OTAGO BEATEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 January 1939, Page 7

OTAGO BEATEN

PLUNKET SHIELD MATCH.

AN EXCITING FINISH. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, January 4. After starting the last day of its Plunket Shield match against Auckland in the happy position of having a first innings lead of 54 runs, Otago was beaten. Spectators at Carisbrook today enjoyed some most entertaining cricket. They saw the Auckland bowlers dismiss Otago for 148 and the batsmen of a side left with 203 runs to get in 155 minutes for •an outright win hit the Otago bowling with the greatest freedom and score the win with nearly half an hour to spare. It was a very fine performance indeed by the visitors.

The Otago batsmen did not play confident cricket, and Vivian and A. J. Postles, in particular, had them forced right on the defensive. Elmes and Moloney were the only two to hit halfvolleys as they should be hit. The others were playing back to everything and allowing the bowlers to take complete charge of the game.

The result was still in doubt when Whitelaw and Postles faced the task of scoring 203 runs in very quick time. Then the game became definitely exciting. Postles forsook his usual cautious game and was out reasonably early, though not till a satisfactory rate of scoring had been set. Wallace gave the crowd a treat during the 18 minutes he was batting. He scored 21 runs in that time, and played delightfully aggresive cricket. Runs came all round the wicket while he and Whitelaw were together, and continued to come quite as freely when Vivian joined Whitelaw.

Those two partnerships clinched the game for Auckland. Vivian hit with great vigour. He scored 40 runs in 34 minutes and the total was improved by 64 runs in the same time. Auckland scored its first 150 runs in 100 minutes, which meant that they had to score only at the rate of one a minute till 6 o’clock to win. Scores:— OTAGO. First Innings 427 Second Innings. K. F. M. Uttley, b Vivian 8 G. J. Robertson, b Cowie 26 C. K. Saxton, b Postles 17 A. R. Knight, b Vivian 12 C. J. Elmes, b Cowie 43 G. H. Mills, lbw, b Postles 1 D. A. R. Moloney, c and b Vivian .. 16 T. C. Fraser, c Postles, b Vivian .... 0 V. J. Leader, b Vivian 7 R. Silver, run out 12 J. Purdue, not out 0 Extras 6 Total 148 Fall of Wickets. One for 34, two for 42, three for 66, four for 66, five for 68, six for 113, seven for 113, eight for 131, nine for 148, ten for 148.

AUCKLAND. First Innings 375 Second Innings. P. E. Whitelaw, not out 72 A. J. Postles, c Moloney, b Leader 11 M. M. Wallace, c Uttley, b Leader 21 H. G. Vivian, c Fraser, b Leader .... 40 S. Sale, not out 43 Extras (byes 10, leg byes 6, wides 2) .-..7 .... 18 Total for thre wickets 205 Fall of Wickets. One for 36, two for 66, three for 130. Bowling Analysis.

Bowling Analysis. O. M. R. W. 13.2 1 38 2 G. L. Weir .... .... 4 — 12 — H. G. Vivian .... 25 8 46 5 A. M. Matheson .... .... 6 1 11 — A. J. Postles .... 10 — 35 2

O. M. R. w. J. Purdue 6 — 32 — R. Silver 9 — 43 — D. A. R. Moloney 6 — 28 — V. J. Leader , 9 — 59 3 C. J. Elmes . 3 1 26 —