SPORT IN BRITAIN

Evening Star, Issue 21931, 18 January 1935, Page 16

SPORT IN BRITAIN

[Feo.m Our Exgu&ii Correspondent.] LONDON, December 0. BOXING. British boxing stock is looking up, and although the most optimistic enthusiast scarcely dare hope that Jack Petersen will for quite a long time bring back to these islands the heavyweight championship, to which wo have scarcely had a serious aspirant since the days of Bombadier Weils, there are two men who possess excellent chances of securing world titles. One is Jack M'Avoy, the British middleweight champion, who is .justly described as one of the hardest hitters in the game. M'Avoy’s latest performance, when he caused the Cuban, Kid Tuuoro. to retire in (he seventh round highly delighted the northcountryman’s admirers. Tuncro was not down for the count, hut he was practically incapable of going on with the light when the referee awarded the verdict to M‘Avoy. Alter this smashing. victory it is difficult to see how the world champion. Marcel Thil, can refu.se to meet the Englishman for the title, for Tuncro beat Thil when they met. If Thil and M'Avoy go into tile ring together two championships will he at stake, for the Frenchman holds European titles as well. If M'Avoy boxes as he did against T’unero he will assuredly carry the confidence of his 'fellow-countrymen. [Thil and M'Avoy met, the Frenchman winning.] Since the amateur champion and British Olympic boxer Dave M‘Cleave turned professional he has had seven bouts and won them all. His latest victim was Ernest Roderick, of Liverpool, the verdict going to M'Clcave on points after a most interesting fight. Hitherto the ex-amateur lias limited his bouts to eight rounds. It is quite obvious he will have to prepare himself to go nearly double that distance if be hopes to rank as one of Britain’s " hopes ” for the heavy-weight championship. M'Cleave is being admirably coached, and docs well to approach his ultimate task with discretion. He is undoubtedly our leading welter-weight, with a delightfully straight punch from both shoulders.

Amateur boxing has been attracting attention, for we have just had a visit from the first team of Italians to box in this country. They were appearing in tho sacred cause of charity. It was freely rumoured a week or so ago that, peeved by the criticisms launched against the Italian Soccer which played against England three weeks ago, the Italian colony in London would not support the fixture. The rumour proved baseless, and a big crowd saw some excellent boxing. With one exception the visitors were all Italian champions, and if they won only two of the five bouts and a third on a foul they showed line ringcraft and gave a sound display of sportsmanship. The contest was not a match hut a series of competitions, in which representatives of the Navy, Army, Air force, and Civil Service were taking part. CRICKET. Four veteran first-class cricketers are to have their baptism of fire as umpires in a season which, by reason of the alteration in the Ibw rule and the M.C.C.'s pronouncement against bowling at the batsman, may try them highly. The professionals concerned arc H. W. Lee, the Middlesex batsman who, on one occasion, found his wav into a test team; Garnett Lee, who when no longer considered good enough for his native county, Notts, qualified and did good work for their neighbours, Derbyshire; George Brown, batsman and wicketkeeper of Hants, who appeared against Australia three times m 1921 and .selected to “ keep ” at the Oval five years later, had to decline owing to injury; and A. Young, of Somerset. SOCCER. We have just, had visits from two Continental club teams, one from Austria, the oilier from Stockholm. The former was undoubtedly_ much the stronger, including, as it did, several ot tho Austrian national team that ran England to a 4 goals to d result at Stamford Bridge two years ago. They beat Liverpool last week by 2 goals to love, drew with Fulham (a goal apiece) on Monday, and with Birmingham in a goalless match yesterday. There has apparently been little improvement irt Austrian play since the team was here last. Much of its approach work is delightful only to be spoiled by ineffective shooting. The Swedes played- a couple of games, losing heavily to Westham United and defeating Luton. After going down to the Austrians, Liverpool made haste to strengthen its defence by securing the transfer ot Cooper, England’s captain and right back, from Derby County. In spite of the size of tho transfer fee it is difficult to see why the Midlanders agreed to let Cooper go. Their recent performances —they have lost three matches off the reel—have been shaky and one would have thought they would have tried to strengthen their side instead of parting with one ot their very best players. Still the Derby manager, Mr Joboy, is credited with considerable astuteness and lie may consider that the famous back, who has been’ in first-class _ football for nearly nine years, is nearing the end ot Ins tether. More than three months of the season have gone and to-day we find throe teams, Arsenal, Sunderland, and Stoke City, showing the way in tho league, with twenty-three points each. Arsenal has much the best goal average. In seventeen games it has scored as many as fifty-three goals, and, providing it keeps it up, may surpass Aston Villa’s 128 in a season. Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, (he champions were irresistible, registering seven goals without reply. Drake, as lie had done the previous week at Chelsea, found the net four times, and, he too, bids fair to create a scoring record. By drawing against the Wednesday at Sheffield,' Sunderland retained its unbeaten “ away ” record. Not a single First Division Team lost on its own ground, the only side, other than Sunderland to snatch a point, being despised Chelsea, which achieved a capital performance in sparing two goals at Portsmouth. Bolton Wanderers showed that they do not, mean to be easily dispossessed by beating the City of Norwich, d goals to 2, while their nearest rivals, Brentwood, was overthrowing Manchester United by d goals to 10. The latter result, combined with Westham United’s 4 to love victory over lowly Notts County sent the East London side up into third position. Tranmeve Rovers and Halifax Town, both of whom won on their ow.n grounds are making a duel of the Northern section of the Third Division for the third club, Chester. is six points astern. Things are different in the Southern section, whore new loaders have appeared in Reading; but the Berkshire team is by no means “ high and dry,” no fewer than seven others being within four points of them. h-IGBY. Tho play and (lie result of the first English trial set the selectors a very preliy problem. As in Soccer if is

obvious that speed is playing a greater part in the game every day, and it was mostly superior speed that gave the Possibles a 25 points to 13 over the more leisurely England fifteen at Leeds. In the loose particularly the losers were overrun, and although an injury to A. C. Harrison at threequarter may lie advanced as an excuse lor the eclipse of the backs, rather would one attribute it to the brilliance of their opponents, and especially to (hose wonderfully fine centres from Lancashire, R. Leyland and J. Heaton. Unhappily, in choosing the teams for the next trial the selectors have separated the pair, bringing Heaton on the wing and making Leyland stand-off half. Yet, with the necessity of including the Oxonian, P. Cranmer (probably the best centre in the tour nations), at centre it was inevitable that the Heaton-Leyland partnership should be broken. Although the new trial teams have come in for quite a lot of criticism, the selectors can at all events be congratulated on having the courage to make bold experiments.

Scotland also has its next trial, Scotland v. the Pest, on December .15. No fewer than thirteen Anglo-Scots have been included on one side or the other, and there are others south of the Tweed who may later get a trial. For instance, F. A. R. Hunter (the international quarter-miler) out on the wing, and D. W. Dunn in the centre, gave such a fine show for London Scottish (22 points) against Bath (0) that they must surely get a chance in better company. When these trial games are played the great Oxford v. Cambridge match will have become history. Last Saturday the Light Blues rather surprisingly lost to Old Merchant Taylors, and the fact that the losers were obviously out to avoid eleventh-hour injuries should not deprive the Taylors of the credit for a capital performance. In their concluding fixture, against a team of old “ Blues,” the Cambridge scoring machine worked beautifully and ran up a total of 40 points without response from their opponents. It is a trite saying that “ Anything may happen ” when Oxford and Cambridge meet on the field of sport, if the records mean anything the Cantabs should win, for they have won ten matches, drawn one, and last three, whereas the Dark Blues have won but five, while drawing one and losing eight. In any case, one may confidently expect a game of more than average cleverness and excitement. (Cambridge won.) GOLF. In the absence of any alteration in the rule which forbids the inclusion of a player domiciled abroad, it looks as if the English professionals would have to take the field in next year’s Ryder Cup contest without the open champion, for Henry Cotton has reengaged himself to the Waterloo (Belgium) Club. American goiters will assuredly be ! disappointed, for one can imagine how keenly they were anticipating Cotton’s visit to the States. Our other professionals must do their utmost'to fill the gap. One of them at least is just now in wonderful form. Reference is made to Percy Allis, who, after experience in Germany and at Wanstead, is now with Beaconsfiekl. Playing in a Berks and Bucks Alliance competition at Stoke Poges Allis went round in 67, and if his short putts had only been as good as one expected he would assuredly have beaten H. Roberts’s record of 66 for this course. RACING. Every student of form likes to amuse himself by framing handicaps and especially enjoys weighing up the two-year-olds—probable and possible winners of the next season’s classics. This week has seen the publication of the 1 Free Handicap,’ in which the Jockey Club’s official hnndioapper assesses the juveniles of 1934. Aga Khan’s Bahrain is the most highly esteemed colt of the year, though as the Khan’s other colt, Hairan, is to be found only 11b lower in the list, the handicapper quite obviously makes little discrimination between them. Hairan’s weight is shared by Theft (Aga Khan’s third string), and they are considered 31b better than Lord Derby’s colt Bobsleigh. Here Mr Fawcett’s work has not commanded universal approval. When Bobsleigh ran at Goodwood his performance looked so impressive that many farseeing racegoers marked him down as one of the most likely three-year-old winners of the 1935 season.