ENGLISH CRICKET

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 263, 4 October 1933, Page 4

ENGLISH CRICKET

THE SEASON REVIEWED. NO NEW CHAMPIONS. Surveying the English cricket season just ended with the champion county’s traditional failure to vanquish the Rest of England, the cricket correspondent of the Australian Press Association says : —‘ ‘The feature of the season was the phenomenal brilliance of the weather, producing t heavy scoring. Ironically, the season before the Australians come to England is usually fine. Apart from the occasional cropping np of leg-theory incidents, and the carry-over of controversies from Australia, the season lacked special interest. Yorkshire so soon made certain of the championship that domestic excitement was lacking. The West Indies, though a popular sporting side, again failed in the Tests, which lacked the distinctive atmosphere provided only by England and Australia. It has been a veterans’ year, for E. Hendren, C. P. Mead, and A. P. Freeman all performed with great success. J. B. Hobbs, on his rare appearances, showed that he is still a master batsman. It is expected that he will play sufficiently during 1934 to achieve the three centuries required to bring his total of centuries to 200. FAST WICKETS. “A testimony to the excellence of tho wickets and the fast out-fields is the fact that the number of double centuries scored exceed all records, while a remarkable number of batsmen exceeded 2000 runs. W. R. Hammond and L. Ames had a great batting season, but the year failed to produce outstanding new figures either as batsmen or bowlers. Certainly nobody at present appears capable of replacing H. Larwood. Many members of the last English team to tonr Australia failed to distinguish themselves, including W. Voce, whose muscular failure prevented him giving of his best. “Pavilion gossip is naturally concerned with the successor to the captaincy in tlie event of D. R. Jardine deciding gracefully to drop out in 1934 in the interests of harmony. R. E. S._ Wyatt would be the logical, if undistinguished, leader. “There is some support for C. F. Walters (Worcestershire) and M. J. Turnbull (Glamorgan), both of whom j occupy paid secretaryships with the I captaincy of their respective counties land are thus amateurs; but it is rei ported that the-M.C.C. does not favI our such sources for captains of England. The young Kentish captain, B. H. Valentine, is strongly favoured in' | some quarters. Among the batsmen ! who did not make new figures, but I whose 1933 performances place them I in the running for choice against Australia, Walters, Keeton, Bakewell, Squires, and Barnett are outstanding. James Langridge was again an eminent all-rounder, but the choice of Larwood’s successor is not easy. It may fall between Bowes, Nichols, and Clark. Clark is the Northamptonshire fast left-hander, whose delivery is under some suspicion. After Marriott, a schoolmaster, routed the West Indies team at the Oval, l>owring six wickets for 59, lie was naturally discussed as an England bowler, but his position as a schoolmaster may prevent his obtaining sufficient first-class practice with candidates for the Test matches. MR P. F. WARNER’S REVIEW. Mr P. F. Warner, writing in the Daily Telegraph, emphasises that E. C. Clark (Northamptonshire) is a fine natural bowler, with any „ amount of devil, but seems prone to minor injuries. C. S. Marriott, a schoolmaster, was a great success in his first Test match against the West Indies, but it is doubtful, he says whether Marriott would be more valuable to England than A. P. Freeman, R. W. V. Robins, I. A. It. Peebles, or T. B. Mitchell. “The presence of Marriott and Clark,” he says, “means that the bat-

ting ends at No. 9 and neither is a run-saver in the field. I am an optimist about next season’s English eleven, but I must not be over-confident, for the Australians are sure to be a strong combination and O’Reilly is likely to be more difficult on our wickets than oil his own. He is a real artist with the ball, and is most determined and persevering. “As regards the bowling controversy, there has been a flood of books. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but it is hard to see how some of the views expressed, in one of these in particular, can do anything but harm to the game. The very essence of cricket is gener-

osity of spirit. Tlie game suffers a definite setback when it is not played and written about in that spirit. One is confident that the visit of the Australians will put the test matches back on the old, happy, if strenuous, basis, and that the troubles and bitterness of the past will be forgotten amid mutual respect and admiration and the glamour of witnessing the finest skill.” Commenting on the suggestion cabled from Australia that the Board of Control should decide whether it will send two ambassadors to discuss bodyline bowling with the M.C.C. or alternatively omit from the Australian team all opponents of body-line bowling,

the Daily Herald says: '-“Australia is going the wrong way to settle the breach by persistence-with the bodyline protest. Any endeavour to force the M.C.C. into a declaration prohibiting leg theory as exploited by Larwood will only aggravate the position. Larwood is not likely ,to bowl next year, and the sending of ambassadors would be a waste of time.. The M.C.C. has already given its verdict/ which is a complete vindication of Jardine. The idea of omitting players is farcical.”