Cricket 1913

September 27, 1913. CR I CKET : A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. a W a rw ic k s h ire p ro ., w ho w as en g a g e d as coach at D u n ed in , and h is b o w lin g ( io fo r 71) had a b ig say in the resu lt. W e llin g to n beat C an te rb u ry for the first time, D r y d e n ’s b ow lin g (11 fo r 56) b e in g the ch ief factor in the w in . D e M au s had 7 fo r 48 in W e llin g to n ’s first. In the first in n in g s o f C an te rb u ry no one reached d ou b le figu res. T h e next season saw a little more d o in g . O ta g o beat C an te rb u ry in a m atch of few runs b y 5 w ickets, L aw ton ta k in g 9 fo r 58, and D ow n es 9 for 78 for the w inn ers, wh ile fo r the losers A . M . L ab a tt had 8 fo r 63, W ild in g 5 fo r 42. A . H a rm an ’s 45 and L a b a tt’s 34 (both fo r the losers) were the high est scores. A t C h ristch u rch C an terb u ry and W e llin g ­ ton d rew , T . D . H a rm a n ’s 65 fo r the hom e side and R . V . B la c k lo c k ’s 75 and W . F r ith ’s b o w lin g (10 for 143) fo r the visito rs b ein g the ch ief features of the g am e . T h is season C an terb u ry did not win a m atch, her third e ssa y , a g a in st A u ck lan d at A u c k ­ land, e n d in g in a 4 w ic k e ts’ d efeat. W . G ard iner scored 61 for the hom e side, and in C a n te r b u ry ’s first R . N e ill, a slow bow ler, had 9 fo r 6 1. R . B . M ath ias (30 and 27) w a s h igh est scorer in each in­ n in g s fo r the losers. W e llin g to n had a hard tussle at N elson , p u llin g th ro u g h b y one w icket. M ost of the runs fo r W e llin g to n were m ade b y tw o e x -O ta g o men, L . M . H arris (59 and 17) and W . J. C raw sh aw (12 and 40). C raw sh aw , a schoolm aster, p la yed in succession fo r O ta g o , C an te rb u ry , W e llin g to n , and T a ra n a k i. T h e g re a t feature o f the 1892-3 season w as O ta g o ’s first northern tou r. T h e southern province met W e llin g to n and H aw k e ’s B a y for the first time, and won two and lost two o f the fou r m atches p la y ed . H a w k e ’s B a y went tinder in an inn in g s, and A u c k lan d b y 8 w ic k e ts ; then W e llin g to n beat the tou rists b y 6 w ic k e ts ; and in their last match they lost a g a in st C an te rb u ry b y 2 w ic k e ts— their old rivals not w in n in g out of their turn, for O ta g o had pu lled off the last three gam es. T h e sou thern p ro v in ce had a v e ry u sefu l team abou t th is period , th o u g h its b o w lin g stren gth w as greater th an its b a ttin g . It h a s a lw a y s had the credit o f b e in g stro n g in the attack , th o u gh at times its bow lers, used to the slow w ickets o f D uned in , have been pun ished h ea v ily on the faster g roun d s up north. D ow n es o n ly p layed in one o f the fou r m atches, and did little th e n ; b u t L aw to n took on tou r 30 w ick e ts for 286 runs, J. H op e 20 fo r 197, and A . H . F ish er 14 fo r 113 (7 for 37 at C h rist­ chu rch ). B u t perhaps the best feature o f the team ’s p la y w as F is h e r ’s b a ttin g . R e g a rd ed rather as b ow ler th an b atsm an , th o u gh it w as known he cou ld h it w e ll, he m ade 50, 38, 30, 29, 20, and 19 in his six in n in g s, and w as fou r times top scorer. F . W ild in g (23 and 45, n early tw ice as m any runs a s an yon e else made in the gam e, and 6 fo r 57) had a b ig h an d in C a n te rb u ry ’s vic to ry over O ta g o , and was. w e ll su p po rted b y a new b ow ler, E . Y . P alm er (8 for 45). B u t P alm er did not sta y lo n g in the front rank. F o r (W e llin g to n W . F rith (10 for 94) and E . F . U ph am (9 fo r 85) bow led finely a g a in s t the tou rists, and C . S . C ro ss (67 and 14) and R . Y . B la ck lo ck (33 and 34) batted w ell. U p h am ’s is one o f the great names in N ew Z ealand c ric k e t; he w as prom inen t in the marked advan ce in W e llin g to n cricket w h ich w as eviden t abou t th is tim e. F o r W e llin g to n v . H aw k e ’s B a y at N ap ier, a m atch won b y the form er side, th o u gh b y no very b ig m argin (41 runs) I). M . F u lle r scored 56 and E . F itzsim o n s took 9 fo r 56. H u g h L u sk w a s now p la y in g fo r H a w k e ’s B a y , and w a s to be a tower o f stren gth to the side fo r .years to com e. T h e season o f 1893-4 was qu ite a b u sy one. A u c k lan d toured a ga in ; H aw k e ’s B a y visited W e l­ lington and O ta g o ; the S ou th lan d and O ta g o m atch w as revived ; and a second N ew Sou th W a le s team visited N ew Z e a lan d . W e llin g to n also paid A u c k lan d a v isit. A u c k lan d w en t under h e a v ily at C h ristch u rch . H ere L . A . C u ff (176) and J. D . L aw ren ce (167— he had scored 123 when h is partner left) put up 306 (the N .Z . record still) fo r the first w icket, and their side won b y an in n in g s and 156 runs in the end. B u t the tou rists beat O ta g o b y 13 runs, after a tense s tr u g g le , and also defeated W e llin g to n in another h ea rt-stirrin g finish b y one w icket o n ly . R . N eill d id sp lend id w o rk for them in th is last m atch. F iv e fo r 56 and 7 fo r 76 were his b o w lin g figu re s; and he scored 19 and 32*, the latter in n in g s c a r ry in g his side to v ic to ry . A . R . H o ld sh ip , an E n g lish p la y e r settled in W e llin g to n , m ade 70 in the lo se rs’ first in n in g s. T h e O ta g o -C a n te rb u ry match at D uned in , won b y the hom e side b y 10 w ickets, had few rem arkable fe a tu res; bu t R . B . M a th ia s, a s at A u ck lan d two season s earlier, w as top scorer in each in n in g s for C an te rb u ry , m a k in g 35 and 48, and W illiam ( " P r o .” ) R ob ertson from S o u th lan d , w ho had ju st been en g a g e d to coach at C h ristch u rch , had 7 for 71 in O ta g o ’s in n in g s o f 200. H a w k e ’s B a y lost in an in n in g s both at W e llin g to n and Duned in ; for W e llin g to n F . L . A sh b o lt took 10 w ickets fo r 69, E . F . U p h am 7 for 5 1, and these tw o were am o n g the h igh e st scorers for th eir side, too, U ph am w ith 17 and 45, A sh b o lt w ith 30 and 24*, A . B la ck lo ck , w ith 25 and 37, ju st e q u a llin g U p h am ’s a g g re g a te . O ta g o beat S ou th lan d h ea v ily at In v e rca rg ill. L aw to n m ade 63 in the w in n ers’ first, W . P a rk e r 45 in their second , and the latter also took 12 for 73 in the m atch . T h e o n ly S o u th lan d p la y ers to d istin gu ish them selves at all were F . C . S tep h en ­ son , w ho later on p la y ed for sev eral other pro­ v in ces in su ccession w ith 11 fo r 135, and G . G . B u rn es, w ho made 34 in the first in n in g s. T h e second N .S .W . team w as qu ite a go od side. It included M . A . N o b le , a co lt in those d a y s, A . C . K . M acken zie, J. G o u ld , J. D a v is , W . S ea rle, Leon Moore, and oth er p la y ers o f repu tation . In