CRICKET

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 156, 30 December 1911, Page 7

CRICKET

ENGLISH TEAM'S TOUE. RESULTS. Nov. 10 and following days—v. South Australia at Adelaide, won by an innings and 197 runs. (England 503 and South Australia 141 and 228). Nov. 17 and following days—v. Victoria, at Melbourne, won by 49 runs (England 318 and 234, Victoria 274 and 229). Nov. 24 and following days—v. New [ South Wales., at Sydney, abandoned •wi«g to Tain (England 238, N.S.W. eight wickets for 198). Dec. 1 and following days—v. Queensland, at Brisbane, won by 7 wickets (England 275 and 140 for 3 wickets, Brisbane 290 an<t 124). Dee. 6 and 6—v. Toowoomba, at Toowoomba, won by an innings and 134 runs (England 340 for 6 wickets, Toowoomba 90 and 110). December S and following days—v. Australian Eleven, at Brisbane, drawn England 267 and 279 for four wickets; Australia 347). Dec. 15 and following days—v. AUSTRALIA, lost bv 146' runs (Australia 447 and 308; England SIS and 291). Dec. 27 and 27—v. Bendigo 15, at Bendigo, drawn (England 170 and nine for 188; Bendigo 103).

REMAINING FIXTURES. Dee. 30, Jan. 1, 2, 3—v. Australia (second test), at Melbourne. Jan. 5, 6—v, Geelong, at Geelong. Jan. 12, 13, 15, 16—v. Australia (third test), at Adelaide. Jan. 19, 20—v. Ballarat, at Ballarat. Jan. 23, 24, 25 —v. Launceston, at Launceston. Jan. 26, 27, 29—v. Hobart, at Hobart. Feb. 2, 3, 5, 6—v. Victoria, at Melbourne. Feb. 9, 10, 12, 13—v. Australia (fourth test), at Melbourne. Feb. 10, 17, 19, 20—v. New South Wales, at Sydney. Feb. 23, 24, -26, 27—v. Australia (fifth test), at Sydney. March 1, 2, 4, s~v. South Australia, at Adelai' l »

Tho second test uuttch commences at Melbourne to-day.

The wielders of the willow were fortunate in having good weather on Tuesday and Wednesday for their match. It was called representative of Wanganui and North Taranaki, but it was a misnomer, as neither team had anything approaching its full strength. It was said that the visitors left a good enough team behind to waltz over those sent. If that were so, what would they have done with the Taranaki-itesT

The local team batted miserably, five of them being disposed of for "ducks," and three others only scoring eleven among them. Bain (25), Perham (28) and Gwillira (12) were the only players to make a stand.

The procession in the second innings became almost laughable, the first six wickets falling for 23.. The light was perhaps responsible for the absence of runs after 5 o'clock, particularly when Perham and Hasell were batting, as they did not take any risks. The former was In about twenty minutes without scoring a run. It was expected that he would do better the next morning, but his 28 in the first innings had to suffice for both.

The bright part of Taranaki's display was the fine stand made by Arden and Blundell, when 75 runs were added for the last wicket, and both men certainly deserved the appreciation shown by the onlookers, the performance being the saving of a one innings defeat. Only two of the visitors failed to score, and out of the total of 179, Jlurchie (35), Orton (72) and Furrie (32) made up most of the score. Furrie's play was much admired, as he appeared to get his runs with so little exertion, playing the bowling confidently all over the field. Baker's analysis of seven wickets for II runs was above the average, and makes our representatives look like school boys. He also bowled well in the second innings, taking four for 2<J. Matthews, at the wickets for Taranaki, was very successful, as only two extras were scored in Wanganui's first innings, while the visitors, with Roud behind the stumps, had eight recorded against them in the first innings and 20 in the second.

The fielding on the whole was good, although there were several instances where the ball was not stopped cleanly, but stopped sufficiently to prevent runs. There were a few brilliant samples of fielding, the most notable being that of Murchie (Wanganui), when stopping a cut by Perham. *

Bewley and Dinniss were umpires, against whom there was the usual murmuring when they declared four me» out l.b'.w., arguments pro and con being numerous.

Furrie captained the visitors and Perham the local team.

Playing a cricket match when there is a race meeting on is not conducive to a good attendance of cricketers, especially when the cheering from the course can be heard on the field of play. One hears many people expatiate on the merits of cricket, but of the thousands who walked through the Recreation Grounds on Tuesday and Wednesday to the races, there were not 20 who thought enough of it to remain. It was not because the game did not warrant their remaining, but for the reason that horse-racing is exciting, and where there is a race there will the crowd congregate. It looks as if the bad luck that has been dogging the Englishmen is now giving the Australians a turn. In the last test Trumper and Minnett were injured, whilst Bardsley has now sustained an injury which may prevent him playing in the next test, and possibly in any further tests this season. Business reasons will also prevent Hordern playin" in the third and fourth tests. Macartney will probably replace Bardsley in the second test, which opens at Melbourne to-day. Tire latest news is that Bardsley will not know definitely tiH this, morning whether he can play. The Australian selectors (said the Sydney Referee on the day of the last test -match) met just before the start, and decided that Macartney should stand I out of the team. On all sides the ques-1 turn was discussed, and the remarkable ability of Macartney as batsman and fieldsman was generally admitted. Perhaps the majority of people would have preferred him in the team to R. B. Minnett, though no one could be beard contending that the latter had not earned a place. He is one of the best of the younger all-rounders Australia has brought to light for some time. It is as a striking eulogy on the batting strength of Australia to-day that the young man, whose superior as fieldsman tho world does not possess, and whose wonderful batting in the closing half of hist season, in which he scored 119, 120, 137 and 50 against South Africa, was reproduced recently in his> big innings of 122 against Queensland, should be asked to stand out. Macartney's Form is good. If so, what was wrong with his cricket in two of tho three innings in which ho failed recently? He merely tried difficult forcing strokes ngamst good bowling before he had had time to make himself in perfect harmonv with his bat and in touch with tho ball. It is his misfortune to be out of the team, and it will bo the misfortune of someone else if he regain a place, although no doubt the selectors will have ample evidence of tho fact that the lu

artney of to-day is as skilful and finished I a bat as tlie Macartney who was the J hero of South Africa's hist appearances j in Sydney. J Roy Miimott, to whom the position < was given, is a very popular player with f both the jjiilihVi and his comrades; he | owes his selection to the manner in I which ho has grabed his chances this i season, and perhaps to his being a more dangerous bowler on pood wickets than Macartney. Barring Cotter, he is the

fastest bowler in the team, has improved in his command of length, and has culti-

vated the swerve with the new ball, j It is nothing to his discredit to say that . he is not such a wonderful field as Macartney. But he is a very fine stamp of | balsman, a rare punisher with most bril- i liant off-strokes, with soundness coming | to him more and more with each big match. And, like Kelleway, he has the temperament. The total takings for the first four days of the match was £3985. and was expected to reach £4400. The record gate at a Test match in Australia is £4274, at the first of the five matches of Warner's first team in Sydney. In The Lord's match in 1909 £4720 was ta.ken in the three days, the attendance being given is 50.106. The first day's takings were £BOB, which was the largest for many years on the opening day of the first test, particularly on an off day, and arguing a healthy interest in test cricket. Only £471 3s 9d was taken on the first day of the South Africans' first Test, and £575 on the first day of A. O. Jones' beam's first Teat, £745 by Warner's first team, £O3O by MacLaren's team.

•Australia's only totals exceeding the 447 scored in the first innings are 586, 573, 551, 520, 500, and 485. It is the third highest total by Australia on the Sydney ground.

The great innings played- by Trumper and Minnett are thus discoursed on in the Referee:—Batting three and threequarter hours for 113, 'lrumper was. out to his first chance. He hit 12 fours, and was never in trouble with the bowling, though at no period did he let himself go with the swing and charm and brilliancy of his customary cricket. It was an innings remarkable for its correctness, and, for him, for its sedateness. Be appeared to play from start to finish like a man who had made up his mind to sample all the wiles of the English bowling in this one innings, in order that for the rest of the campaign he would hare the big advantage of knowing all about the attack. It was faultless, and would be considered a great innings played by any other man, though we regard it as a great one even from, Trumper. Mi«ett scored 90 in an hour and three quarters, hitting 14 fours. It was a most brilliant innings, especially bo for a colt in his first match, his offdriving, square-cutting, and forcing shots to the on quite casting the peerless Trumper into the shade for the occasion. Such an innings deserved to be capped by the glory that attaches to a century. In three appearances against the English team he has been a success, scoring 52 (not out), 69, and 90.

Trumper's 113 was the sixth century that he has made against England, the others being 135 (not out), 104, 185, 113, and ICG—two in England, four in Australia. In the course of this innings he completed his 2000 runs in Australia v. England matches, his record then standing thus: 65 innings, 3 not outs, 2107 runs, averaging 34 runs per innings.

Hordern got five for 85 in the first innings. He really deserved a much better record, and would have had it but for the slackness in the field. His length was characteristically accurate, and he turned them both ways, the v 'Bosie" ball pretty often and often coming with a whip. The Australian fielding in the English-

men's first innings comes in for some very severe and caustic criticism, thus: "The Australian fieldsmen as a bodywere slower than we can recollect them to have, been in a Test match for some years. However, Carter kept wickets very cleverly, and was an exception, and so was Bardsley, but on this occasion the superb fielding of Trumper and, Gregory on the off in the New South Wales match was much missed. Whitty, Cotter, Armstrong, Kelteway, and Hordern were all suffering from the malady which anchors the feet to the turf. They seemed very tired, the three named first the most. As a fielding side the Australians were nob superior io many second grade cricket elevens in Sydney. Clem Hill might reasonably have shaken some of them up. Trumper was the best field, and he was first-class; and Bardsley was a keen worker. One never wants to see such slackness in a Test match again. Some of the men deserve no better fate than to be omitted from the team for the next Test, for if there is one tiling we expect it is that every man should he thoroughly alert on the field in a Test match." New South Wales should have little difficulty in annexing the Sheffield Shield again this season. At Melbourne the Mother State has just downed the Victorians by 10 wickets. Tine main features of the game were Kelleway's 101 and Trumper's 58 for New South Wales; Matthews? 16 and 65, Armstrong's 51 in the first and Kortlang's 67 in the second innings for Victoria. Cotter, .four for 38, and six for 80; and Kelleway, three for 42 and two for 32, were the chief destructors. Hordern was not available for New South Wales.