N.Z. CRICKETERS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19154, 10 November 1927, Page 9

N.Z. CRICKETERS.

TOUR IN ENGLAND. GBNERAL SURVEY. , ™*KiiU.r irsrrrtK tor the press.) (By Colonel Philip Trevor, 0.8. E.) No. XX. i ' _ September 30. |.«thii mylast article before speak- &» general of the tour of the New which is now over, I crave ■*• to say a f ew words on the aub- £*•«* (a) fielding and (b) running P**» wickets. I*jj» with no little pleasure that 1 gwl tjie fact that the fielding of the rs ' which at the teginQtt' the tour was not all that wo wished, did, as the tour |^ M > TOibly and sensiblv improve. inffl ea v thin 8 t0 sav ' that tbere r«u room for improvement. At the i*l, ? e . - 1 "toiM regard! a remark jj£3* *»<* as fatuous did I not Cy*" *uch improvement was reaR Possible. Tried bv the stance **t-clau fielding in England t""«« &y the leading first-class counHl me \e T Zealanders by the S*J. • L V ly compared favourably ?3F chief opponents. Thev were jj*™ry of much catch-dropping and ?■ were they guilty of failure in g*»PP»ng. But on the few occaVtrfiZ i y were U P against two U*»rK-class batsmen who were also JW runners between wickets it • jMde moderately obvious that yrttttrmng of the ball to the f*"" much to be desired. In v«spect our own people in Eng*£tA to faiL * have befor6 %gr** the case of the 1921 Aus(•i «i l s ' s - vears that have |*,S n * they came here no EngSlS 1 Eleven, much less an KJ" county side, has approached »1 l*v *' luch thei e men set up. kT* Mid before, the practical ™*t kind of fielding can be fiss». ?* lcasfc a hunt lred runs I*T?P- I am sure that these SMu* 6 Xew Zealanders who it!,.* 5 can do appreciablv as Wtensive practice in this im- £: *»fwcular as those 1921 AusSSTj,,;?!. Tlle same kind of in■»M*tive is also applicable to "running between wickets. Mt three of the best New wtsmen were not instant I of « tUn when batting, nor »?LJ em^ at pains to run tne '■**:. There were, of course. Options to this rule, and it "r I*/there 1 */there were these excepjr*« uoted the failure of the I have mentioned. « lo more general matters. It £*}*•' the season that Lord htt la a Public speech that 2 "e Xew Zealanders came **«Wd legitimatelv claim to j? «»t matches with us. With "MUty, I veiituro to call atrt "« fact that it was nearlv * made that claim on their „* m ake .it with even more S«^r VThis f,rst visit of ?*»»«. t' had t0 be tentative, j? P ° bc ' Avoidable that 2S*iecoa^i , fixturc lists matches Wtar M were far too iaaj 7 .. 0r all of our second class •&• b»T i WBa * th °usand pities .. "W". • e,y Public point of view

that they should have been compelled to play these matches. . la this country we are hide-fbound in the matter of cricket labels. As long as a cricket match or a cricket sjde is labelled first-class there is public support for it; there is practically no public support for what is labelled second class. We have seventeen counties which aro officially first class. Yet we all know tha,t in the case of about half of them that label is undeserved. And because it is undeserved it is often urged that some of these counties should be dropped into their right position, which is second class. But always has one effective retort been made to that argument: "You will kill them stone dead if you do." So, you see, the New Zealanders have been automatically handicapped by this peculiar labelling system of ours.

The Kext Tour. I look with confidence to ,the next tour of the New Zealand cricketers in England. Their batting, as I have often said, is not merely intrinsically very good batting, but also the kind of batting which wins three-day matches. And that is what we want. We shall never in this country consent to have the unlimited time "match. The New Zealanders have proved a great social and I use the word social in its broadest and best sense. They came unheralded by the braying of trumpets. They came, they said, to learn, and they did learn. But they also taught; so you see they went beyond their contract. Wherever they went they made friends, and at the risk of making comparisons which are said to be odious, I will adventure the statement that no country engaging on a tour in this land for the first time has ever sent men who more truly and accurately embodied the amateur spirit than the men who have just left us. They played the game for the game's sake, and by so doing reminded us that it is still possible to maintain that healthy spirit. The chief argument in favour of professional cricket is that our professional cricketer with scarcely an exception is such an uncommonly good chap. He makes the profession; it is not the profession makes him. For all that, it is cricket, the game, that counts and always will count. It is for that reason we are able to say with pride of the first New Zealand team that has visited England: "They played the game-"

LORD MAYOR'S FAREWELL. VFSOM OVR OWN COBRESrOKDE.ST.) IiONDON, September 24. A good deal of entertainment was crowded into the last few hours the New Zealand cricketers spent in London. On the Monday night Mr Arthur Sims, the New Zealand veteran cricketer, who had much to do with arranging the tour, was their host. He gave a very pleasant and informal dinner to his fellow countrymen at the Princess Restaurant. Afterwards they were his guests at the performance of "The Vagabond Kiug" at the Winter Garden. Later, the party returned to the Princess Restaurant Cabaret where the cle\-er young New Zealand dancer, Miss Joan Beere, is performing with her partner, Doret. ' On the Monday, Mr Douglas Hay, the manager of the team, nad called on the Lord Mayor, Sir Rowland Blades, to pay his respects and to bid

him goodbye. The Lord Mayor then expressed his desire to entertain the team and asked if they could dine with him that evening. As they were to be the guests of Mr Sims, this was impossible. Not to be outdone in his hospitality, Sir Rowland suggested a "lightning breakfast" on the following morning and the invitation was accepted. The Lady Mayoress and her twin daughters acted as hostesses, and several friends of the Lord Mayor were also present. The Mansion House gokl plate was displayed. "You have shown us how to play cricket in the public interests," said the Lord Mayor during the breakfast, when he proposed the team's health in a cup of tea. "You have' played the game as it should be played," he added, "and we want to see you again very soon." He referred to the fine, free cricket they had played to the great enjoyment and pleasure of the spectators. They had a splendid start at Lord's and went on from strength to strength creating a fine record of "6's." Blunt had made 2000 runs and taken 96 wickets, Dempster's /runs also exceeded 5000. and Merntt. a vouth of 19. had taken 170 wickets. Thev had played in a sportsmanlike manner and were justly popular throughout their stay. •

Worthy Bepresentatives. Lord Jellicoe, who was also present, said that, like every other Englishman, he had been impressed by the sportsmanlike cricket of the team. "I think," he said, "possibly our county cricket suffers a little from the championship table which is published so frequently. But the New Zealanders were not handicapped by any considerations of that sort, and always went for the runs. In some of their matches against the strongest teams they had every prospect of winning, especially against the champiou County, and then the rain came down. They are worthy representatives of the great people of the country whence they came. Full of grit, determination, and sportsmanship, they have shown the finest spirit throughout the tour, -and maintained the best traditions of their country in the Motherland."

Mr D. Hay, manager of the team, who replied, said: "We are a small country, but we want to grow up to be a Britain in the Pacific. We only want population—men and women from the British Isles —to make us a great country." Half an hour later the members of the team were at the Victoria Station. Among the company to see them off were the Lord Mayor. Earl Jellicoe, Lord Harris, Lord Hawke. Colonel C. Heseltine. Mr H. L. G. LevesonGower, Mr H. D. Swan. Mr R. Aird (assistant-secretary of the M.C.C.), Sir Charles Kirkpatrick, Mr Arthur Sims. Mr Harper. Mr and Mrs C. J. Wray, Mr M. C. Barnett. and a number of other New Zealanders. Mr Hay travelled with the team to Paris, but he will return to London for a month. Mr Lowry delayed his departure to go straight through to join the Otranto at Toulon. Cheers were given for the team as the boat train left the platform .