PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCES

Evening Star, Issue 18925, 27 April 1925, Page 10

PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCES

The All Blacks of 1924 will meet an old foeman shortly, for T. Lawton, the Rhodes scholar, who returned to Queensland recently, is to visit New Zealand soon.

Warren Bardsley, even if he. failed in the tests, played" well enough in grade cricket to top the Sydney first grade batting averages with 403 rims for seven innings, an average of 67.16. J. M. Tavlor was second with 460 runs for seven innings, an average of 65.7. O. Lothling topped tho bowling averages with thirtv wickets at a cost ol 12.06 rims each. 0. I’. Asher, of the Sydney Club, took Hie greatest number of wickets (fifty-one) at 16.27 each.

W. W. Wakefield this season equalled the record of C. N. Lowe, Hie [unions English centre-three-quarter, who gained twenty-five international caps. Allowing fur tho break caused by tho war, Lowe played for Fngland from 1915 to 1923 inclusive. Wakefield has been in the team since 1920. Wakefield turned twenty-seven on March 10 last, Lowe played iiis last match at thirty-two years of age. Wakefield, however, will have a long way to go before he can equal the figures ot "Oicky” Owen, who played for Wales thirty-five times between 1901 and 1912. He missed several games also. Los Murray, the very popular lightweight champion of New Zealand, fought a furious half-round in the finals of the. universities' boxing tourney (says the Christchurch ‘Sun’). ’lwas this way: .Murray trains the (Hugo University leather-pushers, and in one fight the Otago man was mixing it furiously. In the. latter half of tho round Los was off his seat by the. ringside, his eyes were gleaming, and his fists were jabbing at the. atmosphere. Otago is very lucky in having such a . lino trainer as Murray; he brought up n good team with him.

Thus ‘‘Olympus” in the 'Daily Chronicle' on' Lord Hawke’s recent nuthurst regarding professional cricketers: “On the subject—l say this deliberately —of amateur captaincy, Lord Hawke is treading on treacherous ground. The game is greater than the players, and the day may come when a new generation will fling aside its traditions end sock out the man of the hour, he ho prince or beggar. Captains are born, not made.”

J. C. Mnstcrman, the, Oxford hockey blue, who was recently chosen to play for Fngland against Scotland, is a versatile athlete. In addition to playing hockey, ho has represented Fngland et lawn tennis and Oxford County at, cricket. He can hold his own as a golfer with most people. He has also represented Oxford University in the high jump versus Cambridge. Lavish praise of the hospitality of Now Zealand officials and athletic fans was given by the Australian amateur athletic team on its return to Sydney. W. M. (‘■Tickle’’) Whyi-e, captain of the team, speaking to an Australian pressman, said that it would he impossible for him to say too much in praise of the manner in which tho team had been treated by the N.Z..A.A.A. and centre ollic.inis. The public all along the line had been generous ami impartial, and tlie opposing competitors most excellent, sportsmen. After fighting valiantly for fifteen rounds, the majority of which lie, won, Archie Bradley (10.4 J) suffered defeat (it tlie. hands of Loo IJarion (10.7 j) at Sydney early in Hie sixteenth round. That defeat looked inevitable before it came was plain. It had its beginning as early as the eighth round, when tlie Bekhan fairly staggered the rugged Auslralain wit it a blow that caught him just over tlie temple. Though forty-‘five years of age, Jack Johnson is reported to .still look lit mid, well for the best in Hie game to-day. Ho was accorded a rousing reception one night in January, when lie entered tlie ring to meet another disqualified boxer named Andre Anderson in a. wrestling contest. The ex-champion showed science in tlie mat game, and beat Ids man easily. In an interview that followed Hie grappling bout, the ex-champion was asked what he thought of Dempsey as a champion. Ho remarked ; “ Now, 1 don’t want yon to think me n knocker, but as you asked mo foe an opinion I am just giving it. I wish I were ten years younger. Jack is tho best of Iho lot to-day. hut what a tribe lie is ruling over! Dempsey cannot compare with Fitzsimmons, Jeffries, or any of that kind of old timer. They’d punch him full of holes in jig time. Why, Tommy Gibbons can pepper Jack through his joke defence. Still, Dempsey will always beat Gibbons, because the latter is nut strong enough to tough it with him.”