CRICKET COMPARISONS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 139, 16 June 1927, Page 11

CRICKET COMPARISONS

(To the Editor.)

• Slr '"~As att Englishman, and one having had some experience of cricket at. Jdome, certain letters in your recent issues would have caused.. me • considerable pain had I believed they were indicative of the feelings of .typical British sportsmen. Why tins childish bickering? Mr. Brice, although doubtless lacking in tact, was perfectly entitled to "grouse" because Tate and Root did not play for Sussex and Worcestershire respectively in the games with .New Zealand's representative team for it is admitted that the cricketers were sent to gain experience and not so much with match-winning intent Bu^ why "Batsman-Bowler" should offer comparisons I cannot understand. Whilst agreeing -with him on the superiority of English cricket, I cannot think other than that his last sentence was not intended to imply the insult to the touring team that J* did. Can it be wondered that New Zealanders resented this? Proof of this was En-Zed's" facetiously indignant, though inaccurate, reply. _ Unfortunately, during my short sojourn in these islands, I have encountered this sort of thing in matters other than sport and I find the New Zealander is not always to blame. If the newcomer would realise what progress has been made in astonishingly few years in commerce the'! sciences, and sport, and that the immigrants for the most part are drawn from the poorer classes at Home, just praise and not comparisons would be more frequent.—l urn, etc., „., , A.G.W. loth June.

Another correspondent ("Britisher") writes expressing agreement with Mr W b. lirices opinion that the best possible players should be played against the New Zealanders '"to give the latter the experience they greatly need," and pointing out that Britain invented the games played in New Zealand and "still leads the world in sport and sportsmanship."