On the Greens

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 108, 3 November 1923, Page 18

On the Greens

QUERELOUS PLAYERS

PICKING HOLES IN MATCH COMMITTEES

PRACTICE THAT SHOULD CEASE.

(By "Nuhbeb Two.")

a. "c nrst ot this season's series of pennant games is scheduled to start today. During the bad weather since the opening of the season few players have had any opportunity of practice, and this, combined with the heavy state of the greens at this time of the year, can hardly make for a high standard of play to;day. Still, a atart ia being mad6j that is satisfactory— the more so as it is a revival of the contest for the old pennant which, was originally presented by Mr.. Thomas Ballinger, of the Wellington Club. Contemporaneous with petition t h° dUCt iOn °f *& Pe»nani c°m pet tion there has come to life-again the spuit of cn, rP lnS criticism of match committees and the manner in which they discharge their onerous functions. I "A. it was in the beginning, is now, and ever snail be, pennant competitions without end seems to be the motto of some play: ers m this matter of criticism of team selection but this does not make the job of the selectors any the easier. Match committees are elected by clubs to execu'e * ias} of a most difficult nature, and the decisions of these committees should be accepted with good grace, not with as good grace as possible, or any qualification of that description. If fault is to be found with the work of the selectors in perpetuo, then why elect selectors at all? If they are asked to carry out certain official duties, members fIW h ? omm] ttef s ha™ a right to have their choice of players respicted. Differences of'opinion there must be, but \t is time that a period was put to this continual hickering over who should be in and who out of pennant teams. Of course, match committees have it in their P f °W*t r t0 *deal with Players guilty of the offence of bowling contumac/ namely, ty standing them on the bank m favour of someone else. Match committees cannot be dictated to by the players, otherwise the office would be farcical, and. not even a decent sort of sinecure, if there is such a thing. "Hon soit qm mal y pense"-"Evil be to him ! I Vw\ Oi " thinks"-^ould be printed in bold type in parentheses underneath «\ l?? the raatch c°mmittee on each club member's card to serve as a constant reminder that "poking bom" at the committee is not strictly in. ori &*£&.£&£&&£ a condition pi entry m inter-club com petitions for all club members to be sel--ected ,n rotation. A bowler with a grievance against his club's match com m.ttee was for the thousandth time airing h:s troubles on this point to ,his wife. ■ Her comment in reply was ruthless: "I'm said "win theSe cr plaints-" she said. If I had my way I'd get all tliose cantankerous bowlers, flood the green and drown the lot of them!" It is to be feared that if 6Uch a drastic Vnish ment were meted out there would be a heavy dram on some, clubs' membership. No. 2 IN A KINK. It is not-often that the position of H™ V "1 k V 5 referred to with any degree of enthusiasm by bowlers and .the fact that No. 2 is called upon to execute difficult position shots mates h£ pb a thankless one if his skip is a ; 'grouser" without a heart. Those un ; fortunate beings. . therefore, who a?e chosen to shine as the second players in witll T -T n dlstrietio» if they can will read with much comfort the following remarks of an Australian writer on tiie importance of the role they fill • — I Anyone is not good enough for No. ;rinl-^ t 1S Tth, e, value of a No- 2in » imk.' Invaluable, because any bowler who can play that position properly must be a first-class drawer of the Shot I must be able to play, those difficult shots I-the position shots-and also be able : to drive. That being so, I cannot see .why so many turn up their noses at being placed iso. 2. The old idea of the second man being the weak one of the , nnk is dying out, and selection commitjtees and captains -.are becoming more anxious to _ obtain special men to occupy that position. Every skip knows the extra strain put upon him when playing an ordinary No. 2. In learning fhi , game strive to get in the lead and stay there for three seasons, then drop it and ! play No. 2 for ffc or three seasons. By l that time,' !f there is any bowling in you jit will show itself, arid you will become j fit to occupy a third position in a rink ! taking it-for granted that you have (during your apprenticeship/been carefulily watching your captain's methods of ! directing and handling his men. A No 1 .5 is a No. 2, plus being a good director; therefore, to my mind, an ideal No. 2 jis a fto. 3 in important matches. A No ?, may. Make a good skip. So you see , that by paying close attention to your I ™°?\ as No- 2 you are qualifying for a skipship. No. 2 is such an'important position that, should' any bowler fool away his time in it, his chances to rise to any great height are remote. I have heard some bowlers say: "Oh, I have never played No. 2." Those men. I : pity; their loss cannot be recovered, and they are incomplete. The bowler who : has risen from leader to No. 2, to No. 3, then to skip, is the man who is more likely to get t\ most out of his men; lor he who has played in all positions can enter sympathetically into the feelings of. those who comprise his rink. Every season you will find that, mainly through the play of No. 2, matches have been won. I have some in my mind s eye while writing. Cheer up, No. <s s! You occupy a unique and important position, and good fortune attend you all during the coming season.. ROTORUA TOURNAMENT. The programme for the twenty-second annual tournament of the Rotorua Bowling Club has been issued. Two five-day tournaments are to be held, No 1 opening on Monday, 4th February, and No. 2 on 18th February. Each tournament is limited to 55 teams, and entries will be received for either or both. In the case of any team, nominating for both tournaments, the following conditions are to apply: The entry for No. 1 will be accepted unconditionally, provided the nominations are received in time; but if the necessity arises, the entry for No Z tournament will lwve to concede preference ia favour o£ team* who have not

nominated for No. 1 tournament. For the first tournament not more than-five entries will be accepted from any one club. Entries will b' B accepted according to priority of receipt. For No. 1 tournament nominations close on Saturday, 19th January, and for No. 2 on 9th February. WICKB. ' Mr. J. C. Hedmond, of the Wellington Club, who haß returned from Sydney, was, with his brother, Mr. G Bedmond (Victoria), present at the annual meeting of the New South Wales Bowling Association. He states that it was a regular Parliament, being attended by 120 delegates from the different clubs. The proceedings were ■characterised with • great enthusiasm, and were conducted in a very businesslike manner. Mr. James Wall, the president, in his opening remarks, referred to the presence of the Redmond brothers, and the welcome which was accord-1 ed the visitors they accepted as a distinct compliment to New Zealand.

The dreamy influence attributed by a Wellington bowler to his tan shoes caused a recoil upon his ■ defenceless head m the midst of his family circle last Saturday night. The trundler was reading to his wife and daughter a paragraph in "Number Two's" notes copdemnatory of the-use of white shoes in tournament matches, and he took occasion to remark that h e -never wore white shoes himself. "You know," he said, "I always fee! in another' world when I am playing in my tan shoes:" 'Is there any chance of your not coming back, Dad?" suddenly inquired his daughter of the romantic-minded parent. That bowler has bought a pair of white shoes thisMveeki and says he is going to stick to hock and soda for the future.

Once there was a ladies' bowling club at Kelburn, but it went out. of existence. In Sydney, however, there is a ladies' club attached to the South Ashfield Bowling Club, and the .24' members are capable of playing an excellent game. There is also a. ladies' club at Newcastle and' at Katoomba. Melbourne and Hpbart have female bowlers who are proud of their ability to kiss the jack occasionally.

There is considerable comment on the enormous expense incurred by .the clubs in and around the city through the "installation of sterilising plants, says "Trundlev" in the Auckland "Star." It certainly seems a. wast© of money for •each club to have its own plant, when by combining the expense could be cut down to a fraction. It only requires a little supervision, and the centre could run the whole thing, not necessarily to manage it directly, but to ararng-e a contract with an experienced person of repute, who would then supply sterilised soil at so much per load. In fact, if an expert were secured a scale of charges could probably be arranged, to include spreading and levelling, or else for the bare delivery on the ground. . Either way would cost a mere fraction .of the present expensive method. A few years ago a concerted scheme was mooted "for growing turf for all the clubs, but it met with a bad reception, on account of the difficulties in securing uniformity of quality, and the very small saving in cost. Sterilised soil, however, is a quite a_ different proposition, for it is expensive for a single club to . get its own supply, whereas' an, enormous saving would ,be effected by ■combining. This is j* matterjlo which the centre, executive might give a lltl-e.' consideration before any more clubs, incur this heavy expense. I ' ' . ,-■-.'■

A-lively-debate .took place at:.the.annual ,;. meeting •of the Alfcury Bowling Club (Victoria) on a motion aubmitted in favour of the opening of the greens to-play on Sunday afternoons, with the condition that those participating should pay a small fee for the upkeep of the grounds. It was contended that the change of policy would increase the membership, and the game, being of a "quiet character," would not offend the religious susceptibilities of the community; Mr. G. A, Williams, vice-president, said that if the motion was carried he would be obliged, on conscientious grounds,-to consider seriously whether he could continue his membership. Although the playing of Sunday games by young people might have become, in a sense, the accepted thing, in the cresent ago, it would be a vicious example to the community if influential townsmen and fathers of- families; who. comprised for the greater part the membership, of the club, made the serious departure of ignoring the religious significance of the Sabbath. Other speakers contended that there would be a serious.-falling off in the club memberslu^ if the motion was carried, and that many men who loved the game as their only pastime would be deprived: of much pleasure because they could • not be members of a club which offended their religious scruples It would appear, if was stated, that iri Victoria only one club engaged in Sunday play.' The advocate of the change withdrew the proposition in view of the strong opposition displayed. During the New Zealand tour in Australia a good deal was heard about the preference on the ofher side for composition bowls, on account of the climate being so severe on lignum vitae. me other day, however, a New Zealand visitor came across a bowler' in Sydney who was^ still playing with a pair, of Taylor's bowls, which he had used for 12 years. He bought them from a player in Newcastle who had them for 30 years, and prior to that the latter's father used them m Scotland for eight years. . . ■ • ■ ' . *

The feelings of a visitor to the opening of the Bosly* Club's green could hardly be described as amiable when he discovered at the conclusion of his game that his coat which, he had discarded in favour of his blazer when the afternoon s procedings commenced/ was missmg, wntes "Jack" in the "Otaeo Daily T™«3-'; .At first he thought ttfatloml of his friends were having a joke at his expense, but later, _ when only a few bowlers remained in' the pavilion and J?. 01»wu minus a coat, he realised that there was something seriously wrong m the state of Dehmf rk. But he had one little bit of satisfaction. There was a coat hanging on the wall that appeared | peared to be without an owi : er, and t4 W^ST^r* 0 teke Possession of f it fitted him. It fitted him like a glove by wah; h •? W3S nOthi- nf in the P°*ets enacted m a. residence quite handy "to to the green A bowler £ad j ust arrived home when his wife greetedW wlhi Well, what have/you been having With II 1 ' wf'V* "hafcoa^ 0 >' And when he realised that he : had donned the wrong coat he made his r£ turn t n p to the green in record time^ Of course he was too late to retrieve •hi..error, but a communication ™7tX phone soon put matters Btraight Ifc then only remained for the men To mcl to make a formal exchange of coats and a meeting was arranged for £'same cSTl^* vf: kno™ «>me7?ln*h2 city. They me t to time, and without any prehmmanes pulled off tLn coats men shook hands and parted, one bv° stander remarked: "Poor beggars I suL j pos^ifs aaother case of 'up the UnT^