BRITISH TEAM

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 133, 2 December 1937, Page 31

BRITISH TEAM

Irrival /delAyei)

NOTES OF INTEREST

" ""The late' arrival of the Arawa will have the effect of upsetting the arrangements in connection with the -British bowlers' tour Of New Zealand, The party was to play an unofficial game at Wellington tomorrow, and ■ play ■■;at^Palmerston'•,North on Satur- . day.-*. 'As the ■'ship is' now not expected to arrive at Wellington before noon on Saturday, the first part of the visitors' tour will have to be recast. At the time of writing amended fixtures have still to be made, but, so far, no alteration has been found necessary in the game against', the Wellington Centre, to be played .on the Wellington green ,on Monday,.;/. A Word to Selectors. , - . "There is. much more'-in:, picking .: a■' rink than in pickir-.t your . best bowlers," writes "Rubber* in an exchange, on "Advice to Selectors." Bowls. is< hot an individualistic game like tennis, and it is not a game where team work alone is important and >yhere. .there, is.no room for trie individual, such\as" football.? It combines the two, and perhaps that is where, to '.a great extent, the charm of bowls ;,i6ys. '■ But it has. its difficulties, in : competition play; No difficulty arises '.when'four clubmates meet on the green I for a.' roll-up. The friendly spirit is. 'there.: from the start; everybody feels • !si} ease, and the "atmosphere" is conducive to good play. But what is the case when a . rink, composed of men who are perhaps almost strangers, play? Everybody knows that in a club with a large membership it is hard for ..'skips to 'know and understand the-peculiarities-of .all, and that is why in choosing a team there is more to ibe considered .than in the mere selection of a : player because he is a good bowler. Certainly, one must take into account ..the individual's record as a bowler; \ nobody would suggest that-that, .Should be overlooked; but much":, more;vmust be considered. Would;1: the■•fau'r"■= mix well with each other? Would they "fit in"? •Has-"the skip the match-winning temperament? Sometimes it will be found advisable for selectors to consult their skips before announcing the final choice, and it might be well jforjth^myt^rtesLout-, the,' ground"" and ifirid .■\vhat'-':they ..of \Sp-and-So',-Or even keep an ear open to hear what So-and-So thinks of the skip. You may think that these are only small points—and so they are, but their consideration may just make all the :tiifferefice; in the world both to a team's success and the enjoyment the members of it derive from the game. Game in the Dark., One Wellington club this week finished a particular Competition in Hie dark—with the aid of matches. Such a. happening is not unknown Emong bowlers, but what lent interest to this particular evening's play iva§? ( that _. there was a pJlolfag'e"-■ of' matches, a"nd there was a frenzied hunt in the clubhouse for discarded matches which could be relit from matches which were, about at the end of their career of usefulness.

Club Competitions. Most of the Wellington clut)S are making excellent progress with their club competitions, and should be in a position to report satisfactory pro-gress.'■nvhen-'.-morfe important engage--ments .during the holiday season demand a cessation of activity. The ideal weather of the past week has proved most favourable for club fixtures, and the greens, generally speaking, are now in excellent shape. There has been •an absence of heavy wind, and the call of the green in the cool hours of evening is proving irresistible. The Good Bowler. Many factors contribute to indicate the accomplished bowler, apart from temperament—this he must have—the essential is to be able ot gauge quickly the conditions ruling on the green (states a southern writer). Most players are reasonably good on their home green,: but lamentably astray when playing on a different surface. The peculiarities of the green receive too much attention, and play suffers in consequence. ,'. Playing on strange greens is a necessary part in the education of the young bowler especially, and when there he'should be observant of wind and surface texture, and keep his confidence, for what.the home member can do the visitor also should be able to perform. Inferiority complex seems to prevail to too great an extent. Lyall Bay Club. Four games Have now been played in the classification rinks at the Lyall Bay Club. The following are at present leading in the-various, grades:— Skips: BraCkenridg'e,''Hazlewood .(4 wins). Threes: L. R. Bruce, H. Q. Bruce, Quane, Sands (3 wins)., Twos: .Davison, Veryard (4 wins). Leads: Allen (4 wins). Mr. Chris. Parsons, of Lyall Bay, is still on the sick list, and all will wish him a speedy recovery, Mr. Jack - Gauritlett as now convalescent,.' and hopes to be kissing kitty again in the near future. Next Sunday six rinks from Lyali Bay are.going to Featherston to take part in the contest for the Kean Trophy. This is a triangular competition between Masterton Park, Featherston, and Lyall Bay, and is'looked fonv'ard to with keen anticipation by all who are able to make the trip. Buses will leave the green at 8 a.m. sharp. ■ On Sunday, November 21, George .Noad, frank Faulkner,. Hardld Hale, and Jack King journeyed to Otaki to take part in the Otaki Railway Club's one-day tournament. They won two games, drew one, and lost one, and although they did not bring home the bacon the hospitality they received made the day a most memorable one. An interesting game took place in the second round, of the pairs between Wally Sherwood with Charlie Bell as his lead and Frank Hazlewood with George Bradley as lead. Sherwood was well down hall-way through the game and hopes of winning looked black. He pushed up the brim of his hat and CKai'lieTfiHed--his pipe' again; and off theY set to even up the score. They were so successful in this that after the twentieth head they were only l*vo down and required three to win. The last head changed severel times,

and when the last bowl had been played Sherwood lay three up and the winner. Karorl Events. Members of the Karori Bowling Club played Henderson Cup and champion rink matches on Saturday afternoon. In the champion rink competition there were three rinks with two lives before Saturday afternoon's play — those skipped'by W. Cooper, W. Gilbert, and G. Crawford. In the match between Gilbert and Cooper on Saturday the play was of a'"high-standard.'; On the final end Gilbert, requiring four to tie, 'was four up before/the skips went down. With his last' bowl Cooper drew I the shot and won the game. Among the "one-lifers," Field beat Christensen, Adams beat Wilkinson, and Hazlewood beat Needham. ! Wellington Club. The third game in the Wellington. Bowling Club's nomination rinks was played last Saturday .with the following results: —Newson 20, Johnson 18; O'Donnell 23, Wylie 13; Foot 21,<Gilby 10; Skoglund 24, Wilmot 22; F. Ross 21, Parton 7; Warwick 19, Fiddes 15; : In the first round of the junior rink competition the results were as follows:—C. J. Cooper 23, B. Thomson 15; E. Jolly 20, L. Toms 15. The first rounds of the club's champion singles and pairs competitions have been completed. The pairs game played by J. Ross and F. Ross against Dr ; Ewart and A. B. Duff was a very, interesting one throughout. Duff was 4up with one head to ■ go. Ross therefore needed 5 to win, and with his uncanny faculty of extricating, ■himself from difficult positions in bowls,,-, he succeeded .in securing a full hand and won by. a single point.- ■'.• J. J. O'Gofman and J.D. O'Neill had a dramatic, last-mihutedne-pibint win against B. -Thomson,and T; H. Meadows. It was a, closely-contested game, all playing , well, the skips- particularly distinguishing: themselves. With the twentieth head: over, the score was 16----all. ..In.the final end, played in semidarkness, Meadows lay 3 shots. O'Neill, however, w.ith his last bowl played a brilliant shot, which lay close to the kitty and gave' him a win by 17 to. 16. ■' ' '. ■■■• "■■■■.:-' ii" '■■■'"' ■ Bert Shillson, the young Wellington; Club skip, who has been Oh the sick list, has much improved in health and expects to be on the green again after the Christmas holiday season. In the event of the Arawa from' England reaching Wellington in good time on Saturday next, the ' British team of bowlers who are passengers by that vessel are to be the guests of the Wellington Bowling Club at afternoon tea. The last visit paid to the Wellington Club by a British team was in January, 1926. A Veteran Bowler. Old members of the Wellington Bowling Club will recall Mr. T. W. Butcher, who retired from business and Went across to.Sydney to- live in 1923.' Mr. i Butcher, who is well in the eighties, is a member of the Mosman Club, and is always very glad to learn from Wellington visitors to that club of the doings of his old club.' He wrote as follows in the November issue of "Bowls in New South Wales"; "In making comparison of veterans' records how does this compare? Joined the City Bowling Club (Sydney), season 1884-85, bought my existing bowls in the City Club from A. E. Rolf, very prominent solicitpr in those times. In 1886 won the junior trophies, a pair of silver-plated bowls. In the season 1887 I presented to the City Club a silver cup specially" made, for a junior trophy, which was won by W. Beaumont, schoolmaster. During my connections With the .City Club I played on every bowling green then existing in the metropolitan area, fifty years

ago: prominent Annandale, the home of bowls, with John Young, the father of bowls; Balmain, with many prominent members; also Waverley and the City, where times were merry and pleasant, not forgetting Glebe with its lively president, Pat. Conlon. Then a break in my bowling life. In' 1903 I left for New Zealand and joined up with the Wellington Bowling Club, New Zealand, remaining a member for twenty years. Upon my return to Sydney in 19?3, I joined the Mosman Bowling Club, and have now been a member for fourteen years. I hold several John Spencer's veteran badges and am looking forward for next season's veterans, 1938, the year of Celebration. lam playing with the same bowls bought from A. E, Eolf, City Club, 52 years ago, which I picked up on my return to. Sydney." Eastbourne Club. In keeping with the experience of several other local qlubs, the Eastbourne Bowling Club has made substantial, additions to its membership this year. One. specially pleasing feature has been the number of keen young players who have joined and who,- in the course of time, as they are showing distinct promise of turning out to be good bowlers, should be of considerable assistance to the club in fulfilling its competitive engagements. No-ffewer than: sixteen players are taking part in its junior singles, a club record. Ladies' Bowling. Reports to hand indicate that ladies' bowling in Otago'is eminently successful. There are seventeen ladies' bowling teams in Dunedin, beside country teams. The singles tournament of the Otago Ladies' Bowling Association was to have,taken placr this week. New Zealand Away. New Zealand, will be represented by 33 players at the Australian bowling carnival in Sydney in January. From these will be/chosen the players to represent New Zealand' in the British Empire Games which follow the Australia* carnival.' The Central Otago rink will consist of Dr. E. R. Austin and H. Wilkinson, of Cromwell, W. A. Harlow, of Clyde, and J. D. Best, the well-known Otago Club player (states the ''Otago Daily Times"). Dr. Austin is a well-known bowler who has taken part in a number of New Zealand tournaments and New Year tournaments in Southland. H. Wilkinson, who will probably skip the rink, has a good record as a singles player. In one season, four or five years ago. Wilkinson won the Central Otago singles championship, the Dunedin Easter singles, and the North Otago singles. Last Christmas he again won the Central Otago singles championship. A first-class draw player who should be suited by the fast conditions in Sydney, Wilkinson should do well in the singles event in Sydney. Dominion Tournament. • r>; With the New Zealand championship tournament only a little more than six weeks away the officials of the Dunedin Centre are naturally' anxious to have the greens in the best condition possible (states an exchange). The prolonged period of dry weather was presenting a tough problem, but the recent beneficial rains' have worked a transformation, and the surfaces are now, almost without exception, in first- | class condition. One of the most-im-proved surfaces in the centre is the Leith Club's green, which now ranks with the best. The Dunedin Club's green, which for some seasons past has been anything but satisfactory, is now steadily returning to its old state of perfection, thanks to the diligent and j expert work of the greenkeeper (Mr. Russell, formerly in charge of the Waihopai green in Invercargill). It is expected that a very large entry will be received from the various clubs

in the centre for the championship tournament. From the Dunedin Club teams will be skipped by J. Hutchison, E. Harraway, H. Gardner, W. Anderson, and W. Easton, and there may be others. .- •''• ; ! , ',; .'V

It is expected that Nofthend .(writes "Jack High" in the "Southland Times") will be, represented in the New Zealand championship tournament at Dunedin in January by three rinks. It is probable that D. M. Scandrett, S. C. •K. Smith,-and A. V. Keast will take rinks to Dunedin. ■ ■