CRICKET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 217, 1 February 1913, Page 7

CRICKET.

The following in tl> ■ Law team to play the New Plymouth C. >.b on the Recreation Grounds to-day: fiewley, Elliott, Greatbatch. King. 11. It. Reid, Anderson, Quilliam. R. I!. Rcid, .lolmson, Brokenshire and Lash. AVhcu Archie MacLaren made 424 for Lancashire and Somerset the county club piesented him with a gold watch and chain. In IS!).") the collection engineered by the Loudon DailvTeleu-ranh for YV. ("!. (i'rave reali-i'd .CSHOO. With this he bought en endowment policy payable in lfliu. Hm also received Cl'.Vir, 13s 8d from the M.C.C testimonial. J. .1. Lyons and A. Bannerman, for their magnificent batting in the test match against Lord Sheffield'* team in 1802. were presented with C4(i 10s apiece. J. M. Blackhain has visited England as a member of an Australian team upon eight occasions. Syd. Gregory has also been home eight times. Blackham was in the teams of 1878. 1880. 1882. 1884, 18S0, 18S8. 1800. 1803, and Gregory with those of 1800. 1803, 1800, 1890,' 1002. If 05. 1000. 101-2. Warren Bardsley was the first Australian batsman to score two centuries in a test match. He made 13(i and 130 in the fifth test match in England in 1000.

In a match at Millicent (Tasmania) R. Foster was responsible for a unique performance. Bowling for Rendelsham, he secured the whole of the 10.Mount MeTntyrc. wickets at a cost of 20 runs. Eight were clean bowled, and he caught the last two batsmen off his own bowling. Several times the Rendelsham fieldsmen dropped easy catches which would have improved Foster's average. Mount Mclntyre won the match with 87 runs against Ren del sham's 54. During the match two of the Rendelsham hatsmen were run out together, the ball striking both wickets before either crease was occupied. Only one batsman retired, of course.

A Wellington scribe had nil interesting interview last week with Mr. 0. S. Smith, v.iio was wicket-keeper in the New South Wales teachers' team which recently toured the Dominion. .Although lie comes from a State in which cricket is the "rent pimc. Mr. Smith is readier with praise than with criticism of what lie lias seen of the summer game on this side of the Tasman Sea. He considers that our , cricketers play the frame in a particu- ; hirly sportsmanlike way. One of the : first things that struck him in his early j frames in this country was that there was no unnecessary appealing to the umpire. He dissents from much of the criticism that has been levelled at Xew Zealand batsmen. "You have to watch the hall on these wickets," he said. "The Xew Zealand wickets have too m::ny paces: if the ball does not come j straight through. If your batsmen got ( on to the true wickets that we have in J Xew South Wales they would soon open j out. The soil here does not lend itself to the making of wickets." Xew Zea- { land bowlers. Mr. Smith considers, give ! a very good- account of themselves, and ' he remarked that very few visiting | teams compile extraordinary scores. As fieldsmen, also, he considers that Xew > Zealanders stand well. They are at \ their worst, he said, in returning the j hall to the wicket. A thiner he had no- J' ticed was that many Xew Zealand wick-et-keepers and fieldsmen return the ball to the bowler in a slovenly way /So that he is compelled to stoop to recover it. Anyone who is familiar with Xew Zealand cricket will agree that the comment n just. To pick up a ball from the ground now and then involved only a trifling expenditure of energy, but when a bowler has to keep on doing it time after time it takes a lot out of him. "hi Sydney." Mr Smith remarked, ''every wicket-keeper picks up the hall and returns it to the howler 'on the 'full.'" Xew South Wales cricket has a revenue calculated to make a Xew Zealander's mouth water. International games provide a rich harvest in "gates." The Xew South Wales Association cleared some £21)00 from the games with South Africa, and as much from the last English visit. About £ISOO of this j amount has been spent, and the balance will carry on the Association until the next series of international games ar- 1 rives to refurnish the exchequer. Being thus liberally provided for, the Assoeia-. lion extracts no affiliation fee from its' component clubs and sub-associations. A portion of its revenue is spent in encouraging cricket in the country districts. A special committee of the Association deals with applications from the country clubs, and makes recommendations to the parent, body. Orants usually of about C2~> are made to clubs willing to put down turf wickets, and in some cases loans lor larger amounts are made to the country clubs at low rates of interest. Outside associations, as a thorn in the llesli. seem to be unknown in Xew South Wales. Xcarly all the junior associations are affiliated with the Xew South Wales Association, and where they are not it is usually because thev

".re situated in districts remote from the capital. Regarding slow cricket and suggestions for improvement thereof Mr. P. A. Yaile writes to the London Evening Standard: "Some months ago. when 'Slow Cricket' discussion was proceeding in your columns, 1 suggested, inter alia, as a means of enlivening the game that the bowler ■should be allowed to score for every ball from which the batsman could not score. This would also, of course, exclude byes, for obviously if the batting side could gct_ byes of any kind they would he entitled to the score. J was interested to see in one of your contemporaries the other day a suggestion on the same linet ! >.v Mr. F. Tt. Spoti'orih. He suggests that a side should be allowed to count two runs for every maiden over bowled liy its bowlers. This idea, of course, approves the principle of my suggestion, hut F do not think that it goes far enough. The principle should be made to apply to each ball. Tu this manner the game is kept alive, and there is no slackening of interest. There is a change in the score every time the ball is sent down. T deal with the subject in the current number of the Empire Magazine. [ think the matter is of the very greatest importance to the game, and I hope you will invite discussion on it Now is the time to do il. not when cricket is being played. Mr. Spoirorth puts the matter admirably. He shows cicarly that (he game is losing its hold <m the public ft is six or eight years : since I foretold Ihe present condition of affairs. Another year or two of what we are getting, and cricket will be to* far gone for recovery. Cricketers should velcome Mr. Spofforth's suggestion, compare it with mine, and adopt one of them is the simplest and most likely means of arousing interesting in our waning national game, as it is called."