Keeping Score: Butcher, Baker, But No Candlestick-maker, Cricket 1884

The Star, Issue 5194, 27 December 1884, Page 3

"A cricket match was played, on the Rangiora cricket ground yesterday, Publicans v. Butchers and Bakers. H. Archer captained the former, and Mr T. Dench the latter. At the conclusion of the game, one score sheet gave the Publicans the victory by two runs, and the other, their opponents by three. The game, therefore, remains undecided."

Won, lost, tied, drawn, these are the accepted outcomes of a cricket match. But undecided?

One can conjecture as to the cause for the scoring discrepancy, with alcohol probably implicated in the scorers' inattention to accuracy.

Kuaka recalls helping make up numbers on a side playing Sunday pub cricket while in his teens. The novel innovation in pub cricket was that every third wicket was a "beer wicket" where batsmen and fielding side of legal age retired to the pavilion for a beverage. Minors were provided with a lemonade (7 Up for today's youth).

The news report is silent on the matter of why the candlestick makers were not invited to make up the butcher & baker side. (You need to know your nursery rhymes to get the reference).

Notable Celebrity Guests at the Hotel St George, Perretts Corner, Wellington

In addition to the Beatles, a range of notable guests stayed at the Hotel St George, Willis Street, at the Perrett's Corner intersection over the years - musicians and sportsmen among their number:

Violinists Yehudi and Hepzibah Menuhin stayed at the St George in July 1951. Here they autograph photos for fans. Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.

Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.

Members of the English cricket team "relax" (in suits!) in one of their rooms at the Hotel St George. In the 4 day test match against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, Wellington between 24 - 28 March, 1951, England won by six wickets. Spectators must have got a lot of sleep in during the match with an average run rate of 2 runs per over being posted by both sides.

Evening Post Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.

During their 1951 tour of New Zealand to play the New Zealand Maori team, the Fiji team stayed at the St George. Here, three team members display their mementos obtained on the tour.

Another Day at the Cricket - Rangiora Oval

Rangiora's Oval, December 30, 2008

A splendid ground to watch cricket on a hot, calm day in Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand. A little bit more shade would be nice, but Canterbury Country Cricket Association is working on it.

The home side, the Canterbury Wizards lost by 4 wickets to Northern Districts. A result that I called correctly after I thought Canterbury posted too low a score and which displeased my eldest brother! Apologies for a sloppy cut & paste editing job, but all I could manage on-the-road...

A Day at the Cricket

There's nothing like a day at the cricket when the weather is warm & sunny as it was Sunday at Christchurch's QEII Village Green.

The Canterbury women's cricket team, here in the field, lost their one day game by seven wickets to the Northern Spirit. Wilkins and Browne, both batting when this photo was taken, each scored 50 runs + apiece.

Black Caps Save Face in First Test Cricket Against Bangladesh

The New Zealand Black Caps saved face in the first test of their series against Bangladesh in Bangladesh. After a weak batting effort in their first innings, the Black Caps compiled their highest total in a 4th innings in a test on foreign soil in a 343-test history. Full scorecard at cricinfo.com

Needing 317 to win, opener Aaron Redmond (79), Daniel Vettori (76) and Daniel Flynn (49) provided the necessary backbone to position Oram and Mills to add the final few runs to complete the victory.

Vettori provided a stable and experienced presence for his younger batsmen in the middle after he came in as nightwatchman near the close of the 4th day. This settled the innings and turned the innings in New Zealand's favour as the Vettori and Flynn partnership consolidated then chipped away at the run total.

Given the level of youth and inexperience in the Caps' batting line up, more thought should be given to Vettori moving up the batting line-up to play the kind of role he played in this test that would likely not only improve game results but also bring on the younger batsmen's development at a faster pace.

Sports Roundup - Black Caps, Black Ferns

The Black Caps won their third & final ODI game with Bangladesh by 79 runs, sealing a wobbly series win. Ross Taylor and Jamie How stepped up for the top order with a century for Taylor (103 runs in 119 balls) and How (73). The rest of the batting order posted a mediocre performance. But the Taylor - How partnership was enough to post a total of 249 that Bangladesh could not match in their 50 overs, batting through to 170 for 8 at the close.

And news that fast bowler Shane Bond may become eligible again to play for New Zealand will be greeted enthusiastically by cricket fans. Bond was banned last year from representing New Zealand when he joined the "rebel" Twenty20 Indian Cricket Leagus (ICL) contrary to the policy of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The Black Ferns, New Zealand's womens rugby team, overwhelmed the Wallaroos, the Australian team by 37-3 in Canberra. The Ferns extended their unbeaten record against Australia to 9 games since the first Trans-Tasman international in 1994.

Black Caps Level Cricket ODI series with Bangladesh

Jacob Oram dispatches a ball down the leg side. Cricinfo, AFP.

Saving some face after a trouncing by Bangladesh in the first game of their ODI (One Day International) cricket series, New Zealand's Black Caps came back with a win in the second match in Mirpur. New Zealand 212/9 in 50 overs, Bangladesh all out for 137 in 42.4 overs. Full scoreboard and report here.

Only solid middle order batting by Jacob Oram and tighter bowling by the Black Caps (Kyle Mills 3/13 off 6.4 overs) prevented another embarrassing day for New Zealand as the top order batting collapsed once again. Top order collapses may be the order of the day for some time yet as new, inexperienced blood becomes steeled in batting at the international level, though on this occasion it was the more experienced hands that failed to get started.

Mills knocked over the first two wickets in the Bangladesh innings which meant the rest of the order was under much more pressure than in the first ODI, resulting in the innings petering out at 137.

Glenn Turner, NZ selector & former test player, has it right when he calls for a more professional approach to New Zealand cricket (interview here). New Zealand has a thin player base to draw from and must compete to keep its best players from moving abroad, but pride in workmanship is a vital element in playing professional cricket, a point that seems to have been lost on many Black Caps in recent years who have been content to collect their pay cheques without the prerequisite productivity.

A Day in Infamy in Trans-Tasman Cricket

The low point in trans-Tasman cricketing relations was the infamous underarm bowling incident in the World Series Cup final on 1 February 1981 between Australia and New Zealand.

Australia, dominant in world cricket in modern times, does not always simply allow its superior skill to determine the outcome of a game.

The unsporting final act of underarm bowling the final delivery in the game, though not illegal, was widely regarded as underhanded, even by many Australians including commentator Richie Benaud, a former Australian test player, who makes clear what he thought of the underarm bowling at the end of the video clip below.

New Zealand could only tie the game by hitting a six on that last delivery, so there was no prospect of an Australian loss.

It certainly took a long time for the poor sportsmanship demonstrated by the Chappell brothers on this occasion to be forgotten or forgiven.

Canterbury Cricket Want Hagley Oval as Test Cricket Venue

The Canterbury Cricket Association (CCA) and New Zealand Cricket want Hagley Oval located in Hagley Park to serve as the CCA’s headquarters and the provincial and test cricket venue in Christchurch.

They'll have to move the sheep first.... Actually, this is North Hagley Park, the Oval is in South Hagley Park and the sheep are long gone. Postcard by Muir & Moodie circa 1905

Christchurch has been denied a test venue since Canterbury cricket was no longer able to use Lancaster Park, now AMI stadium for its games or for test cricket over a decade ago. Since then Canterbury games have been played at QE II's Village Green – a wind swept, sunburn bowl.

Canterbury Wizards v Northern Districts, Jan 6 2007 at the QE II Village Green

Moving the venue back closer to the centre of the city would be a return to the location of Canterbury cricketing activity at the club level over many decades. Spectators might enjoy some more tree shade too.

Perhaps too the cricketing elite will be more comfortable back in Hagley, adjacent to the Christ College sports grounds, and away from the less affluent suburbs of the north-eastern coastal suburbs. The well-heeled will have an easier time of it coming in from the upper class neighbourhoods of the north-western suburbs and be able to enjoy their cricket in a more "English-like" setting. Christchurch is still a class-divided town.

The CCA says Hagley “will be a Cricket Oval not an Entertainment Venue with AMI Stadium continuing to host International One Day and Twenty20 Internationals. At Hagley, we envisage low grass embankments and sympathetic refurbishment of the existing buildings for facilities and to house Canterbury Cricket’s offices.”

The Christchurch City Council will hold a meeting on September 11 to consider whether to recommend the Hagley Oval be adopted as Canterbury’s cricket venue.

Let's hope the Christchurch Council & Canterbury Cricket don't hit their stumps on this one...