BADELEY'S PART

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 139, 9 December 1924, Page 9

BADELEY'S PART

IGNORED IN SELECTIONS

SURPRISE IN VARIOUS QUARTERS.

Further light on the position in regard to Badeley as a playing member of the All Black team is provided by letters which have been received in Auckland. It now appears that although Badelev has had a hand in the preparation of the team tor matches, his position is no different to (hub of other members of tho team who have also assisted ii, the training and coaching. Th«e is this difference however, WiT.l liadeley, that ho • has been: practically ignored .by those who are responsible for pic-kitis; the team for each match. There are others whose omission from the learn bus been so eonsjstent as to be surprising ;irll l West, is one in particular. Among those who 'have, expressed surprise regarding the treatment of Badeley is Mr. W J Ste-id the yice-captain of the 1905 All Blacks! In discussing the progress of the present tour he made the following remarks: "I can't get over the omission of Badeley. X think be is their first five-eighths with Xicholls and Cooke in that order out from the scrum. I wonder if the manner in which the captaincy was taken away from him has anything to do with it. The tour has lost 'interest for me largely (Mi actuuut wi fipdriey, uuel if this ie Wus

I think when the whole thing is threshed out Auckland will go over to the League. They are already smarting under a sense of an injustice they feel was done them over Wright. I may be pessimistic, but I foresee grave trouble if this is correct. If one of bur representatives, White, for instance, was treated in this way, don't you think we would be hostile? I can't see with the poor scrum work that these other players could have improved so much as to have made Badeley into a second-rater. I hope lam wrong, that's all.".

The "Auckland Star" states that Mr. Stead is "quite right in suspecting that, they do feel sore, a feeling which date 3 back to the departure of the team, when the New Zealand Union, having decided that Porter should be captain, allowed Badeley to go on without a hint of this decision until after he had replied as captain to all the farewell speeches, and then told him he was deposed." The fact that Badeley himself is surprised at having been played in only two matches has been made known in Auckland, where there is quite a deal of feeling among local players about the maiir ncr in which he has been treated. A recent mail brought word from Badeley that he was quite well, and that he was at a loss to understand why he had not had more games. Concerning liis first match, against North Midlands, lie stated that he was played at outside fiveeighths, shifter! late to centre three-quar-ter, and eventually to wing three-quar-ter. Tin's was done by Richardson, who was captain in the match.. Badeley. states that in the game the backs did not combine very well, but lie was certain that he-was not one of the offenders, and others of the team corroborated this. His statement is backed up by several reports of the game in which Badeley and M'Gregor are selected us the most prominent three-quarters of the All Blacks in the match, while they ■ mention that Parker- scored the first try oE the game after a run through by Badeley had made the opening. Continuing with his letter, Badeley states that he was selected to play in the next game, against Cheshire, but as one of his knees had swollen slightly he stood down, and he played in the following game, against Durham, when the back division worked sweetly, and they ran up a score of 43 points to 9. Since tr\jn he had not had a game, and he could not understand why.