CRICKET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 325, 26 February 1910, Page 8

CRICKET.

v. r.\>;Ti:i:!in;v. COLONIALS AT TllU WICKETS. i I REESE HITS A CENTURY. P/ Telegraph.—Press' Association ! OTiristchureh, Last Night. Tlie match between the visiting Aus- , tralian eleven and Canterbury 'representatives 'began at Lancaster Park thi* I afternoon. The weather wus overeat and rain threatened. A strong easterly I wind blew down the t!i"> pavilion end, and the day was far from being an ideal one for a representative , cricket match. A slight shower of ra;n overnight had not alTccted the wicket. which appeared to be fast, but imc«»» j tain, and the outfield was on the rough side. Following are the teams: Australia: C. E. Simpson (Queensland). E. R. Maync (South Australia), A. J. Hopkins (New South Wales), W. Barusle.y' (New South Wales), W. W. Armstrong (Victoria), C. Kelleway (New South Wales), W. J. Wliitt'v (South Australia). S. H. Emery (New South Wales), D.'Smith (Victoria), X. Dodd's (Tasmania) and A. C. Facey (Tasmania). Canterbury: H. B. Lusk, A. Sims, W. R. Patrick, D. Reese, W. Carlton. A. \L Radley, D. Sandman, S. A. Orchard,, T. Carlton. J. Bennett, and C. Bownail. Canterbury won the toss and elected to bat. The firs I five wickets tell cheaply. Cricket has furnished many an illustration of the unexpected happening, but few more pronounced tlun to-day's play. The first hour and a •halt saw the complete mastery of the (bowlers over the batsmen, 'and, the -earlier Canterbury men seemed to bo quite outplayed by fie superior bowling. Reese and T. Carlton then set up a partnership that was as meritorious as it was unexpected. When they became associated six wickets were down for 80, and it was a matter of speculation whether the total would reach three figures. By combination of magnificent batting by Reese and stubborn defence by Carlton, the partnership put on 107 runs. Boxshall and Sandman put on 43 runs for the last wicket, and were' still together when time wag called. The closing stages of the play were of absorbing interest, and Sandman raised the enthusiasm of the on'lookers by

treating Armstrong with utmost disre speet. foFhe went right out at times and made some gallery hits. Reese's performance was the best of any lie im* vet achieved. When lie started his pla\ was oareiul. but he was not long -t •'iPK'in? out loose deliveries. His oil driving was exceedingly powerful, and well timed. He never made an uppi-ii hit until his score had readied 85. HV made many beautiful square and late cuts, although some of his strokes Upwards the third man were soin?wh."\t risky. His -nlav on the leg side was exceedingly o-00.-l. He batted for 2 hour? 37m.in. On *-wo noe:isio!is he was somewhat hickv in that the ball hit his wicket without removing the bails. T. Carlton's line contribution was all the more welcome in that it was unexpected. He wp.s not chosen for his battine, but for his howling. His defence was" exceedingly solid, even if somewhat ungainly. He was fitting an hour and forty minutes. Scores: rAXTKRP.I-RV. First J'iniiig*. 11. V,. 1 usk. b Kirorv .... » W. R. Patrick, c Simpson, b Emery 17 ,W. Carlton. 1) Emery .. ..15 A. Sims, c Dodds, h Faeev .. ■• 15 D. Reese, c Simpson, i> Whitty .. 108 A. E. .Ridley, b Whitty .. .. 11 S. A. Orchard, run out ..' • • 1 T. Carlton, b Whitty • .. 03 ',). Tt. Bennett, b Whitty .. •• R C. Boxshall, not out .. -. .. >f> D. Sandman, not out 20 iixtras- .. •■ •• .-35 Total for nine wickets .. .. 31!) Bowling analysis.—Hopkins toot no wickets for 41; Emery, three ior 77; Whitty, tour for 68; Facey, one for 38; KeHewav. none-for 24: Armstrong, none for 31. ' The cam;' rs to be resumed to-morrow. (By "Third Slip.") The following will represent Warehouses t in tlieir match versus High School on the school grounds 1 to-day:--Williams, White, Johns, Stolir, Melaren, Steeds,. Matevey, Green, Goss, Thompson,. Bullock} emergency Bigelow. Play to commence at 2.30 sharp. The North Taranaki Cricket Association held it's special meeting on Wednesday evening last, and made arrangements for the visit o£ the Australian team next month. It was decided that the sole selector be asked to select a representative team, fifteen to bat and eleven to field. As before stated in my notes, an eleven composed of the best available talent of North Taranaki, including two or three from South Taranaki, would, I feel certain give a fairly good account of themselves. Anyhow, they could not make a more ludicrous exhibition of themselves 1 than the Aucklanders, the crack representatives of the dominion. "Quintessence of funk" must have prevailed very forcibly in both Wellington and Auckland, hut I doubt very much whether this would worry the "cow-spankers" wuch, as they would not have the reputations at stake that the cricketers in the larger centres have. Doubtless Auckland thought that after their decisive defeats of Wellington, Canterbury and Otago, their chance of also gaining a victory over the Australians was far from a remote one. but tliis idea, coupled with much overanxiety, evidently led to their immediate downfall. Considering the strength of the Australian eleven, I maintain that from whatever point of view one may look nt it, they are bound to win,, and I

argue that this being admitted, our men will be .spurred on in put up a much better fight than if they were worried, by the thought thai they might possibly snatch a win t'rom their redoubtable opponents. This spirit of dogged back-to-the-wall pluck, so widely recognised as peculiar to the British race, nas made bold bids for victory, and oftentimes prevailed. How often have we read of "forlorn hopes" winning through. Therefore, let eleven of our best players try to do that which is fervently hoped of Them'and die hard. 'However, the Association's flat has gone forth, and one must bow to the wiseacres (?) administering the cricket affairs of the province and await developments. Although Canterbury suffered a very heavy defeat at the bands of Auckland, it is to be hoped they will-give the "Kangaroo" a good go. They have often extended visiting teams more fully than the other leading centres, and yet have miserably failed in their interprovincial matches. May good luck go with them and history repeat itself. By Wednesday night last a great amount of interest had been worked up in the Wanderers v. Carrington Road match to have commenced on Thursday, but the long spell of exceptionally fine weather came to an abrupt' end on Thursday morning, and heavy rain made cricket impossible. It was to be greatly regretted, especially as cricketers' time Js now very limited, and should the Carrington Road team gain a win over Wanderers, the competition will drug on well into April, football will be in evidence, and the Sports Ground will again have no possible chance of recuperating. " ;r"T> I must congratulate the correspondent on his selection of fifteen men appearing in yesterday's issue, but how he reconciles himself to the idea of omitting Greatbach, Weston, Hasell, and Perham from a fielding eleven is beyond my comprehension, as men are admittedly among the finest fieldsmen we have in Taranaki, and they would be badly needed, as we haven't many to boast of. If the fielding of our men is of a high order it will go a long way towards making a good match of it. ■■■■ -u» "