STIMULATING INTEREST

Evening Star, Issue 22209, 11 December 1935, Page 6

STIMULATING INTEREST

NORTH OTAGO CRICKET VISIT OF PROFESSIONAL COACH (From Our North Correspondent) . Although the season to date has generallylbeen favourable to cricket the response made by Oamaru enthusiasts has been decidedly poor, and unless something is done within the near future to obviate this state of affairs, cricket in Oamaru will be reduced literally to a mere handful of stalwarts, and in consequence the standard of performance will be greatly reduced. The enthusiasm displayed for lawn tennis has, to a marked degree, been the chief factor in robbing the cricket clubs of valuable members, and with the incentive given by tennis clubs to join up, it is not surprising that cricket in Oamaru has fallen from its pride of place in summer sports. North Otago with its salubrious climate, is admirably Suited to cricket, and with the many parks and uplands within its environs gives wonderful opportunities to those manifesting enthusism for the wielding of the willow: yet, strangely enough,these obviously encouraging facilities have, within tb© last few years at least, not been taken advantage of, and the position to-day is somewhat disappointing. At one time every country school and township boasted a cricket team, but the position has changed with the advent of other pastimes, and now only a few schools sponsor cricket in lieu of tennis. However, it is gratifying to know that tbe three town clubs—Oamaru, Albion, and Union—are still able to field senior and junior teams, and two clubs even field a third team. With the Waitaki Boys’ High School team in the senior grade the competition is placed on an even basis.' St, Kevin’s College is not strong enough to enter the senior grade, but enters teams in the junior and third grades, thus creating better competition. The Waitaki School has, for many years, fostered the game of cricket, and some of the present representative cricketers owe their success to the tutelage they received when at Waitaki. This year the school team has displayed all-round superiority in competition matches, and it is worthy of mention that tbe schoolboys have defeated tbe other three teams by fairly substantial margins in tbe first round. Much of the credit for this happy state of affairs is due to the energetic efforts of Mr W. Uttloy, who for many years past has been the senior cricket coach at Waitaki, and has been responsible for producing teams that have brought distinction both to the school and to their coach. For some time past members of the North Otago Association have endeavoured to elicit the services of a coach, but financial difficulties always precluded thorn from carrying this excellent suggestion into effect. However, the matter was again brought up recently, and resulted in the association obtaining the services of Otago’s wellknown coach, F. T. Badcook, for several days, during which time he gave individual tuition to several promising players in Oamaru, as well as talks and general advice. Perhaps the main feature of Mr Badcock’s visit to Oamaru was the attention he gave to the two secondary schools, Waitaki and St, Kevin’s. At both these schools he demonstrated to several of the boys the art of cricket, and with commendable tact and patience inhibited in the boys something of the genuine fondness an Englishman has for this grand old game. In the evenings the visitor lectured the boys and illustrated his talks with lantern slides and cinema photographs of world-famous players in action. Such a visit by one of New Zealand’s foremost cricketers should be of incalculable value to cricket in Oamaru generally, and it is to be hoped that in the not too distant future the services of this experienced coach will again be obtained, if only for a short period.