Cricket

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 31, 31 October 1928, Page 9

Cricket

By

"BURWOOD ”

ENGLISHMEN’S STRONG OPENING

LEARN TO PLAY BACK

That the fight for “The Ashes” of cricket this season between England (the holders) and Australia are going to be stirring struggles is evident _ from the brilliant batting form the Englishmen displayed in their opening match against South Australia at Adelaide. To run up 528 in their very first knock against a Sheffield Shield State was a sterling performance on the part of the men from the Old Land, and points to the fact that they should do better still when they become used to the fast Australian wickets.

The young Gloucestershire professional, W. R. Hammond, did excellently to notch a century in his first innings in an important game in Australia. His 145 took 237 minutes, which was not bad going against bowlers like Grimmett and Scott. Ilammond is one of the greatest cricketers in the world to-day. He is a first-class batsman, bowler, fieldsman, and wicketkeeper, and no player has ever before in the history of the game been in the first flight in these four important departments of the game.

The man who supplied the fireworks at Adelaide on Saturday, however, was A. I’. F. Chapman, the youthful captain of the Englishmen. The tall Kent amateur, who visited New Zealand with the M.C.C. team in 1923, simply played havoc „with the South Australian bowling, hitting a sixer and nineteen boundary strokes, and, with Larwood, putting on 103 in 45 minutes.

Chapman is an ideal leader. Standing well over six feet in height, he looks the very acme of the best stamp of Britisher. Moreover, he possesses a most genial temperament. When in New Zealand he was always smiling, and lent the impression that he was thoroughly enjoying the game.

In the first Test match against New Zealand, at the Basin Reserve, in 1923, Chapman, who went in second wicket down, was smiling when he went to the wickets, and was still smiling as he came back after having been caught by Allcott off Brice for a single. Nothing upsets the equanimity of this strapping Englishman, who, by his beaming good nature, radiates sportsmanship. He is not onlj’ a brilliant free-scoring batsman, but a wonderful fieldsman. England at last has a captain who can inspire his men by precept and example. New Zealanders have a particular interest in the English captain, as while in New Zealand in 1923, he lost his heart to a New Zealand girl, and Mrs. Chapman is a daughter of that good sportsman, Mr. T. 11. Lowry, of Hawke’s Bay, and consequently is a sister of 1 T. Lowry, who led the New Zealand cricket team through Great Britain recently. H. Sutcliffe (7(5). P. Mead (58), 11. Larwood (46). and J. B. Hobbs (26) all helped to swell the English total to over live hundred runs. Against such, batsmen. South Australia had only one bowler of class, and that was the ex-New Zealander, Grimmett, who plugged away in his usual lion-hearted fashion, and came out with the splendid tally of six wickets for 109 runs. He is unquestionably a great bowler, and his success in this innings augurs well for Australia's hopes of success in the Test matches.

The English bowling did not appear to be particularly impressive, as, at drawing of stumps, South Australia' had 155 on for the loss of one wicket. V. Richardson, who led the Australian team through New Zealand ■ last season; was left not out with 84 to his credit.

South Australia put up a great performance against the Englishmen on Monday. Victor Richardson (231) and the stylish left-hander. Pritchard (119) got set for the second wicket, and put on 255 runs in 176 minutes. V. Richardson played for Australia against England in the 1924-5 season, and scored 138 in the test at Melbourne. He seems to like English bowling, as. with A. J. Richardson, he scored 25G for the first wicket, for South Australia in the 1922-23 season. and, with the same partner, hit up 214 for the third wicket in the 1924-5 season. This is the seccud century Victor Richardson has hit up against the Englishmen, as he scored 118 at Adelaide in the 1922-3 season. His spirited double century on Monday, in compiling which he hit twenty-seven fourers, should gain him a place in the Australian eleven. He is in! the running for the captaincy.

Learn to Play Baek. . Though all batsmen love a fast, plumb Wicket on which the ball comes to the bat, it is’ just as well that occasionally Jupiter Pluvius decides to plump down a few hundred tons of water on the playing fields, and thus give bowlers a look in. Kuns are not difilcult to get on a glass Wicket, upon which it is impossible for the bowlers to get more than an inch or two of turn, but it is an entirely different preposition when the wicket is drying, and the ball commences talking all sorts of languages to-the sorely puzzled batsman.

Warwick Armstrong has remarked that a batsman's education was not complete until he had had experience of playing upon all classes of wickets. ■ Bowlers' Paradise.

A case in point -was provided in Wellington on Saturday last when batsmen were called upon to take strike on wickets which were drying after Friday’s heavy rain.

, It must be admitted that local batsmen did not show to advantage on wiekets upon which they had to play back instead of forward. In only one instance did a team succeed in passing the second hundred during the afternoon. Old Boys in Form.

Old Boys gave the brightest display of the afternoon, and did really well in reaching 218 against Petone. The tail-end batsmen all went resolutely for the bowling. and fortune favoured the brave.

The colt Parsloe batted very brightly, and his 48 was a really ,good knock. lie eventually fell l.b.w. to one of Keyling’s 610WS.

Eton (35) and Malcolm (33 not out) also laid the wood on to some purpose. It is surprising that. Brice did not prove more dangerous on such a wicket, but the Petone captain was punished'to the tune of three for 70. Hope, the express bowler, secured three for 55, Sinyrk two for 28, J. Patrick one for 15, and Reyling one for 0. Alf. Cate was badly missed from his accustomed position behind the Petone sticks, as no fewer than 26 extras figured o.n the Old Boys’ tally. Marton, who has succeeded Cate, found Hope a bit too fast for him. A Dire Collapse.

' The wicket had crumbled when Petone wont in for their second knock, and Badcoek made the ball sing songs on it. The lillage batsmen came in, took centre, had a look round to see how the field was placed, and then departed for the pavilion. In about an hour, the whole side were sent to the rightabout for the inglorious total of GO runs. Badcock was simply unplayable. He turned the ball from both sides, flighted them in the air, and made some hang on the pitojj nnd others cut sharply through. jAr, »As six for 22, which gives some •dea of what the wicket was like. Badcock is a dangerous bowler on a wicket which gives him assistance, but is not so difficult on a plumb wicket. Bowling for New Zealand against Australia at Auckland in March last, be had to be content with one for 121 off -12 overs. The merit of his bowling consists in his fine command of length. ■ Old Boys won by an. innings and 43 runs, and this sweeping success points to the fact that they should make a bold bid for championship honours this season. Indeed, they are so strong that, they might very well have allowed Badcock to play with Kilbirnie or Petone. James, the wicketkeeper, is loading the Old Boys eleven this season. This is t!i<» ideal position for a captain, as he can see how his bowlers are shaping, and can place his field to block strokes. . .Tames should have profited by the experience lie gained with the Now Zealand team in England and Australia. Wellington’s Success. . Wellington did well to defeat Hutt on Ute latter’s ground In their opening match. They were, of course, lucky In having a firm wicket to bat upon on the first day, ttnd then getting Hutt in upon a bowler’s Wicket on Saturday last. With three down for 88 in reply to Wei-

lington’s opening knock of 211, Hutt could only add another C 3 runs, and were all out for 151. _ The ex-Wellington College boy, Lees, shaped very well for 39, and Ross batted confidently for 37. McGlrr (16) fl Gwilliam (16), and Aldersley (10) were the only other batsmen to reach doubles. Hvder (four for 49) and O'Connor (four for 34) bowled very steadily for Wellington. Wellington, In an effort to get a fourpoint win, forced the pace in the second innings, and when 116 had been put on for the loss of six wickets, Burton applied the closure. R. A. Westbrook rattled his 3a together in good time, making some forceful drives between mld-on and long-on. Hutt opened disastrously in their second innings, Hyder clean bowling Lees and Aldersley right away. Williams and Biggar, however, then put their backs to the wall and made a spirited stand. After reaching 42 with finished strokes, Williams was caught by Duff off Westbrook. Beard then joined Biggar, and the pair were still together when time was called, with the board showing three down for 112. Biggar, who was unbeaten for 40, showed that he has not entirely forgotten the strokes which were taught him by C. Broad at Nelson College. Beard was going well with 17 not out. It is pleasing to see that 11. M. McGlrr, the Hutt captain, sent this resolute hitter In early in this innings.

'Varsity’s All-Kound Strength. When the rain came on on Friday it was all up with Kilbirnie’s chance of reaching the solid score of 388 which University had ran up on the opening day. The ’Varsity bowlers found the wicket on tile Kilbirnio ground very much to their liking last Saturday, and tired the Kilbirnic eleven out for 88 runs. I. Greig, who opened, showed that runs could be got by banging up 39 before being bowled by his namesake. Mackenzie, the 'Varsity skipper, gave seven of his bowlers a turn at the crease, and all did well. Nelson (three tor 9), Rollings (two for 2), McLeod (two for 14), and Greig (two for 14) shared the wickets.

KilbirnlO had to follow on, and managed to prevent an innings defeat, the score at call of time being 99 for the loss of six wickets. , V. Christopherson (28> Ward (21), Hayman (17), W. Christopherson (12), and Greig (10) all held the-fort manfully against good bowling by Nelson (four for 25) and McLeod (two for 31). ’Varsity won by 250 runs on the first innings. Midland’s Good Start.

Midland made a good start on Saturday by scoring a victory over last year’s champion team, Institute, at.the Basin Reserve. It looked a good thing for Institute when Midland fell on the first day for the moderate total of 202, but once again the old cricket saying, ’ "It Is better to have 200 runs on the slate than to have to get them,” was proved true.

Things did not promise so well for Institute when they bad to resume on Saturday on a bowler’s wicket. The first six batsmen shaped manfully, and the game appeared to be swinging Institute’s way when 150 appeared for the loss of only four wickets. ,

But that wily old trundler, “Pop” Hutchings, then put a different complexion upon things by bowling Burt and Massey with successive balls. This was the beginning of the end, as Prince was run out without scoring, Bryant, was bowled by Hutchings; and Baker got rid of Henderson and Rogers.

It was an exciting finish, as Institute got to 101, and were only beaten by 8 funs. Dempster (41), Aitken (36), Crook (26 not out), Burt (20), nnd Foley (18) batted stubbornly on the difficult wicket. Foley took two hours and twenty minutes to scratch his score of 18 together. .1. Hutchings was the man for the day, and he seized his opportunity witli both hands. He kept a good length with his slow leg-breaks, and had all the batsmen uncomfortable, finishing up with the good tally of five for 58.

,W. A. Baker rendered good service in bagging three for 50. Midland will -be even stronger when A. Grant rejoins the team this week.

E. Roberts is leading Midland this season. It was a great tribute to the confidence which is reposed in his generalship that be should have been chosen to captain the Midland senior eleven as soon as he joined the club. Roberts captained Eastbourne for some seasons, and was appointed to lead Thorndon when Kortlang recommenced world wandering. Roberts makes a good captain, as he holds his side together well, and possesses tact as well as sound judgment. Great Bowling.

Gilbert, bowling for' Kilbirnie against Eastbourne in the Third B game at Kilbirnie last Saturday, put up a remarkable performance in- securing eight wiekets for 7 runs in the first innings, and followed this up by bagging two for 12 in the second innings. He sends down a right-handed fast-medium paced ball, and keeps an excellent length. In this match, Kilbirnie scored 97 and declared their second innings closed with 57 on for the loss of two Wiekets, while Eastbourne could only manage to get 31 and" GO. The Smaller Ball.

L. S. Writes from Feilding:—“Dear Burwood,—l should be much obliged if, per medium of your column, you could Inform me if the recently Introduced smaller ball whieh was used in England throughout last season is being used in competition games in Wellington this season.” Yes; and it may interest L.S. to know that it was used in Wellington as far back as four years ago. The manufacturers In England started making these smaller balls four years back, and a consignment was imported here, for the 1924-25 season, so we actually anticipated the M.C.C. mandate. The smaller ball is 8 7-8 inches in circumference, against the 91-18 inches old ball. The old rules provided that the ball shall weigh not less than 51oz. or more than SJoz., and measure not less than 9 inches or more than 9j inches in circumference. A meeting of umpires called by the M.C.C. in England decided that the smaller ball would give the bowlers, and especially the slow spin bowlers, a better chance, and hence the change to the smaller ball, which has been used in Wellington-for the past four seasons.

When Is a Cricketer Too Old? /“Is a man too old at forty!” has frequently been asked in many walks of life, and J. B. Hobbs, the famous English batsman, who will celebrate his fortysixth birthday during the second Test match in Sydney in December, recently dealt with the subject. He said that a man was never too old for active participation in cricket so long as lie retained ills sight, wind and nerve. He then told (lie following story"A cricket match on n village green was in progress and a “too old’ man was batting. A ball was delivered, there was a decided /click, and as the wicketkeeper took the ball a shout went up, 'How’s that?’ ‘Out,’ said the umpire. The batsman protested that he had not touched the ball, but all of the fieldsmen excepting the wicketkeeper insisted that they bad heard the click. ‘You’re all wrong.’ said the wicketkeeper. ‘He didn’t gx> within six inches of the ball. What you beard was the creaking of ids joints. It happens every time he moves.’ ” Race For a Bat.

The Auckland Cricket Association was formed forty-five years ago, on October 20. It was a strange coincidence, therefore, that the association's 1928-29 season should have been opened last Saturday. October 20, the anniversary of its formation (says the “New Zealand Herald"). There was another coincidence in connection with the opening day in that G. L. Weir, Eden, and J. A. Dunning. University, caeh scored 103 runs. Weir readied his century nt twenty-four minutes past six, and Dunning at twenty-five minutes to seven. Weir, therefore.' wins the bat presented by Mr. F. W Matthews to the player scoring the first century of the season. Last season Wofr won the bat presented for the best bowline average. Dunning is a Rhodes scholar, who will transfer to Dunedin at the beginning of next year. Ho lias been annotated to a position on the staff of McGlashan College. Short Kuns. E. Neale hit tip a brilliant 143 for Johnsonville against Institute on Saturday in the junior A match. Neale is a fine allround athlete, as be is also a prominent Rugby footballer. Morris was in aggressive mood for Institufe against University in the junior I! game on Saturday. In rattling on 122, he banged three sixers and eighteen fottrers.

C. G. Finlayson, the ex-Tetone bowler, secured four wickets for 22 runs for Ponsonby against North Shore at Auckland on Saturday.

C. Nicholls played his first shield match last January against South Australia. In that game lie took five for 115 and four for 84 and scored 18 and 5. Against Victoria in the same month he made 110 and 18, and took two for 103 and one for 24. He is a tall fellow, twenty-six years of age. a fast bowler and a good slip field. In’Sydney many regard him as the natural successor to J. M. Gregory.