Cricket 1914

M ay 30, 1914. THE WORLD OF CRICKET. 189 Overseas C r ic k e t C h a t . NEW ZEALAND . A minor interprovincial match between the Auckland and Wellington Mid-Week Associations was played a t Wellington during the Easter holidays. Harris scored 115 and C. G. Wilson 51 for the home side (322) ; for Auckland (77 and 86) top scores were made by two interprovincial players, Horspool (35) in the first innings, and Somervell (47) in the second. Ryan had 9 for 49 for Wellington. ' Grange C.C. won the Dunedin premiership for the seventh time (including one season in which they tied with Opoho) in the 32 seasons during which the competition has existed. It began in 1877-8, but lapsed from 1883-4 to 1887-8 (five seasons). For Grange A. Eckhold, the steady interprovincial player, headed the batting averages with 40-1 per innings, and took 46 wickets at just over 8 each, too. A. Downes, the veteran of Otago cricket, averaged 21-7 with the bat and had 60 wickets at under 8 each. For Carisbrook B, who were the runners-up, A. W. Alloo scored many more runs than anyone else (302, average over 27), and J. Ramsden (57 wickets at 10-15 each) was the principal howler. Another veteran, H. G. Siedeberg, topped Carisbrook B ’s batting, with 283 runs, average 40-42. R. M. Rutherford (27 at i 9'44 each) took most wickets. J. W. Condliffe, the Otago wicket-keeper, who has at last been given a chance in the N.Z. team, headed the Dunedin batting with just 30 per innings, and R. C. Torrance (34 wickets a t 15-44 each) was easily the side’s most effective bowler. The Opoho and Albion averages are not to hand. Through the greater part of the season Dunedin had too much rain, and wickets were seldom easy. In Christchurch, where better weather was experienced, batting averages ruled much higher. The Sydenham C.C. won the premiership in fine style, with 18 points as against the 9 of Riccarton and Linwood, who tied for second place. Sydenham won all their seven matches. The Christchurch averages are given in the Weekly Press and Referee in such a form th at comparison is easy. H. B. Whitta (Riccarton) heads the batting, with a three-figure average. He played 8 innings, once not out, and totalled 737— average 105-28. He is followed by F. Woods (Sydenham) with total 598 and average 85-42 ; D. Reese (W. Christchurch), 450 and 64-28 ; R. G. H ickmott (St. Albans), 309 and 51-50, and H. A. Bishop (St. Albans), 462 and 42-00. Reese and H ickmott were away for several weeks with the N.Z. Team, in Australia, and injuries kept W hitta out of a match or two. T he last-named, b y the way, was never dis­ missed under double figures. Other batsmen who have played for Canterbury average as under : A. W. Thomas, 40-75 ; A. Norman, 39-77 ; W. Hayes, 38-44 ; C. E. Beal, 37-44 ; D. M. Sandman, 36-50 ; E. R. Caygill, 3 6 1 1 ; W. R. Patrick, 31-75 ; T. A. Carlton, 30-66 ; J. L. Pater­ son, 27-66 ; H. Watson, 23-55 • and G. C. L. Wilson 20-62. Fifteen centuries were registered : three b y F. Woods, two each by H. A. Bishop, D. Reese, and H. B. W hitta, and one each by the Rev. C. S. Bryan-Brown (an English schoolmaster who has temporarily exchanged with Harold Lusk), T. A. Carlton, A. T. Donnelly, R. G. Hickmott, D. M. Sandman, and A. W . Thomas. G. C. L. Wilson stands out very prominently among the bowlers— his average (9-62) the best and his tale of wickets (53) more than 50 per cent, higher than anyone else’s. A. W. Thomas (30 at 14-90), H. Watson (28 at 12-57), E. E. Crawshaw (28 at 17-07), and C. E. Beal (22 at 12-86) also merit mention. Others took over 20, but in general at rather heavy cost In the whole competition 569 wickets realised 12,748 runs, or nearly 23 per wicket, which must be something very near record for New Zealand club cricket. It is worth noting that Sydenham teams also headed the second and third grade competitions, in the latter, however, tieing with Riccarton B. J. V. Saunders’s engagement with the Wellington C.A. has expired, and he will return to Melbourne, though it is quite on the cards that he may go back to New Zealand for the 1914-5 season. H. McGirr, who has shown good form in Wellington cricket this season, is likely to be seen in Melbourne, as Colin McKenzie has offered to find him a billet there. An interesting match— which one believes to be quite a new fixture— was played at Christchurch at Easter, when elevens selected from the Universities of North Island and South Island met. The game was drawn, South Island scoring 278 and 218 for one (E. E. Luttrell 123*), North Island 279 (S. W. Dempsey 96*) and 129 for 3. A. P. Alloo took 6 for 66 in North’s first—• a good analysis in such a total. UN ITED STATES. The season in California was started on Sunday, May 10th, with brighter prospects than for some years past. It does not seem to be clearly laid down whether the " improvements ” in­ troduced last year, one of which was that each maiden over should count two runs to the batting side, are still technically in force ; they were not employed, anyway. Barbarians (156 — E. Anstey 68, the highest score he has ever made in 10 years of cricket on the Pacific Coast) easily beat Alameda (55) at Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate (126 — F. M. Guilford 43) defeated San Mateo (90— C. j. Davis 46) at E l Cerrito Polo Field, San Mateo Co. E. A. Singer took 7 wickets for 14, and caught two of the others. Among the San Mateo players was H. Hastings, an old Harro­ vian and a prominent polo player, who is taking up cricket again after some years’ lapse. Davis, who made top score v. Golden Gate, is said to be an old Dorset player. Two garner are played each Sunday, there being only four clubs in the Association. In the Halifax Cup matches at Philadelphia on May 16th, Frankford (134— S. H. Hart 40, W. W. Foulkrod 39) beat Merion (105— John L. Evans 45, W . N. Morice 32), and Germantown (151 for 7— H. P. Austin 42, R. P. Anderson 39) defeated Moores- town (112— Brooking 39). The Philadelphia Cup match between Germantown B (53) and Philadelphia B (304 for 7) saw the first century of the season recorded, H. R. Cartwright making 107. J. W. Muir helped the total to the extent of 72. + T h e 46th annual issue of T h e C r ic k e t C a l e n d a r (published by the Cricket Press, 25, Temple Chambers, E.C.) contains the usual list of fixtures, with some special articles, including one on the Zingari tour in Egypt, and another on the M.C.C. in South Africa. There are portraits of Mr. F. H. Browning, Mr. J. W. H. T . Douglas, and Barnes. Price 6d. T h e P u b l ic S c h o o l C r ic k e t Y e a r B o o k (edited by Mr. A. W. Lane- Joynt) deals with cricket at all the chief schools, and has besides special articles by Capt. E. G. Wynyard, Messrs. A. W. F. Rutty, A. C. M. Croome, and A. Podmore. There are numerous illustrations, well reproduced. The book can be had of Messrs. Hammond, Hammond and Co., Ltd., 12, Paternoster Row, E.C. D. A. D. S e w e l l , who is at the R.M.C., Camberley, is bowling in deadly form this year, and ought to be of great assistance to Bucks in August. But D. A. D. is not, as a Sunday paper makes him, the son of the Gloucestershire cricketer, any more than his father, E. H. D., is (as Australian papers would have it) a South African by birth. For the benefit of those who are still inclined to confuse the two let it be stated that E. H. D.’s record is Bedford, India (where he made runs by the thousand), Essex, and Bucks; C. O. H.’s Maritzburg, Natal, South African Team of 1894, and Gloucestershire. Is that plain enough ? If further marks of distinction be needed, C. O. H. is a lawyer and E. H. D. is not. But this is scarcely a visible mark.