CRICKET IN TAUPO

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 6, 20 February 1952, Page 6

CRICKET IN TAUPO

who come to take their holidays here. Cricketers and the local body chould be asked to co-operate to produce a ground really worthy of its position as the point of en'try to the town. TAUPO V. TIHOI. The follov/ong is the score sheet of the cricket match Taupo v. Tihoi reported in last weeks issue: — Taupo 1st. innings: A. Forster, run out, 41; G. Patchett, c Whare b Dean, 2; C. Acres, .b Dick, 31; A. Collett, b Beckett, 43; I. Strange, b Dick, 55; R. Beale, lbw, b Beckett, 6; J. Loughlin, retired, 42; D. Woodward retired, 8; R. Thomas, c Dean, b R. Beckett, 18; R. Stone, retired, 9; R. Clark, not out, 4; extras, 15; total 274. Bowling: F. Beckett, 2 for 92; Dean, 1 for 6E\; Dick, 2 for. 69; 'arauri, 0 for 9; R. Beckett, 1 for 16; Burgess, 0 for 7; Whare, 0 for 10. „ Tihoi, 1st. innings: J. Parore, b Strange 0; G. Burgess, not out, 5; R. Dick, not out, 9; extras, 6; total for 1 wicket, 20. Did not bat: F. J. Beckett, T. Deane, R. G. Beckett, %N. Bethell, A. Wolfgramm, F. S. Beckett, T. Sharvin and R. Whare. Bowling: Strange, 1 for 10 and Loughlin, 0 for 4. Rain stopped play.

NEED FOR A GOOD GROUND Last week the cricketers did not have a match and content themselves with some net practice in the Domain in preparation for their games again Tokaanu, due to take place after this paper went to press, and against National Park, whieh is an annual match played for the Lett €up. This is usuaiiy regardea as Taupo's needle match of the season and this year it is to he played at National Tark next week-end. The recent game between the Golf Club and the Crickt Club was perhaps the first occasion ' on which some of Taupo's leading citizens were given the opportunity to see the conditions under which cricket is played in the district at the present time. The game has been here ever since the Armed Constabularly first arrived in the district, and there is some evidence in cricket books to lead us to believe that teams from Taupo took a large part in the es'tablishment of cricket in Hawkes Bay. Unfortunately in the intervening years the game has languished a great deal and has prospered only spasmodically. . The natural surface of the wicket in the Domain compares favourably with any other surface used with matting in the Dominion, but the wicket is only part of the game of cricket. To try to play as in Taupo on a bumpy outfield, with grass about up to the kneecaps and without shade around the boundary under vhich t'hese not actively engaged can enjoy their leisure, r^moves from the game the charm which attracts players and gives, spectators the pleasure which they should by right enjoy. There is little enjoyment in fielding, what is one of the most fascinating of the arts of the game, when the ball comes corkscrewing through the grass like a snake in the undergrowth, whilst spectators cannot always appreciate the trials *of the fielder who misses the ball in tEe outfield. Moreover, to get the best out of the game cricket should be played on a grass wicket and not on a bare matting-covered surface. In cricket twenty-two players, mostly young people with no great financial resources behind them ftave *o use a ground which at its best is almost as costly of upkeep as a golf course patronised by hundreds of rar wealthier people. The fiaancing of cricket grounds is therefore always difficult and it is eustomary in this country for the commuriity through their local bodies to provide at least the ground on which the game is played, and to bear a portion of the cost of maintenance. Of all sports, cricket is the one which least damage's its surroundings. There is no unsightly mud churned up on a cricket field. So far from this indeed, there are few such pleasant sights as a well kept crickeground can provide particularly when ; there is a game in full swing. Because of this it is not generally desirable to. play the game on a ground used by other sports. Footfoall of all kinds tends to churn the surface into mud, and the tender grasses of a well-laid cricket ground are particularly vulnerable to the footbaUers boot. Hockey, which like cricket needs an even surface, so that the ball runs smoothly over a large area, provides the best winter sport for which to use the cricket ground; but even with that game it is often found that the work put in on to the cricket ground makes the surface slippery for the winter game. In Taupo we should remember that we are a holiday resort. We should provide green fields for our sportsjmen, and pleasant surroundings for those who come to watch. Our cricket ground should be regarded as a potential asset to those