AT THE WICKETS

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 55, 5 April 1930, Page 12

AT THE WICKETS

NOTES ON THE GAME OE CRICKET PLAY IN NAPIER

(Notes by "Stump.")

Witb the close of the playing season drawing near and the championship competitions all but over, the Hawke's Bay Cricket Associatioif is now making arrangements for the final games of the year. Next Saturday two minor rep. matches will be played. a Napier team being due to visit Wairoa whilst a Central Hawke's Bay team will play in Napier. At Easter. if. present arrangements work out, a Poverty Bay team will visit Hawke's Bay to play a match. HOUSE IN ORDER The Wellington Association. so its chairman says, is "putting its cricket house in order." It appears that Wellington got a bad friglit out of the last Shield game with Auckland At any rate it has now engaged a professional coach, and, largely on the advice of Lowry, is also moving in another direction — the improvement of match and practice wickets. Steps are being taken in the matter of securing suitable soil for the wickets, and an expert opinion is being obtained as to the best soil for the purpose. There is every prospect of the results of this part of the . committee's activity also being in next season's play. It will be remembered that in 1922 soil from Napier was taken to Wellington for the Basin reserve wicket and it has done duty ever since. During the course of last Saturday afternoon "Over," of the New Zealand Sportsman. was shown what had hapnened to the wicket laid down with Napier soil. At present it is overlaid with a couple of inches of Wellington top dressirtg which is quite loose. As there are thirteen tons of soil in the old Napier nitch, it is pronosed to lift it and relay a new wicket for future rep. matches, •£* ^ PLAY IN NAPIER By the timo these notes appear in print the senior championship for the year wil] liave been decided. The final series of games commenced last week, H.S O.B. and T.C.O.B. batting all day against Heretaunga and United. H.S. O.B. made 322 for seven wickets, chiefly due to slow but valuable batting hv Worker and Beck, who put on over 200 for the fifth wicket. Worker played another chanceless century effort, making 162. Worker always seems to work into form just as the season ends. Reallv he should start his play about the middle of the football season and then he would be making piles of run^ at Christmas. Beck batted very sedately for 67, which included a huge proportion of singles. The next highest scorer was Mr Extras. with 38. Gulbransen, the , Hastings rep. keeper, was behind the sticks for Heretaunga, but the pace of the Napier wickets heat him continually. Heretaunga called on four Hastings juniors to make up their eleven. On_ the other wicket. despite an aggressive 32 by Elliott and a sound 66 by O'Brien, Tech. had eight out for 189 at one stage. The last three, bowever, flogged the tiring United bowling and the final score was 326, Hardaker 79, Yarwood 37 not out, and Elliott 23. These three added 137 hetween them. O'Brien looked set for another century, but was caught from his first rnisshot. Every member of the Tech. team making a century receives a new bat from an enterpris'ing tradesman m Napier, and, as that worthy has alreadv had to 'part up with seven this yeaT, he was prohably just as pleased that the oatch was not dropped. The best fielding of the day was a fine oue-handed catch near the boundary by Cross for United, but on the i other wicket Heretaunga's out-cricket

was better than it has been for many games. FOR THE NEXT TOUR On this season's form the following players, in the opinion of the cricket wnter of the New Zealand Herald (Auckland) will bave to be considered for the English tour- — Weir Alcott Mills, Giliespie, Matheson,* m2 (Auckland), Dempster, Lowry, McLeod, James, Hollings, Massey (Wellington), Powell, Kerr, Roberts Talbot Page, Merritt, Lester (Oanterbury), and Bluntand Dunning (Otago). This gives 21 players, and it is not likely that the touring team will consist of more than 14. A strong battlnr eleven could be picked from the above ' ' , , I]6 in bowling. Alcott, Matheson McOoy, Holhngs, Massey, McLeod, lalbot, Page, Merritt, Lester, Blunt, I^nning all have capabilities. Ihe bowling would be steady enough but wickecs would have to 'be tricbf •fi nr° ,i)ecoine dangerous. Perhaps oitlier Matheson or Lester may develop into a really good fast-medium howler next season. Other candidate for selection are bound to appear before the team is hnally chosen In Auckland there are V\ nitelaw and Vivian. both .young players of great promise. Whitelaw has bacl an off season this year, but Viyian . nns only played a few matches in senior cricket, is showing excellent torm and is without doubt a potential l\ew Zealand player. Other provinees must also have their promising colts, find, rememhering the case nf Meriitt, any tentative list of possibilities mav be rudely upset. ABOUT COACHES The announcement that the Wellington Association has appo-inted C. S. Dempster, its leading batsman, as professional coach for three years makes good reading, Why it is that associations have always had to go overseas for coaches in the past o-iily the powers that he can say. Last year, for instanee, we had the spectacle of New Zealand associations feverishly striving to secure some English pro, while at the same time the Queensland Association was making offers to R. C. Blunt, the Otago allrounder, to go to Brisbane and coach there. Cricket association's in New Zealand could do well to follow the trade slogan, "Patronise New Zealand Industry," when it eomes to engaging coaches. Good judges have long been convinccd that in New Zealand centres there are players fully qualified to undertake coaching. One set of players has alreadyj_ been sent to England, and their experience and knowledge gained on that trip should be passed on to the plnyerg in the making. It is to be hoped that the Hawke's Bay Association will follow the lead . set by Wellington and see if it cannot secure the services of some capable New Zealand player. The association has not got very far in the past five years in its professed intention to engage a man from overseas and if it ttould mahe inquiries in New Zealand il would probably find that there are Dominion players who could be more quickly and cheaply secured than the overseas men. In Worker, captain of H.S. O.B. and a master at the Napier High School, and Shephard, captain of T.C.O.B,, the Bay has two players now with all the knowledge, experience and person ality required in a tutor of young crioketers, When it is realised that there must be a score of players of their capability -'n the etrantry it can he seen that the chance is waiting if the association will but take it.