South Island: The Final Leg
History Makers—Part XXXV
What follows is the latest installment in our series on the inaugural women’s Ashes tour of 1934/35. The previous installment is here.
15th February 1935
The Picturesque Final Leg
The final leg of the England team’s tour on the picturesque South Island begins and ends at Lancaster Park in Christchurch, where they will take on New Zealand.
Match Four: 7th February 1935: Canterbury v England at Lancaster Park, Christchurch.
Close of Play: England 305 for seven wickets declared (ME Maclagen 143, ME Hide 32, JE Partridge 31, EA Snowball 25, MF Spear 23*, AM Bowen 3-84, E.Hooper 2-63). Canterbury 73 ( S Garner 30, Partridge 4-22, Maclagen 3-15 ) and 33-1 ( ME Marks 15*, MS Burletson 1-12 ). Match drawn. England won on the highest score in the first innings. Estimated Attendance: 2000
Maclagan’s Brilliance Continues
Warm applause greeted Canterbury’s captain Ruth Symons as she led her team onto the field resplendent in uniform skirts, caps, and ties at Lancaster Park. They hadn’t lost a representative match for four years before their game with England.
England won the toss and batted confidently, with nine runs coming from the first over. They had reached 42 in 33 minutes before Hooper, the fourth bowler used, yorked Snowball. The crowd enjoyed an elegant 82-run partnership between Myrtle Maclagan and Molly Hide before Hide mishit Bowen to M. Preece at mid-off.
Maclagan was batting effortlessly. Although she offered some sharp chances to the slips, she reached her century in 119 minutes and bought up England’s 200 with a crisp drive as England went to lunch at 3-204. They continued slowly after lunch, and Belworthy dropped Maclagan on the leg-side boundary as she tried to increase the scoring rate. But the runs began to flow until Belworthy took a brilliant one-handed slip catch to dismiss Maclagan for 143 in 166 minutes with 12 fours. The tail, especially Mary Spear, who scored 23 in 13 minutes, took England past 300 as they declared on 7-305.
Canterbury’s openers, Margaret Marks and Eva Hooper, contributed 33 for the first wicket before disaster struck. England ran out Hooper, Marks and Doris Preece, and Joy Partridge took three wickets as they collapsed to 6-38. Five wickets had fallen for five runs. Only Sadie Garner, who hit some lusty blows in her 30, offered any further resistance as Canterbury was dismissed for 73 and asked to follow on. They batted out the final 30 minutes, losing Hooper to Mary Burletson, and closing at 1-33. Canterbury’s fielding and bowling were nearly on par with England, but their batting lacked confidence.
New Zealand’s Inaugural Test Team
Ruth Symons, Caterbury’s captain since 1933, will captain New Zealand in the Test Match beginning on 16th February. Canterbury, the strongest domestic team, recently beat Otago by an innings in the Mary Machin Shield, a challenge competition for the South Island provinces. Symons, who took five wickets in the match, will bat in the middle order and do a lot of bowling in the test match. The average age of her team will be 20 compared to England’s 25. The New Zealand team is as follows: R Symons, aged 21 (Captain, Canterbury), I Pickering, 22 (Vice-captain, Wellington), A Ell 18, H Buck, 20 (Wellington), M Corby, 21 (Wanganui), M Marks 17, P Taylor, 17 (Canterbury) P Savin, 20, N Browne, 21 (Auckland) M Bishop, 25, H Miller, 19 (Dunedin) Twelfth M Norman, 19 (Canterbury).
Match Five: 9th February 1935: Otago v England at Carisbrook, Dunedin
Close of Play: England 308 for four wickets declared (ME Maclagen 114, E A Snowball 108 ME Hide 52*, H Hollis 3-79 ). Otago 48 ( MC Bishop 12, Hide 5-5, Maclagen 4-29 ) and 72-7 ( MC Bishop 32, J Little 20*, M Burletson 3-16, MA Richards 2-14, DM Turner 2-16). Match drawn. England won on the highest score in the first innings. Estimated Attendance: 3,000. Hours of Play: 10:30-12:30, 1:30- 3:45, 4:00-6:00
Maclagan Unstoppable in Brilliant Weather.
When Elsie Daniels, Otago's wicket-keeper captain, lost the toss, her team was destined for a long time in the field. Otago's fastest bowler, Helen Miller, went for ten runs in her first over. Snowball and Maclagan took the bowlers to task—fifty in 35 minutes. As Miller began to bowl faster and more accurately, the England batters were briefly pegged back but were still in complete control. They went into lunch at 181 without loss, Snowball on 97, and Maclagan on 80. They continued aggressively after lunch, completing their centuries before Bewley brilliantly caught Snowball. Otago fought back, running out Maclagan and Merle Hollis, taking three wickets. When Doris Turner joined Molly Hide, they were 251-4, but they put the bowlers to the sword, adding 57 in 33 minutes. England declared at 308-4.
Otago’s batting was poor, only Marge Bishop offering any resistance. Maclagan bowled unchanged, taking 4-29 in 14 overs. She had opened with Mary Spear, who, after seven economic overs, was replaced by Molly Hide, who was unplayable. She took 5-5 in 6.5 overs. Otago were all out for 48 and asked to follow on.
They did better against England’s second-string bowlers. Bishop and Little added 30 for the fourth wicket, scoring 32 and 20 not out, respectively. Mary Burletson was England's most successful bowler, with 3-16, as the home team was 72-7 when stumps were drawn. England was once again the strongest team, but Otago, like other provinces, did themselves credit in the field. Like her English counterpart captain and wicket-keeper, Daniels was impressive, especially standing up to the faster bowlers.
Details of New Zealand domestic players can be scarce. However, the Evening Star gave details about the Otago players before the match commenced.
Match Six: 12th February 1935: Invercargill v England at Queens Park, Invercargill
Close of Play: England 235 for four wickets declared (JE Partridge 76*, EM Child 48, E Archdale 45*, GA Morgan 41, P Steans 1-26 ). Invercargill 66 ( M Girkin 16, E Chamberlin 13, Partridge 6-39, MA Richards 2-11) and 28-6 ( EM Bell 14, GA Morgan 3-4, J Liebert 1-0, CA Valentine 1-1). Match drawn. England won on the highest score in the first innings. Hours of Play: 11:11-12:51, Lunch 78 minutes. 2:09-3:05. Tea between innings 18 minutes. 3:23- 5:46.
Partridge Flies High
England arrived the day before the game by express train and were taken on a motor tour of the Invercargill and its beautiful surrounds. In return for the excellent hospitality, they entertained the crowd with outstanding cricket, showing the gulf between English and New Zealand cricket.
On a sunny day, England’s openers, Mollie Child and Grace Morgan, added 83 for the first wicket in 61 minutes. The Invercargill fielding restricted the flow of runs, forcing the batters to play hit the ball around the field. Morgan offered a sharp chance that wasn’t taken on 40, but they began dominating the bowlers until Dickson caught both. This allowed Joy Partridge to come to the wicket. She batted soundly for the rest of the innings, remaining undefeated on 76 as Betty Archdale played a flamboyant captain innings of 45 in 47 minutes, including the first six of the tour, which struck a motor car near the fence.
The home team was soon in trouble, Mary Richards’s slow bowling taking both openers. It was now Partridge’s turn with the ball. Her slow bowling proved unplayable as she went through the team, taking 6-39. Girkin and Chamberlain added 22 for the fifth wicket, but their team was dismissed for 66 and asked to follow on.
Invercargill nearly lost the game by an innings when they lost six wickets for 28 before the stumps were drawn. Edna Bell scored 14, dispatching Mollie Child for six before falling to her in the next over. Morgan was given a rare chance to bowl the final over, which began with Invercargill on 3-24. With her second ball, Mollie Childs caught Catherine O’Harlaren. When Chamberlain was bowled for a golden duck, Morgan was on a hat-trick. Mckenzie struck the hat-trick ball for four, but when Spear caught her off the final ball of the match, Morgan had taken 3-4 in her second over of the tour.
As England returned to Christchurch, it reflected on the six provincial matches where it had outplayed the opposition but saw the potential of New Zealand’s women cricketers.
Please Note: Invercargill is referred to as Southland in press reports but as Invercargill in the scorebook and other tour material.
The scorebook of the tour tells many tales. The provincial games (pages 54 to 76) can be viewed here courtesy of Women’s Cricket History.
Match details have been collected from New Zealand Newspapers Archives and tour diaries.