PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCES

Evening Star, Issue 19126, 18 December 1925, Page 12

PEOPLE AND PERFORMANCES

[By Rambler.]

Abe Mitchell, the well-known professional golfer, has private engagement in England at £SOO a year and £250 expenses. This will leave him free to compete in any tournament he wishes to take part in. Of the twenty-three cricketers who were selected to take part in the test trial at Sydney, only one, J. M, Taylor, was unavailable; his absence was duo to an examination at the university. . The Australian fifteen to leave lor England in March should have one of tho finest campaigns ever undertaken in international cricket, if the weather in England be satisfactory (says a Sydnev writer). This is independent of their ability to hold on to tho Ashes. Tho arrangements are such as to maxo for their unalloyed enjoyment. If the return journey be made through the United States and New Zealand it should be a fitting capping to a tour of delight. . The hard-hitting Queensland welterweight, Harrv Casey, who gave Purdy such a hard fight on November 30, has been matched by the Northern Boxing Association to fight Lachie Macdonald. December 28 has been fixe_d as the date for the contest, which will take place in the Town Hall, Auckland. A puree of £l5O will he in dispute. Macdonald Is bound to make list. . Freddie Welsh, os-lightweight champion boxer of tho world, is reported to bo dying through heart attacks. Welsh Is only 39 years of age. A Sydney writer says that prior to the New Zealand cricket team leaving for Brisbane (whero they were beaten), M. A. Noble gave them some instruction in the art of the game. A neat feint with the left, a quick pull back, and then with fascinating speed timed to a split second, out shot an unerring right to tho unguarded jaw of the man who had mixed it with world’s champions. A sharp impact! A sickening thud! A quivering of limbs, and tho fight had ended. So William Grime, cool, clever, calm, and confident, was crowned victor over Ins stricken adversary, Danny Frnsh, of England, in the fifth round < of a contest that showed the Australian feather and light champion tho bettor boxer, the better fighter, and the better ring general by a big margin (says a Melbourne writer). T. J. Andrews is the second batsman to make two centuries in a first grade premiership as it is now played (says a Sydney writer). But Alick Bannerman, way back in the early eighties, was the first man to perform tho feat in the Sydney premiership, many years before the presence of the district system and clubs came into_ existence. The other batsman to attain this distinction was Victor Trnmper, for Gordon, at a time when his health was not so sound as it had Been. In his palmy days V.T. might have had little trouble in scoring two centuries in a match had it been necessary. _ lie rarely had more than one innings in any Paddington match, even when three days were allotted to tho contests.

Ben. Johnson, the colored English middle-weight champion (though the color line will not permit of him signing himself champion, neither will it allow him to ho a contender for tho Lord Lonsdale Belt), stopped the once great " Kid ” Lewis in nine rounds at Manchester recently. Mr Minim has secured Johnson for five fights in Australia, and he will leave England almost immediately. In coming this way Johnson is wise (says a Sydney writer), as st appears that Australia is about the one country in the world where a man of color can get all that is coming to him in boxing. If Johnson really leaves for these shores without further delay his arrival will fit in nicely with that of the American contingent for Stadiums, Ltd., now well on their way. Sunny Jim Williams is a colored mid-dle-weight, Frisck M'Galo a welter, Joe Hall light-weight, and Tom Jones a feather.

Although handicapped by illness and injuries, Lancashire failed to secure the county cricket championship, it enjoyed an extremely good season financially, and there is a sum of about £0,1)00 as the profit on the year’s working. This is as well, for about £25,000 is being expended on improvements to the Old Trafford.ground, both for the comfort of the members and the public—a judicious stop, in view of the visit of tho Australians next .summer.

K. S. Duleepsinhji has jumped right into tho front rank in one season (says a Homo writer). He is very young and lacks experience, hut is a born cricketer, exceptionally strong on the leg side. As a schoolboy ho scored freely on the off as well, but owing to tho number of bad wickets be had to perform on he was compelled to discard most of his brilliance on the off side and concentrate on pushing the ball away to tho on. Many old cricketers consider him a bettor player at his age than his famoifs uncle, though at tho moment it is perhaps unwise to prophesy that ho will eventually reach the dizzy heights reached by “ Ranji.” “ Dulecp ” is. a very fine field, who is seen at his best in the slips. No other young cricketer lias so taken the eye this year as tho Indian Cambridge Blue.

11. Oxcnham, the Queensland cricketer, is one of those who might have very reasonably boon accorded a place in the first trial tost match for the Australian Eleven, not that wo are disposed to ho critical of the work of the selectors, seeing that all the men chosen were entitled to trial (says a Sydney writer). Oxcnham, however, lias proved in match play for two or throe seasons that he is a fine cricketer all round, a heady and admirable righthand bowler, with good performances, a tolerably sound batsman, and a keen fielder. In matches against England and New South Wales last season his efforts were very successful, brilliantly so against the Mother State, in firstclass cricket bo took twenty-two wickets at an average cost of 14 runs. His work with the ball in Brisbane hist month against New South Wales is_ a reminder that ho is in good form again. On his Sydney form Oxenbam is one of the few bowlers these times who vai-y pace and flight with anything like the skill of the champions of old. On that form, too, lie. is a more dangerous howler than some who played in Hie tests. A very useful batsman, also, he averaged HO runs per innings last season.