CRICKET

Wairarapa Age, 3 February 1927, Page 2

CRICKET

PLAY AND PLAYERS.

(BY

“SPECTATOR.”).

The weather was intensely hot for the resumption of the championship fixtures last Saturday, but nevertheless, some of the batting in the Old BoysMartinborough match was of a quick and lively order that kept interest well sustained. Batting first, Old Boys sent Logan and Gee to the wickets. The pair quickly got the measure of a not too strong attack* and the century was reached and passed before a separation was effected.

Gee is now apparently at the top of his form, and he pasted the bowling unmercifully, his rate of scoring greatly exceeding that of his veteran partner, who nevertheless played sound and stylish cricket for his 28. There is no doubt whatever that Gee has benefited .greatly from the occasional tuition he has received from Badcock, the Wellington coach. The improvement is especially noticeable in his forward play, as he now uses his feet to better advantage, driving the ball with a power and precisiou that was previously lacking. His 81 last Saturday was one of a series of similar good efforts this season. Law, Falloon, and McMichael all made hay while the sun shone, and as the result of hard, vigorous play, accounted for the bulk of the remainder of Old Boys’ total of 243, and compensated for the failure of the rest of the batsmen tg get going. Usually the mainstay of the Martinborough attack, Beech (2 for 41) was only moderately successful, and it was not one of his “on” days. Stringfellow (2 for 57) presented little difficulty to the batsmen, while Boach, usually most successful as a change bowler, had no luck at all at an expense of 44 runs. It remained for Biss to secure the cream of the bowling averages .By netting three good wickets at a cost of* only 11 runs, while Guy, who was one of the last changes tried, got one of Old Boys’ eight wickets at the moderate cost of 10 runs.

“Extras” was one of Old Boys’ best contributors, adding the unduly large tally of 35 to the total. Martinborough made a disastrous start, the vim which McMichael put into his bowling resulting in three wickets falling in the first over with only 5 runs on the credit side of the ledger. Stringfellow and Guy stayed the rot, a useful partnership producing the bulk of the runs at present standing to the visitors’ credit. Stringfellow played good cricket for his 32 before he misjudged Falloon and iretired lbw, while a similar decision to Law stopped Guy’s total at 27. These two and McLeod, who is not out with 8, were the only batsmen to treat the bowling with any degree of cofidence.

A bowler who has come into prominence this season is McMichael, wht) followed up his sensational performance against * Carterton with another roteworthy achievement in the present match. Though the possessor of plenty of pace, McMichael was seldom used on account of his hitherto poor command of the ball, his erratic deliveries usually proving expensive against batsmen of any ability. Recently, however, he has shown a great improvement both in length and accuracy without any sacrifice of pace, and it is quite likely that with the right sort ff coaching, he may develop into just the type of bowler that Wairarapa at present is so badly in need of.

The result of Wairarapa’s challenge to Taranaki was a great disappointment both to players and followers of the game locally. It is an old saying that a poor carpenter blames his tools, and it is equally true that cricketers will sometimes lay their shortcomings to the account of a bad wicket. It is, however, an undeniable fact that the Wairarapa team which travelled to Taranaki in quest of the Hawke Cup had a genuine grievance over the state of the pitch on which they -were asked to play. I am informed that this state of affairs was due to the fact that the match, originally set down to be played at New Plymouth, had its venue altered at a late hour to llawera, with the result that time would not permit of the wicket receiving due and proper preparations. The wicket from the start was treacherous, and with bowlers of any pace, little short of dangerous; in fact, some players on both sides received nasty knocks. Under such circumstances, any batsmen who scored double figures could count himself lucky indeed, especially if he. accomplished the feat without injury. It was wholly and solely a bowler’s wicket, as was evidenced by the “hot” averages obtained by the trundlers of both sides. SATURDAY’S FIXTURES. JUNIORS. Oddfellows v. Greytown, ht Greytown. Old Boys v. High School, at High School. Druids v. Carterton, at Park Oval. United, a bye. ♦ THIRD GRADE. United v. Hikurangi (forfeited). High School, A. v. High School B, at High School. W.F.C.A. v. Technical (forfeited). Carterton v. Hibernian, at Memorial Park.