirr were just gaining a footing. After the interval caused by the war Wellington was well served by J. S Hiddleston, D. C. Collins, T. C. Lowry, and B. J. Kortlang, and. especially at home, piled up some huge scores. In 1922-23 it made 435 and 396, Auckreplying with 386 and 337. an aggregate of 1,554 runs. In the following season it made 569 and 379, and won by 3G5 runs. Two seasons later Wellington recorded a victory by no less margin than 512 runs, with 447 and 374 against 191 and 118. In the intervening year, however, in Auckland, the home side had gained a meritorious win after Wellington had led off with 443. Auckland replied with 346, and then disposed of Wellington for 75, Allcott taking four for 27, S. G. Smith three for 21, and N. C. Sneddon three for 19. Auckland was left with 173 to get to win, and got them with three wickets to spare. Kortlang. the much-travelled, was a veritable thorn in Auckland's side about this time. He played in fiv. matches, scoring 113 and 53; 33 and 134: 214 not out and 18; 52; and 19 and 58. Elis 214 not out, made in 1925-26, when Hiddleston made 204, is the highest individual score recorded in these games. An other high scoring game was in 1927-28. when Wellington made 595 and 260, and Auckland 121 and 458, Lowry, James, Bowley, and Dacre making centuries. Last season, in Auckland, a closely - contested game, in which Dunning and McGirr bowled well for tii*•- irespective sides, and Worker, representing Wellington (he has also represented Canterbury. Otago, and Auckland), made 151 and 73. was won by Wellington by 34 runs, bringing Wellington’s wins up to 12 to Auckland’s 18, and 4 draws. Wellington has won five of the last seven games.