BOWLING

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 23, 28 January 1928, Page 28

BOWLING

■V "NUMBER TWO" . DOMINION TOURNAMENT PROGRAMME CRITICISED VISIT OF VICTORIANS Wellington's representatives at the. Dominion tournament and the enthusiasts .who went down to watch the play have returned very well pleased with tho visit and with the hospitality accorded them by Christchurch' bowling friends. Wellington did not carry off the honours, but gained very honourable mention, the Hataitai pair, Fielding and Kershaw, going through to the championship final, and then falling to the Matai (Nelson) pair. The Hataitai rink under Fielding's able skippering and with his wonderfully consistent placing, went well ahead in the main championship to post-section-al play. J. B. Eeid, of Lyall Bay, is sharing with the Hataitai team the congratulations of local bowlers for his fine play placed him among tho last six of the singles contestants. Among stay-at-home bowlers here, the Christehurch programme has come in for some criticism, as, indeed it did when it was drawn up. The sandwiching in of singles, pairs, and rinks throughout the tournament, working, up to a day of finals, has certain advantages over the winding-up of singles, then of pairs, and finally of rinks, but, nevertheless, it is understood, there will be a good deal of opposition to any proposal to apply this system to the next Dominion tournament in Wellington. Those who have taken, part in the Christchurch tournament will be best qualified to say which system is the more convenient to the majority of competitors, and whether the added interest of simultaneous singles, pairs, and rinks competitions makes up for the impatience of the competitor who is a singles man only, and must cool his heels while pairs and rinks are played off. The 1929 programme no doubt suits the local competitor better than the finalising of singles, then pairs and their ririSs, but competitors from a distance may find the arrangement awkward, and also expensive, even the point of the discouragement of entries. Both systems will no doubt be fully argued out when the next tournament is being planned. Now Zealanders on Tour. The Melbourne weekly publication, "Bowls," just to hand, makes extended and appreciative references to Mr. Stan. M. Stone, of Wellington, vice-president Dominion of N.Z.8.A., and the team which, under his able management, recently visited Melbourne. The paper says: "The advent of the New Zealanders, with their lady friends, has been a pronounced success in bowling circles. They have endeared themselves to all with whom they have come in/Contact. If they could not comnfand success in the Test games they deserved it, and the Dominion authorities may accept our assurance that VicePresident Stanley M. Stone and his cheerful, happy team will on their departure from Melbourne take away as great a measure of regard and esteem for their personal attributes and sporting characteristics as any team that has yet visited Australia." A photograph of Mr. Stone occupies a prominent place in tho paper, with a short biographical account of his municipal and bowling activities. The editor remarks that "since Mr. Stone's arrival in Australia he has furnished evidence as possessing all the necessary attributes towards bringing Australia and New Zealand into closer relation-

ship in matters appertaining to the game. The experience lie has gained during his visit to Australia will be invaluable to him when he assumes the office of Dominion president." In view of the criticisms which were passed regarding the quality of play of the team which went to Melbourne (Australian Bowling Council's carnival) it is interesting to note the attitude of the Melbourne bowls paper on the matter. It says:— ■ ' "Thursday, 22nd December, 1927, will in a sense be a red-letter' day in th« annals of Australian bowling. It ushered in the preliminary events to the allimportant competitions which commenced on Monday, 26th December, when we use the phrase 'preliminary events' it is not that they were of lesser importance than the subsequent items in the programme. "As a matter of fact, the date will, we venture to say, become historical, inasmuch as it will be recognised as the starting point to record the results of Test games between Australia and New Zealand. What matter the results of such games? The pioneers, the present New Zealand team, stamped with official recognition by the Dominion authorities, have made their names imperishable in the annals of bowling by their ready response to what? The prospect of a triumph over Australian players! No, but a patriotic response to the call of New Zealand to create an epoch in the game which will endure for all time, though conscious of their limitations as opponents to the cream of Australian bowling. We say, all honour to our Dominion friends, and we trust when they return to their homeland they will receive the approbation of the Dominion Council as a reward for a work well and ably carried out." Another Opinion. ' The futility' of attempting to win Test matches with a visiting team has been amply demonstrated in Melbourne, Bays "Bowling Life," Sydney. History keeps on repeating itself. We cannot get a really representative team to leave home on a long journey, and so we find New Zealand in the same boat. The players were not representative of New Zealand's best bowlers,and the members of the team were total strangers.to each other on starting out. How could combination 'be expected under these circumstancesf On the other hand it was comparatively easy for each State to put together one topnotch rink, and so our '■ New Zealand visitors were hopelessly out of the game before; even a bowl had been rolled.. The result of the so-called "tests" could have been forecasted easily before the visiting team left the Dominion. . Make' a summing up of the Victorian rink and we find each player a champion of his club. B. Ninnes (leader) was last year's champion of champions in Victoria. M. Shelley (No. 2) is a wonderfully good player. Last year he won the double —the Victorian State singles and skipped the champion rink. A. Oastler (No. 3) is not only one of the best players as a rink skip, but is also the holder of the State singles championship. E. Paseoe (skip) is a wonderful all-round player, and a fighter to the last ditch. Taken all together it is a wonderful four. . Strange Incidents. . During a recent tourney at Auckland a somewhat ludicrous predicament, to the onlookers at any rate, arose. It occurred in this way. Armstrong's Pukekohe team was playing Warren's Carlton team on the St. Heliers green. Elliott, No. 2 for the latter, had silverdisced bowls, and so had Walker, who was playing next door. On one head Carlton was apparently shot with Elliott's bowl, and the respective third men, Tonkin and Keith, were just about to declare in favour of Carlton when Dr. Hardie Neil, who ' was searching for Walker's lost bowl, happened along and calmly picked the shot bowl up and took it away. Needless to say consternation was writ largely on the faces of the Carlton men when it was found

that Pukekohe had four shots inside their nearest bowl. Considering Armstrong won by only one point, and just qualified for intersection play, and Warren was just one game short of qualifying, it was a mixture of good and bad luck for the two parties. The mysterious part of the affair is as to how the foreign bowl came to get into the head. No one seemed to know, and the conclusion arrived at was that the onus rested on Warren for not observing the intrusion, for such must' have occurred when he was at the head. From the foregoing it is evident one must be alert to see things, but there was another incident the same day which demonstrated it was necessary to move quickly, though it will be seen it was, perhaps, an utter impossibility to move fast enough to suit this case. Walker was playing Trayes, Mount Eden, and was pretty well down on the board. Ho drove and sent the kitty back. His own bowl, a toucher, followed through, and pushed an opposing bow into the ditch. The toucher bowl followed closely, hit the doad bowl, which under the circumstances it was impossible to remove, and rolled away along the ditch out of the count. Had this been a close game and the point required to win, there would have been a big argument as to where the-shot bowl should be allowed to lie. As it was, there was some argument over the question. Of course, under the rules, failing an agreement between the parties, the head should be played over again. Visit of Victorian Bowlers. The following are the members of the Victorian team to visit New Zealand next month: —W. Creath, A. Dunstan, P. Boy, H. Leggo (s); A. Domnton, T. Davie, T. Nurse, W. Newham (s); J. Florant, H. Pilkington, 6. Barnett, W. A. Wright (s); J. Hindle, J. B. Leith, W. Ferguson, W. Main (s); F. Scharp, H. Bayley, A. Davis, W. Lyon (s). The manager of the team, Mr. W. Lyon, is a former resident of Victoria, and he represented Scotland in the single-handed championship of Australia at the recent Australian Bowling Council's carnival at Melbourne. As a whole the members of^the team are not known as outstanding players, but then are some good country players in the rinks. In the evont of any' fourring games being played, the first four rinks named will represent Victoria. The team will be in Wellington on the 21st and 22nd February, going on to Palmerston North on the 23rd by the 10.5 a.m. train. After -playing at Palmerston North the team leaves for Botofua at 9.57 p.m. on the 24th; at Botorua 25th to 27th, leaves for Hamilton 9.30 a.m. 28th, arriving at 12.44 p.m.; leaves Hamilton for Auckland by 12.44 p.m. train on 29th"; leaves Auckland for Sydney, 2nd March.