CANTERBURY CRICKET

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21083, 7 February 1934, Page 15

CANTERBURY CRICKET

TO THE SDITOR Or THE PRESS. Sir, —A cable message in "The Press" to-day contains the names of a strong Australian cricket team to visit New Zealand in the near future. Had the standard of Canterbury cricket kept pace with the increase in population the cricket lover and the man in the street could have looked forward with confidence to an interesting game when these visitors arrive.

I have followed the game for more than 30 years, have seen it played in England and Australia, and with thousands of others, have enjoyed many a sunny day watching good cricket. Visiting Hagley Park last Saturday, I saw fouw> catches dropped in the slips within the hour! There was hardly a bowler worthy of a second eleven of the standard of 30 years ago, and the throwing in and fielding were deplorable. Yet these are the men from whom a team is to be chosen to play the Australians! We, the public, will go to Lancaster Park once again optimistically hoping for a game that will not develop into a farce. In the early days of this province most of the Canterbury representatives were the product of English public schools, but later, in the 'nineties, we had our Ridleys, Cuffs, Lawrences and De Maus—all bf local origin. Ask any of them to tell how they had to turn up to practice during the week, how their captain gave them special fielding and throwing-in practice, and how their cricket improved. I heard quite recently of a school boy with a beautiful bowling action playing in one of the squares in Christchurch, but as far as I know no attempt is made to keep an eye on that boy. and so on wc drift, cricket becoming more and more hopeless and the public less and less appreciative. What is wrong? Cannot those responsible stage a '-'comeback" for this grand old game to the higher standard of curlier days?— Yours, etc., HOPEFUL. February 1. 193-1.