ENJOYABLE TOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 31, 6 February 1935, Page 18

ENJOYABLE TOUR

CAPTAIN INTERVIEWED

The English women cricketers have now had a week in the Dominion,;and, according to a conversation a "Post" reporter had with their captain, Miss Betty Archdale, they are thoroughly enjoying the experience. For one thing, New. Zealand's dry spell has come~as a welcome change after the continual rain experienced in Australia, Where they had been led to expect iflore sunshine and heat than would be comfortable.

Another thing which has impressed them very favourably is the scenery. The trip has been so arranged as to give , greater opportunities for sight seeing than fall to the lot of most touring teams, and though this entails a great amount of travelling the English girls are far from finding the travelling tedious.

"Your scenery is magnificent," said Miss Archdalc, "it has almost endless variety, and imposing land and seascapes are mingled with patural phenomena such as are worth going a long way to see." ■ The visitoi's were particularly taken With the thermal wonders of Kotorua amid which they spent a very interesting day.- They did not have the time necessary to make a, series of trips, but they did the rounds at Whakarewarewa and were duly impressed by the multitude of fish at the Fairy Springs. From Rotorua they went to Wanganui and'after their match against the local team on, Saturday had a day on the river on Sunday, being entertained in characteristic fashion by the upriver Maoris. They areto leave Wellington tonight for the South Island, where they will spend some time amid the scenic grandeur' of the West Coast. FUTURE TOURS. Speaking of cricket, Miss Archdale said that the team had derived consid r erable enjoyment from the games they had played so far. In Australia they found the standard of play very much on a level with their own and consequently, the matches proved very interesting. Miss Archdale regarded it as highly- probable that regular exchanges of visits would be arranged in the future between England and Australia. Every effort would be made to arrange for English: teams visiting Australia to extend their tour to New Zealand. "It seems so silly," she said, "for a' team to travel all the way to Australia and then not make the comparatively short journey necessary to pay a visit to New' Zealand." Miss Archdale expressed surprise that cricket tours, for men as well as women, were not more frequently arranged between Australia and New Zealand, considering. the proximity of the two countries. "From what I have seen; of the'batting of your girls," she said, "it is inclined to be 'stiff' and experience against outside players would-be just the thing to correct that fault." THE GAME IN ENGLAND. In England, she said, cricket had been played in the schools for many years but it was only recently that the English Ladies' Cricket Association' had been .formed. No organised competitions' were held but many friendly matches were arranged" each season, most of the teams playing every Saturday. A counties' association had also been formed, not with the idea of promoting a county competition, but to help the clubs. , . The majority of the clubs were on a very solid basis and some of .them had their own grounds. Valuable assistance had been. received from men cricketers in advancing the women's game. •. There are now about 80 clubs in England and great enthusiasm is displayed by the girls'. Miss Archdale said that she had1 found that girls took more readily to bowling than to batting and in England they had a good variety of bowlers, boilrfast and slow. The ma-; jority.of the slow bowlers specialised in off brea_ks and leg-break bowlers such as Miss Maclagan were hard to find. So far as the players' costumes were concerned, Miss Archdale considered the divided skirt was preferable to either ttie ordinary skirt or to shorts. .'•