CRICKET IN WAIRARAPA

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 November 1938, Page 9

CRICKET IN WAIRARAPA

—» CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY REVIEWED Notes and Comments (By “Blue &_Gold.”)

The Wairarapa Cricket Association’s fixtures on Saturday were played under ideal conditions, with the wickets favourable to the batsmen, and the scoring, consequently, being good. Improved form was shown by a number of batsmen and some splendid displays should be witnessed this season. A Thrilling Finish. The Lansdowne-Wairarapa College game was noticeable in particular for two things—the good fight put up by the College team in the second innings, and the exciting and successful fight for victory against time made by Lansdowne. It was a thrilling finish which the cricket enthusiast thoroughly enjoys. A Gallant Fight. With one of their chief mainstays (Patrick) away, and taking the first innings score as a criterion, it was not considered that the College team in the second innings would offer much opposition to the Lansdowne battery of bowlers, even taking into consideration the fact that the wicket was against the bowlers. But the College boys dug in their toes and fought with that determination which in days long passed made famous the assertion that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of England. In a considerable measure, however, the College batsmen were assisted by the indifferent fielding of some of the Lansdowne plays. .Greer was an outstanding victim in this connection, having four catches dropped off his bowling. Nevertheless a gallant fight was put up by College, and the team is to be congratulated in connection therewith. Creditable Knocks. Two very creditable knocks were those of Wilson and Upston. The latter has been shaping very well indeed with the bat this season, and following on his splendid 47 against Red Star he hit up 45 on Saturday, displaying many fine shots, his driving in particular being ' very effective. He scored four boundaries and also hit a 3 and a couple of twos. Wilson’s 29 was made by carefully selecting the right ball to hit. He was running along nicely before Greer found his stumps. Two boundaries and eight 2’s were included in his total. Consistent Scoring. Though Tier may have had more than ordinary luck while batting he nevertheless made a number of very pretty strokes. He found the boundary on two occasions. Tier has batted , consistently this season, having double figures to his credit in three innings : cut of four he has played, with an average of 13. ■ Acquisition to Team. Mills made his first appearance for College in this match, and indications point to the fact that he is going to ’ very substantially strengthen the Col- ■ lege team. He plays a nice bat, and * his 17 on Saturday included one boun- < dary. ' . ■■ , Jones Comes to Light. Jones, who notched a double figure ■ score against Red Star, came to light J with an excellently co’npiled 29. I Jones plays a good straight bat and J is not afraid to hit the ball that de- 1 serves to be punished. He found the i boundary on four occasions on Satur- ’ day, all very neat strokes indeed. * < A Good Strike. i Hibbs, who was the only College batsmen to stand up to the Lansdowne < bowling in the first innings, played

Hits Hard and Often. Arthur Whiteman had no false ideas as to what should be done with the bowling in the circumstances which prevailed. He knew that time waits for no man, and he did not wait to be sent back to the pavilion before he had helped to reduce the margin of runs required. Therefore, he set to work right away on the bowling and hit hard and often, collecting a couple of 6’s, and a 4 in his score. O’Callaghan, too, went for the bowling and contributed in a large measure towards securing the outright win for Lansdowne. More Enterprise Required. The College boys fielded well de- - spite the hot conditions, and their bowling was of an even character, the absence of Patrick, doubtless, being felt very much. Patrick was away in Wellington competing at the college sports held there on Saturday. With the College having a full team in the field one expects to find a substantial improvement in their future displays. One thing sadly required is more enterprise in going for the bowling. “Net practice” displays in a match are not in the best interests of the game. A Sporting Action. Wally Peterson displayed his versatility as a batsman and his strong characteristics as a sport on Saturday afternoon against Old Boys. Playing a faultless bat he ran up 117 before he lost his wicket, run out. He could have saved his wicket at the expense of Lambourne, but when he saw the position that Lambourne would be run out if, they crossed he immediately turned round and made for his own wicket, thus preventing Lambourne from passing him and being run out. It was a very sporting action, but typical of Wally Peterson, who appreciated the fact that Lambourne was well on his way towards scoring a. century and presented him with the opportunity of realising every cricketer’s dream of notching a hundred runs in a single innings. Peterson was equally brilliant all round the wicket and hit nineteen 4’s, a 6, a 5, a 3. and five 2’s. In his 117 runs he only hit seventeen singles. Lambourne Bats Well. Lambourne certainly gave his best display of batting since he joined the I senior ranks. He is not afraid to lay the wood on, and picks out the ball to hit. AU- round the wicket he scored freely and he sent the ball thirteen times to the boundary, and also re- ~ gistered two 3’s, and a similar num- i ber of 2’s. Once Lambourne gets the feeling of the bowling he is a hard batsman to dispose of. Lambourne and, Wally Peterson added 195 to the score for the second wicket. A Fast Scorer. Gordon Peterson made the pace | while at the wickets and hit merrily. He scored one 6 and three 4’s in a score of 31 which was rattled up in a comparatively few minutes. Father and Son at Wickets. It was pleasing to see father and son at the wickets, in the persons of Frank Hoar and Newman Hoar, and they were still together when Gordon Peterson declared the innings closed. Newman had 39 to his credit, which included two clean hits for 6 each, four 4’s and a 2, while Frank had a 6 and a 4 in his score. Both batted vigorously, Newman shaping especially well. Good Scoring. Old Boys’ second innings was productive of a good score, the board showing 248 for 7 when time was called. While admitting that the Red Star fielding was loose at times —some of the players should take a lesson in the matter of fielding from Jack Renner, who after over thirty years of senior cricket still, ranks among the best fieldsmen in the Wairarapa, very few equalling him in this respect—the batting of the Old Boys was pleasing to witness. Hendry headed the list with a well-compiled 51. which included seven 4’s. His effort included many neat strokes and on both sides of the wicket he scored from shots which did him credit. A Stylish Effort. Perhaps the most stylish display was t that of Brash, who makes his shots I very correctly and can place the I ball neatly out of the reach of the I fieldsmen. He found the boundary six I times. : Another Neat Knock. 3 Ryan gave another very neat dis- J play when he rattled up 27, which included three 4’s and two 2’s. Ryan ( plays a ve-y pretty bat and once he gets going it is a treat to see him bat, while his fielding is always a display of smartness, enthusiasm and efficiency. Improving Batsmen. ,! Alexander was not long in hitting up 34 —two 6’s in succession, four 4’s, a 3, a 2 and a single. Both Alexander and McPherson are rapidly improving as batsmen. On Saturday McPherson notched a very creditable 29, which included three boundaries very nicely placed. L

another good strike for 22, which in- < eluded one boundary and four 2’s. £ Badly Treated by Field. c E. Jenkins, S. Jenkins and Greer £ bowled besr for Lansdowne but the t latter in particular was badly treated r by the field. s Bad Start, Thrilling Finish. t Judging by the way in which Lans- f downe shaped at the commencement I of their second innings there was ev- t ery prospect of a comparatively early x termination to the game with Lans- c downe lucky to score even a first inn- r ings victory. With two good wickets c gone for 10 on a batsmen’s wicket and x 3 down for 38, the outlook was not too bright for the suburban players. However, once Arthur Whiteman and Greer were at the wickets the aspect t rapidly changed and the scoring in- y creased in pace. A bad start was followed by a thrilling finish. A Greer’s Outstanding Knock. Greer deserves great credit for his exceptionally good knock of 62 when runs were badly needed and with time slipping quickly away. Recognising J, that it was a fight against time Greer went for the bowling and pnnished it most severely. He' drove with considerable force, and on the leg side d played many beautiful shots. He hit three 6’s, and seven 4’s. Greer, as every enthusiastic cricketer should do, takes his cricket very seriously in li that he believes that if the game is worth playing it is necessary to ap- u ply one’s fullest ability towards mak- a ing a success of it individually and a from a team point of view. Follow- a ing this up Greer should one day be n tallied as one of the best all-rounders ii the district has seen. p