CRICKET

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 225, 28 January 1911, Page 7

CRICKET

INGLEWOOD DEFEAT L'RENI'I. Considerable interest was centred in the meeting of these two teams at Urcnui on Thursday, as the result of the match was expected to have a considerable rearing on the championship. if Urenui had beaten Inglewood, the contest would have been still very, open between those teams and Carrington Uoad and New Plymouth. However, Inglewood succeeded in winning, and now have a clear lead for premier honors, so far having lost only one match. Inglewood went to the wickets first, but against the bowling of 'Fausett and Blunddl could only put up 60 runs, B. Sutherland (20) and T. Nicholls (13) being highest contributors. Urenui then appeared to have a good winning chance, but failed miserably, only putting up 26. C. Wilson made 10 runs, whilst five others failed to score. Thomas, with seven wickets for 10, was mainly responsible for this debacle. This howler also did the hat trick, securing four wickets with four successive halls. In their second innings Inglewood scored 114. W. Wilson also performed tlie hat trick. There was no time for Urenui to bat. Scores:—

INGLEWOOD.—First Innings. Clcgg, c C. Wilson, b Blundell 3 Pullen, b Blundell 5 Thomas, 1.b.w., b Blundell 3

Dr. Gault, b Blundell 0 Sutherland, b Fausett 20 Matthews, b Blundell 2 Nicholls, c W. Wilson, b Blundell.. 13 Billin<r, c Blundell, b Fausett 1 Quickfall, not out 7 E. Harris, c Blundell, b Fausett 0 Gibson, b Blundell 0 Extras o

Total oo Bowling analysis: Fausett, four wickets for 25 runs; Blundell, six for 29. URENUI.-First Innings. C. Wilson, c Gault, b Thomas 10 W. Fuller, b Billing 5 Hemmins, not out 5 W. Wilson, c Matthews, b Thomas. 1 Blundell, b Thomas 0 Mallett, b Thomas 0 Bertrand, c and b Thomas 0 B. Fuller, run out 0 Sangster, c Matthews, b Thomas... 0 Fausett, c Matthews, b Thomas... 3 O'Donnell, c Clegg, b Billing 1 Extras 1

Total 2fi Bowling analysis: Thomas, seven for 1G; Billing, two lor nine. Athletic won by default from Waitara. SATURDAY MATCHES. The following will represent Civil Service in their match against New Plymouth at the Recreation Grounds: Bain, ' Bowles, Bocoek, Dinnis, Girling, Hoby, Mackie, Napier, Osborne, Sullivan, Woods; emergencies, Bollinger and Reid. In their match against Egmont Village at Tukapa to-day the following will represent Law: Bewlcy, Clapham, V. Elliott, Greatbatch, Harding, Hill, Johnson, E. Lash, Lawrey, Newell and West. A MASTER OF THE BAT. 'Speaking of Trumper's 213 not out at Adelaide, a performance which was admittedly one of the most masterful displays of batsmanship in the history of test matches, the cricket scribe of the Melbourne Argus says:—Trumper could be neither stopped nor checked. He bud' absolute control over the bowling, never seemed to be in doubt about a" stroke, and was playing a characteristic Trumper innings. One of his best was a straight 4 oir Pegler; the next ball he hit to the on, and brought his score to 150, madu without a Haw, in 2 hours s<i minutes. From the first his scoring rate had scarcely varied. He was getting them at 50 an hour. This innings of Trumper's wa >, i in my opinion, matchless, all things considered. In ease, in execution, above all, in daring, it excelled his test match innings at Melbourne, surpassed it in bein« larger. Like the young billiard player, | Gray, when Trumper breaks records that are not wholly a matter of counting they are his own records. It is not given to many batsmen to reach a hundred without a "life"; when he reaches 200 without the ghost of a chance we can congratulate ourselves upon having seen something exceptional in cricket. And this innings was exceptional in many ways—a demonstration of Trumper's absolute genius in the art of batting. The South Africans were charmed with it. They like the man, but they like his batting even more, and were enthusiastic in their praise of it, even while their best bowlers were being driven to despair. '■[ don't care," said Sherwell. "I have seen the I best that cricket *has to show me." It was his daring that amazed them—balls that most batsmen would have been content to stop were picked right off the wicket, and hit for fours. The occasions on which he was absolutely driven to a purely defensive stroke might have been counted on the fingers of one's hands. Faulkner says that he bowled three balls to him that were about as good as any that he has delivered, and Trumper scored four off each of them. FAULKNER-SOUTH AFRICA'S CHAMPION. G. A. Faulkner was born in South Africa in December, ISBI, and is consequently four years younger than Trumper. He is a good all-round cricketer, and exploits the "googlie" a la Bosaliquet, but with more pace. He also mixes a. deadly fast yorker with his slow balls. As a batsman he is strong in defence, very skilful on the leg side, and a powerful driver, in the 1007 tour of the South Africans in first-class matches he aggregated 1103, ami headed the butting average with 20. Tie exceeded three figures on two occasions—loo not out, v. Lancashire, at Manchester, and Mil not out against Essex, at teyton. As a bowler he took sixty-four wickets at a cost of i,"> runs apiece, in the test match at Leeds capturing' seven wickets for 17 runs, lie has scored centuries twice in test matches this season—2o4 at Melbourne ami 115 at Adelaide, and has already scored over 1000 runs in the present South African tour. The New South Wales Cricket Association lias had two of fbe balls used in the first test match surrounded with a silver band and inscribed for presentation to the captains, P. W. Sherwell and Clem Hill, the inscription on the latter being as follows:—''Presented by the New South Wales Cricket Association to Clem Hill, captain of Australia, being the ball used in the first test match played in Australia between South Africa, and Australia, Svdnev, December fl, 1010." The experience of A. E. Voglcr on the Sydney wicket is extraordinary for a bowler of world-wide reputation anil such great skill, says the same writer. Tn the New South Wales and first test matches, lie bowled 204 balls for 250 runs and three wickets. Yogler is a bowler of infinite varitv. but on these iiard. true wickets some of (he balls, so dangerous in other countries, are not difficult. Yet even so. these fimires are not a true representation of his work. They are, nevertheless, interesting as a fact, and may be considered of some value in anv comparison between the wickets'of Australia and other.countrics En the, two matches on the Sydney i

ground G. A. Faulkner bowled 258 balls for 177 runs and seven wickets, and H OSclnvarzSOCballs for 213 runs and e ght wickets. As these figures show, the googl.es l laV e captured . wickets but the batsmen have scored lots of runs! ™*-i SBm A - t0 me (writes "Shortslip") while watching the first test match that the visitors lost their wickets by playing hack in a way which allowed the ball to pass straight on and hit the wicket L n „'r?, by , Whieh one Australia's' greatest bowlers got most of his wickets on hard grounds. I refer to the late George= Palmer The better to explain what I am driving at I will say that if IZ „"? G f hrs in drivin S a ball pittl £ B , had ? S '!° rt ° f a g°°d lengtl, past the bowler, he brings the bat round with a semi-circular motion from the blockhole to contact with the ball i„ a ]i ne with the centre stump, and thus he iets tremendous force on to his stroke, which is one of attack because of the shortness of the length of the ball. Now, it appears to me that the South Africans, when making a defensive stroke, to a good length bali—i.e., p ky i n g bae k wiUl . | out any idea of scoring, swing the hat round as I have described Gehrs as doing to a shorter ball, and so lose their wicket. If they adopted the l,on*in» guard, or played back in pendulum fash" wn, as George Palmer commanded all those to do who would successfully deend theirwicket, they would find that they would meet with better success when facing Cotter. At any rate that j was the opinion I formed on the South African s display on a perfect wicket in the first test match.