THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 201, 23 February 1914, Page 7

THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS.

lessons iron xmv zkalaxukks. The livtU'lton Times publishes iin interesting interview with Mr. li. (1. Ilickmott, a rising Xew /calami cricketer, concerning the recent tour of (lie New Zealand cricketers in Australia. "With his big scoring Macartney in proliiiblv the most interesting," said Mr. Ilickmott, "but though .lie is u stylish batsman and a muster of (lie "lime. I liked Trumper mucli better. There are 110 flourishes us in Macartney's case, but the strokes are there just the same. Trumper is not so active as lie was a few years ago. but there are Hashes and then' that sliow what a master lie is. With Macartney the great feature is that with every stroke lie is looking for rune. Ie Australia the bats play the ball, but in New Zealand the order is reversed. Wo watch for the loose balls, but Macartney with rapid footwork, and simply wonderful 'liming makes everything loose. Playing against us ho started scoring as soon as he to the wickets, but I suppose against better bawling lie would bi' steadier until he had ulayed in. He is never happy unless lie is scoring fust, and to a bowlev he U heart-breaking.

'"Like the ' other Australian batsmen Macartney gets right across to the oil' stuir, and i» right over the ball when he makes his stroke. Our fellows put the foot near the v, iekets and swing out at the ball, but Macartney's left leg comes right across. TTe does not cut a ball as we do. but he almost pats it through the slips, rind it is <l<*ie without an effort. The practice of slipping right across is helped by perfect timing, and his ability to place a ball between point and cover is wonderful. Another heart-breaking habit lie showed was off a short ball pitched on tile leg stump, lie would dash out to it, and before you knew wiiat was coming !!ie ball was going- between cover and mid. I. think that his weakness is really in leg glancing. Time after time when playing against us he did not connect with the bafl at making the stroke, but he is a master of the hook stroke, and hooking on Australian wickets is <]nite a different thing (o what It Is in New Zealand. The pace of the pitch upsets one's theories about it, and until a batsman is used to the conditions it leads to downfall*. Macartney lias sacrificed everything to his batting. He used to be a brilliant Held, but when he was playing against us he lmnUv did any running, and never did anything above the ordinary, lie doesn't bowl much, and before matches lie takes great care to gel in a good night's sleep. lie is a non-smoker and a 11011ilrinker, and it is easy to see that be has given Jiimself entirely to the making of runs. His driving" is powerful, but its secret is the perfect timing, rather than strength, and the majority of bis runs come from the oil'. On both sides, however, lie is at liome, and, as 1 have said, the only weakness I saw was in the leg glancing.

FAULTS 01' NEW ZEAI.ANDERS. "Over there (me of the faults the experts fount! in our play was that we did not play ourselves in. Our fellows could not leave Uie oil' stud' alone. It is <|uite a different thing with the Australians. It is nothing for them to let four balls out of an over to go by oil tile oil'. They pick out the right hall to hit, lmt we swung out. and that was the end. Their running behvuen the wickets showed the. value of "backing up.' The Australian batsmen look for a run oil' eacli stroke, but we wail and itsualiv start late. The result is that they get a short run easily, even with (lie ball potted between the wickets, but we have to gallop aH out. Hill is the best of them between the wickets. Hp will run for nearly anything, and he'll get it, too. This is the epitome of the difference between New Zealand cricket and Australian—they look for runs off every ball, and we don't.

"The downfall of our batsmen was not duo, I think, to nerves, but to the pace of the wickets ami the innbililv to play the oil' theory properly. Wo had a wet wicket at f)iisbauo. and we practised in Sydney on u sticky wicket. The next day we plnyed on a wicket that was three times as fast as anything in the Dominion. The pace the hall made wa> too nuu-li. and our batsman dit] not "jet over the ball. The pace of the wicket also made the fielding look rather worse than it was. We stopped the hall, but not cleanly, and our returns were bad. The tour has been a great edrtratiott. and the thiny that 1 have learnt more than anything else is that the t'ootivork of the New Zealand hal-*»ien needs faster, and, while we want to play in. we want to learn to make runs oil' everything. MacartneyV defence is in scoring strokes, and he j-ets out to a ball like lightning, 'f* all in the. fe?t."