SIDELINES

Press, 15 October 1982, Page 20

SIDELINES

WELLINGTON has finally accepted the loss of the Ranfurly Shield, according to our spy there. But still a topic of conversation is what the Wellington rugby coach, Mr lan L'pston, was saying to the Canterbury coach, Mr Alex Wyllie. Reports from those sitting near the two men say Mr Upston spent much of the match talking to Mr Wyllie rather than watching the game. They thought, from the expression on his face, and because his voice was kept low, that he was not congratulating Mr Wyllie on the performance of his team. BYES HAVE been avoided in the ninth and President’s grades of the Canterbury Cricket Association s competitions from tomorrow. There were originally 13 nominations for the President’s section, and nine for ninth grade. To avoid having two teams inactive each Saturday, the association’s competitions sub-committee gratefully accepted an offer by Sydenham to switch its ninth grade combination into President's. Sydenham now joins Lancaster Park and Old Collegians in having two President’s Xis.

A WELL-KNOWN Christchurch sportsman who has achieved some distinction in soccer and squash made a notable return to cricket after a two-year break last Saturday. He arrived 40 minutes late — the time having been spent in a fruitless search for his flannels — and missed an appointment to open the innings. He batted later and claims to be the innocent party in three runouts which occurred while he was at the crease. He went on to make his side’s top score, modest as it was, was eventually bowled and started walking off to the boundary furthest from the pavilion until told he was going the wrong way. To complete a memorable afternoon, he pulled a muscle while fielding. THERE HAVE BEEN complaints about the Avon River as a venue for rowing over the years, but in some ways Christchurch is lucky. Gale force warnings, re-emphasised by the inter-island ferry turning back to mooring from the Wellington Heads, led to the cancellation of the Redding Shield early-season rowing regatta. Officials said afterwards they could not risk competitors suffering from exposure.