SPORT IN BRITAIN

Evening Star, Issue 22577, 19 February 1937, Page 13

SPORT IN BRITAIN

[Fkom Ode Correspondent.] LONDON, December 24. ATHLETICS. During the last few months a good deal of criticism has been levelled at the Amateur Athletic Association, and one exuberant writer in a University publication has not hesitated to describe the’ governing body as a “ lot, of conservative old women.” This is really quite unwarranted. As a matter or fact there is not a single member of the committee which meets once a month at the offices of tha association who was sitting on it before the war. As to the officers, the hon. secretary, who is none other than tho Olympic champion of 1924 and lIV* I ’, D. G. A. Lowe, is 34 and the hon. treasurer is 53. One has only to compare the work done by the A.A.A. before 1914 with what it undertakes nowadays. Then the only promotion was, the annual flat and field championships. To-day there are matches against other countries. In 1937 France, Germany, Finland, and Norway will be met, and it is possible Sweden will be included when the team visits the two other Scandinavian countries. Teams are sent to Oxford and Cambridge each spring, and next summer London University will be given a match. Indoor athletics are now being fostered by the A.A.A. We are a long way behind the United States, which has run this alternative form of competition for half a century. We are. however, improving. For the third indoor championship next April there will be a banked track ■for the first time. Championships at half a mile and two miles have been added to the programme, and a particularly interesting event has been introduced in the form of a relay race at one lap (176yds), two laps three laps, and four laps has been included. Apart from promotions the A.A.A. holds a summer school of instruction, and this winter there is field event coaching, m the hall of a big city school. very conservative about all this. : BOXING, Although the Welshman, Tommy Farr, bears the Board of Control hallmark as the recognised challenger of Ben Foord for the British and Empire heavy-weight championship there was nothing in the display he gave against the French champion, Charles Kutz, last Monday evening to suggest that he will give the South African much trouble when they meet. The light was over 12 rounds, and Rutz, who was half a stone lighter than his opponent certainly surprised Farr by the speed he showed in the earlier rounds. The Welshman improved as the bout went on. but, although Rutz often stood wide open to a knock out Farr seemed to lack the will or the ability to go in for a deciding punch. He won on points right through, but his display as suggested, was not impressive. Len Harvey does not mean to go into retirement. Having failed to beat John Henry Lewis he desires to have a tut at that other American negro, Joe Louis. Efforts are being made to get the latter to come next June to, Wembley, where the fight, if it materialises, will be fought in the same arena as wil be used for the Association Cup final at tho end of April. A fight in the much nearer future that is attracting the keenest interest amongst boxing enthusiasts in these islands is the meeting of the world’s champion, Willie Smith, of South Africa, and Johnnie M'Grory, of Glasgow, for the Empire Feather-weight Championship at Johannesburg next Saturday. We saw what a great boxer Smith was when he defeated Teddy Baldock, then at, the zenith of his powers in 192 i. Smith is nine years older now, and although he is but 32 years of age, he has been boxing so long that he might almost bo classed as a veteran. It remains to be seen whether the South African has retained enough of the sparkle of youth to counteract the undeniable brilliance of M'Grory, CRICKET. All’s well that ends well- Such is the tremendous respect in which Don Bradman’s powers as a batsman are held in England that at breakfast time on Monday when the news came through that Don and Fingleton were making a start in Australia’s second innings we feared for the future. There were heaps of criticisms of G, 0, Allen s

action in making his opponents follow on. “"Why did he do it? ” we said. “ His men could surely have made 150, enough to put them in an impregnable position. Now anything may happen.” If Bradman, M'Cabe, Fingleton, and the rest had achieved an Australian victory poor Allen would not have heard the last of .the results of his second gamble as long as he lived. To win the first two tests was more than we dared to hope when the men left England in September. Beyond question the team has had what luck has been going. it is pleasing to note that Australian sportsmen admit that victory on each occasion has gone to the better side. Sydney is certainly not Australia’s lucky ground, and now she must look forward to Melbourne and the New Year for her chance to re-establish herself. This particular test will go down to history as Hammond’s match. Apart from the fact that he scored a double century and passed the 2,000 mark in runs scored in games between Australia and England, his bowling and fielding were of inestimable value to his side. In a word Hammond was the complete cricketer. No Australian will deny that there, are chinks in the Commonwealth armour. The tall is too pronounced, a second fast bowler is greatly to be desired, and the team is sadly lacking when it comes to batting on a- pitch affected by the weather. We shall not know the English team for Melbourne until just before the match. Opinion here is fairly general that Sims should make way for Worthington or FisMock. If the Derbyshireman were included we should still have eight bowlers on the side. Meanwhile we are a little surprised that the name of Chipperfield has be«n omitted from the 12 from which Australia’s team will be chosen. The selectors are far better judges than we. thousands of miles away, can possibly be, but “ Chippy ” does seem to be a more useful man to have on your side than either O’Brien or Darling. The replacement of Sievers by Fleetwood Smith was the natural sequence to the latter’s recovery, and everybody is delighted that the Commonwealth can now call on the brilliant lefthanded googly bowler. SOCCER. The men who are chiefly and almost exclusively concerned with amateur football are very dissatisfied with the way in which the teams for England s amateur international matches are chosen. In making an attempt to induce the Football Association to appoint separate selection committees for amateur and professional international games the would-be reformers pointed out that the majority of the present committee is interested solely in professional football and rarely, if ever, watch amateur clubs. Though the council of the association rejected the proposal, presumably on the ground that any separation of the sheep from the “goats ” was undesirable, one must express sympathy with those who wanted the change. It is manifestly unfair that the choice of rn eleven should be influenced by anybody who has not taken the trouble to watch the numerous aspirants to international honours. The object of the reformers will be achieved if the members of the Selection Committee who never watcb amateur games refrain from voting on the choice of an amateur side. . . . Sunderland is where it was at Christmas, 1935, but whereas a year ago its position at the head of the League championship table was almost unassailable, its lead at this present moment is negligible. The champions resumed command with a bardly-won victory over Leeds, whereas by failing at Bolton, Charlton dropped from hrst place to sixth. If Derby County had not unaccountably failed to overcome Middlesbrough, which was undoubtedly saved by the magnificent display of its goalkeeper, Gumming, it would have ranked first and not sixth as it now stands. All this goes to show how keen the contest is. Anything may happen between now and the beginning of May. The three matches in four days beginning to-morrow will assuredly have a bearing on the foremost places Meanwhile London is to be congratulated on having Arsenal (right back m its old form), Brentford, and Cbarlton right on the heels of the leaders. Blackpool, which visited Doncaster Rovers and returned victorious by 4 goals to 0, is going so strongly that it is beginning to talk confidently of returning to the first division. Its most dangerous rival at the moment is Plymouth Argyle; which overcame Bury by

3 goals to 0, thus thrusting the leadership into third position. While in the premier division only 4 points separata the leaders and Everton, which ia eleventh, in the second, there are 9 points between Blackpool and Burnley, which stands tenth. Chester had set up a good lead in the third division (north), but is now in danger of being overwhelmed by Port Vale and Stockport, while in the southern section Luton’s only advantage over Brighton is that of a superior goal average. Aberdeen still holds gallantly to its lead in the Scottish League, where in Celtic and Heart of Midlothian are their most dangerous rivals at the moment. RUGBY. Trial matches often prove a puzzle for Selection Committees, and that at Bristol last week-end must have worried the English selectors a great deal. Probably, owing to the condition of the ground and the,fact that players like B. C. Gadney and T. A. Kemp had to stand down, made the narrow victory of the Probables by 12 points to 11 over the Possibles a result _ that would be largely ignored in choosing the team for the next trial. There was some form that could not possibly be overlooked,The Blackheath half-backs (G. A. Walker and J. 0. Sowerbutts) gave a. sparkling display and must narrowly have missed displacing B. C. Gadney and Kemp when the halves for the next trial on January 2 were chosen. There is a very interesting choice in the preference of H. D. Freakes over the more experienced H. G, Owen Smith ' at ,back. Both are South Africans and Oxford Blues. The younger player certainly gave a brilliant display of touchfinding in the Universities match and again last Saturday. Yet Owen Smith has shown himself so reliable as England’s last line of defence that one would hesitate to think that Freakes will get the cap against Wales. The other trial match, Scotland The Rest, was a very different affair,for out of a welter of scoring the premier fifteen came victorious by 37 points to 15. Forward, the Rest pack proved superior to the rival scrummagers in the first half. There was some shuffling up of the teams at the interval, and this threw the balance of power into the other scale. Amongst club results, the most important was the success of Richmond over its ageold rivals Blackheath-, which once again showed what see-saw form it was in this season. The trial match at Bristol robbed both teams of notable players. It was weakness forward that lost Blackheath the match by 18 points to 3. LAWN TENNIS. It will be a great pity if the authorities in Australia determine not to proceed with the contemplated tour of women players in this country next summer. Doubt as to the financial result, based on a previous unhappy experience, may lead to such a decision* Enthusiasts here do not share th® doubt. There is a tremendous following for lawn tennis, and Miss Hartigan and her fellow players would attract crowds sufficient to make the tour a paying proposition. Everybody appreciates Fred Perry’s gesture in coming forward as a coach for the English Davis Cup players. Many sympathise with the remark the champion, made as to the desirability of co-operation between amateur and professional sides, of the game. In so many British sports there is a disposition for the unpaid exponent to look upon the acknowledged professional as a pariah. How greatly his skill would benefit if only he was more often and closer in touch with the professional I