INTERNATIONAL SPORT

Evening Star, Issue 17792, 14 October 1921, Page 7

INTERNATIONAL SPORT

BRITISH FAIR PLAY. SOME FINE EXAMPLES. [From Orn Losiwn Coheesponpsht.] August 24. Talking of tho recent “ regrettable incident" over in America, people are asking seriously if it is wortn while pioiiiming these international sports if they are going to excite such, an immense amount of feeling and rivalry. An Englishman, at iho present moment, feels rather chary about oxurc.wing an opinion on the subject, because wc have done so badly in almost every realm of sport this year that if we sav "very much we may bo accused of being bad losers. Take the cricket tests. Armstrong m the later matches was “ barracked ” in quite the approved Australian manner. Ho probably feels rather sore on the subject, and Australia will certainly resent it. Yet. thcro was something to bo said for Iho attitude of tho crowd. One may say this much without impugning Armstrong’s sportsmanship in the least. He is a tine sponsman and a real good fellow. IE ho has a fault it is the fault of overkeenness. He wants to go back io Australia with an absolutely iinweakencd record and to secure this ha-s sometimes adopted method?, which the crowd resented. And they resented his action in ’ putting cm poor bowlers at tho Oval, and | making tho cricket somewhat of a farce | when It became apparent that the match l could only end m a draw, j In this country tho tendency has always ] been, in there international affairs, rather j to concede a point to an opponent than to I lake advantage of tho rules of play. \\ r e | arc justlv entitled to say this. At Wimi blodon, for inatanca, an umpire sometime? i gives a. mistaken verdict. lie docs not 'act dishonestly, but each, of the players knows that a mistake has been made. Jf ! ii is the English player who benefits by ; the verdict you will notice that, in his i next seiwicN or return ho deliberately makes a bad stroke so as to give back to bis opponent tho advantage tho umpires mistake would otherwise, have given to himself. Take, again, what happened in tho “ Diamonds ” at Henley, An Englishman and a Dutchman figured in tho i final. Tho Dutchman accidentally pulled ! his boat into the piles. The Englishman ; might have gone on and won. Instead, iheTdowed up and let his rival draw level (with him before continuing tho raw. In the result, tho Dutchman won. Wc don't i generally talk of these things afterwards, but on the present occasion wo are justified in recalling .such incidents, because wo really are entitled to expect that the sanio .sporting spirit should be manifested all round.