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SPORT IN BRITAIN

! I " . LONDON, December i THE TUBF.

As usual some notable sportsman had i something interesting to say at the -annual Qnncrack dinner, winch follows j the York races. Naturally enough, the j betting tax came in for criticism, and' Sir Hngb Cunliffe-Owen declared-it was j harming racing and the hloodstcck in-: dustry. He believes fees people go to : .races on account of the tax on their-: bets, and he favors a system which will tax betting away from the course, but •' s■' not on it. That hardly seems just, and . u not likely to meet with Government aj-r-roval. Lord Lonsdale advanced an- I other idea, and one which would meet with, more support. It is *hat every - person who wishes to bet shall take out Va license at the start of the vear, just as one does for a gun cr motor car. Bookmakers to pay a bigger license than the backer. The licensing of. book-1 makers would be an excellent thing in * many nays, and do away with tho j "wrong 'an." It would be favored by s the honest bookmaker, because it I would wake betting legal and allow a punter to be proceeded against if he j failed to honor his bargain. The pre-r 1 sent tax on bets is a step, and it will; be strange if it does not lead to further : legislation. Another matter touched on by-Lord Lonsdale was regarding the idea of in-, trodncing the totahsator on racecourses. j He expressed the opinion that it might: be illegal, and that it would be as well for those concerned to first find' cot the Government's attitide. If a punter can place a bet with a book- i maker in the ordinary way it would in- ] deed be strange if it-were ruled illegal, to do so through another man, or men, > who fixed the odds, according to the - amount of money'invested. j Innovations are always opposed by ( many folks, whether it be a tax or an-. other system of betting, so -that - the! views expressed are not surprising. Everyone is heavily taxed, but so far as the betting tax is concerned all must realise that betting is not a necessity, and it really is fairer to tax: amusements, pleasures, and luxuries than necessities. |" - '/j;'; .< CBICKET. There must be many followers of ; cucket who remember how Wilfred : Rhodes, of Yorkshire, won his place as an England player for his bowling. | - Later on "he developed so much as_ a batsman that he used to go in with ' Jock Hobbs at the start of a test match. ] How be proved himself England's lead- ■ ing bowler in the past season, though ; Bearing fifty years of age, is, oTeourse, ■ fresh in the memory of all sportsmen. : It is possible that we_%hall see some- -; ' thing sim'l'"' happen in "the case of Tate, of Sussex, who has been batting splendidly with the English team now in India. He has zone in first and hit, up centuries in- dashing style; whilst, ' still retaining his form as a great : bowler. That Tate is batting .so well: is beneficial from a bowling point of i view, aa naturally he will not be so often called on to lead the attack; con- ' sequentiy the rest /wi'.i do him good. . He has already proved himself a great test bowler, ana it now looks as though . he may emulate Bhodes and earn his selection for Ins batting alone. ' ' England can do with a. few more all- . menders, as cue outstanding reason ] - Australian teams are so formidable is ' ■ that the batting has been good right * down to the eleventh man. - Btane cricketers are looking forward [ to the toxtr, of the New Zealand; eric- j keters. The dominion players will meet i some notable rivals, such as Yorkshire, < i Kent, Surrey, and. Lancashire, as well, ] as minor counties and scratch sides, so j that there will be every opportunity to 1 »ee how their i-neke* compares with 1 the New Zealand standard of Rugby, i - lihe Lancashire County Club, apart i from winning the county championship,' < is able 10 point to a balance of over < £IO,OOO. which shows that matters are, flourishing. The president of the club has just declared himself in favor of the smaller ball, believing this to be a step in the Tight direction, as bowlers have been unduly handicapped in recent through the over-preparation " oi wickets. - %.«UGW. gj| £ ■ ■ | * ; ,1 If French critics We* rigli*,-lhe i Siaoris+? have nude big improvement since the early part of their tour. It will be recalled that a French team defeated the vistton at Colotnbes Stadium, the scene of the 1924 Olympic Games, just before they crossed the Channel ior their British engagements. Returning to France, the Maoris met /another French side at Bordeaux, and .not only von, bat played such dashing football that their hosts have lavished great praise On them, "saying -the players' as a body represent the highest form, of physical development. '■■",',' .- > The match between Cumberland and Yorkshire in th» "northern group of the Rugby county championship ended in a surprise, the former winning 'by, 17 points to 6, which leaves Cheshire ; 'the onhr unbeaten county in this division. * The meeting of Harlequins and Leicester was a big feature in club match circles, and it was about the most exciting match seen at Twickenham this season. The visitors were leadingwith a minute to go, when Hamilton-Wicks gained possession and finished a great Rm by extra pointsf being added/so giving the "Quins" a last-moment success by 5 points to 3. - .>,-■:- Across the border the Jng encounter was the intercity jnateh between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It was largely a forward game, or, rather, one in which the fotward play was most impressive, das te> the slippery ball making handling difficult. Glasgow opened the scoring*, but Edinburgh Boon gainedtbe lead, and thereafter it was virtually a case, of scoring in tuirnsi4which made the very exciting. The place-, kicking of Glasgow was faulty, otherwise Edinburzh would - not have '" prevailed by eoca * margin" as 16 points to. 9;.~ ; .;.:; : _^_£i v "l ~ iQ'Zi .*'; ~ ; * L * *" SOCCER. ■'•..'•_ How equally matched the leading teams of the first division are is well -by ti» constant change" in the leadershq). No sooner does one team reach the top than--it- -is - deposed, as the case of Tottenham and 6m>&ls*nd in. the last . few weeks prove. Sunderland, the leaders, had * to visit Derby Connfy oh' Saturday, anjL as the latter are only one removed faun, the botton,* a, win; for the fsr-aoriac-fnere was The Derby players showed *op extra well, however, and won by 4 goafe te' 2-An-. other leading team, Hudderafield ' h&d to rest satisfied with a division _,■ of the points whenNrisiting Manchester L United, neither side sooting. J! Meanwhile, Newcastle brought off a

.» big performance by beatipg* West-Ham! 2 goals to 0, which places the winners at the top of the table with 24 points J for eighteen games. Sunderland claim itbe same total, but have fulfilled twenty •Jo i ' f tKat their" I neighbors are in a more favorable posi- ' tion. - ' _ , 1 1 Celtic made a big advance in the ■ a Scottish League championship on-Sat-' sjnrday.- Having to visit Motherwell was a! an ordeal, but the Celtic players just 1! won by 1 goal to 0. The win over the s j leaders was all the more valuable j -; through the unexpected failure ■of }} Glasgow Rangers when at home to j r'-. Hamilton Academicals. The visitors 1 registered 4.goals to 1 by the Rangers, t ; and- brought off a decided surprise. 1: Motherwell still top the tables with 25. fc points for seventeen matches, Rangers, - ■ with 24 for sixteen, being next, whilst t Celtic have "advanced considerably, and, * with 22 points for fifteen matches, now ; figure in the running. ' j *■ ATHLETICS. J During the summer of 1926 J. j. *. Webster accomplished several perform- [! ances .which made it appear likely he ( : would soon develop into a record- , i breaker as well as a champion. Per- _ i haps _ his greatest performance .was ifa ''winning the two-mile', steeplechase J < championship about an hour and a-half • Rafter -.he had, proved successful in the [ * fonr-mfle*'race in fast time. His time, .I in the steeplechase was over twenty j seconds better than any previous winner at Stamford Bridge had recorded, so \ that Webster's friends have reason for | their belief that he will gain Olympic J Games honors in 1928 should all go '; well.—He-recently underwent an operai tion for appendicitis, but is making good progress, and with reasonable j luck he will be fit to take part in the ! big cross-country championships in • March and ApriL The Caerleon Racej course, Newport, has been selected for the international on April 1, and the . champion will naturally- be expected to i show his best in this. France holds i the team championship at present, j though E. Harper, of England, man- ■ aged to gain individual honors last April, when the race was run in France. BOXING. . We diaU;soonlsee if Phil Scott has made the improvement his admirers claim. . He. is„ to.meet Van Der Veer at the Albert Hall early in January, and much will depend on the result. The Dutchman beat nim when they first met, whilst a second encounter ended in a draw. Apart I rem this, 'Van Der Veer outpointed'H. Persson, of Denmark, whilst the latter r vas too good for Scott when they met at Hol- , land Park six months ago. Thus, on form, the Hollander to win, but Scott shaped so well in his latest match , that he may even things up. Against ' ; Luneaa, of France, a fiiiely-ouilt man - with "-a punch, he cut loose from the ' start, and showed suo'a vim and pi'icH- 1 ing ability that he knocked out his ' _ rival in about two minutes. Jf Sctti ' displays the same -ensd3n--e and skill 1 • against Van Der .Veer b e may vtry • . likely win. | Leh Johnson, the Manchester middle- ' weight, appeared to be winning easily ' against Ettienne, of France, in their 1 bout at'the Ring, London, this veok, < but accidentally delivered a blow be- ! low the waist-line. The Frenchman ' was doubled up with pain, and the • referee'very . rightly disqualified the ' colored boxer, tne incident happening 1 in the fifth round.''--Johnson-''was c«-i- 1 tainly unfortunate, - as-he showed him- ■ self the better man so far as the con- I • test went. i ( . BILLIARDS. % - 1 } Both Smith and Davis have been , .showing remarkable form.-in thfir , 1 match at Glasgow, Davis with 3.000 , I points start In-18,000. He was 2,345 points in front at halfway, due largely to breaks of 608 and 748. Smith made breaks of 661 and 762 towards the mid- ; | way stage, whilst!he has drawn close ■ to his rival since, thanks to breaks of ! '6*3o and 793, so that his prospects of : • victory now look good. ;

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AHCOG19270216.2.26

Bibliographic details

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1576, 16 February 1927, Page 7

Word Count
1,797

SPORT IN BRITAIN Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1576, 16 February 1927, Page 7

SPORT IN BRITAIN Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 1576, 16 February 1927, Page 7

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