SPOTLIGHT ON SPORT

Evening Star, Issue 25698, 23 January 1946, Page 3

SPOTLIGHT ON SPORT

Soft Wickets. The sides which had to bat in the senior cricket competition on Saturday had little chance of overtaking the solid totals set them the previous week, for heavy showers had made the wickets soft enough to cut up, to the annoyance of the batsmen until later in the afternoon. In each of the three matches the batting side liad to follow on and to battle hard {successfully, as it turned out) to avoid outright defeat. Strangely enough, there were no very outstanding howling (performances, Freeman's four for 32 and five for 44 being easily the best. Lemin took five wickets during the afternoon, but no other bowler got more than four. Kiwis Beaten.

Defeat has at las* come to the Kiwi Rugby tourists, and from a rather ■unexpected quarter. Scotland was scarcely looked upon as probable conquerors of a side which had beaten England and Wales and several other reputedly powerful teams. .But there it is; the Scots ihaVe done the trick, and, judging by reports—broadcast and otherwise—done it in convincing fashion. Evidently they went into the field determined" to use every ounce of weight and strength, thus playing the Kiwis at their own game, and this proved the upsetting factor. Our forwards evidently got possession, but it was the backs who were bustled, and the unusual number of three tries "was scored against them. This is the first occasion, upon which a Scottish team has defeated a New Zealand side and the spectators were, naturally, highly elated. Yes, it was a surprise all right. It was the Kiwis who were expected to show the greatest spirit and to " bottle up'' the Scotch, instead of which the locals proved to he the " corkers."

Not Keen Enough. " I wonder if our young players in their teens and round about their early twenties are.as keen to improve as those of similar age a decade or so ago? " asks Harold C. Watson, in'one of his very interesting articles in Auckland ' Weekly News.' The writer, who accompanied the Auckland Plunket Shield team on their recent tour south, goes on to say: " A tour such as the Auckland team has just concluded is something more than a holiday. Playing or travelling every day for a matter of three weeks _is strenuous, and every opportunity should be taken by young players to relax as much as possible. After a long day in the field a wicket-keeper, who is concentrating all the time, needs relaxation, and a visit to a picture show is not the best form of relaxation for a tired cricketer. It simply amounts to this: that if a young cricketer wants to reach the top off. the tree he will need to. deny himself a little in the matter of other amusement. Don Bradman's book, records that his road to fame was one of hard practice- and of self denial. There seems to be no other way." Here speaks the voice of wisdom and experience; but, alas, how many of the present-day young players will heed it? One is inclined to-think that the lack of bowlers throughout the cricket world to-day may. be attributed to the disinclination of the young men to put in the hard work necessary to become highly proficient in that important branch of the grand old game.

Allcott Injured. , When the_full toss from.,Cowie which dismissed Cyril Allcott lbw in the. Auckland match struck the batsman's foot it did damage that may possibly keep that fine player and good sportsman out of the game tfor the rest of_ the season. The surprising part of it is how Allcott, with what subsequently proved to be one fractured toe and another badly damaged, managed to howl 38 overs -and capture three good wickets for 91 runs. It was a courageous effort by a howler who afterwards stated, that he was unable to place his full weight on his front foot when delivering the ball. Kaikofai, and Otago, will miss the services of Allcott. and all cricketers will hope that, despite indications to the contrary, he , will, before long, be able once more to put his best foot forward. The Swimming Kiwis. ■ I ' The Kiwi Swimming Club is perhaps*) not well named when one compares the earth-bound, slow-moving bird with the swift-travelling water babies who constitute the membership of the club. The only comparison that might be deemed apt is the fact that .both the bird and the club may claim to have numerous feathers in their "caps." Anyway, the Kiwi Swimming Club once more made a fairly clean sweep of the events at the recent Otago championships, registering 167 points for the club premiership as against 89 by the next on the list (Dunedin). The outstanding member was Ngaire Lane, who has a distinct penchant for breaking New Zealand records, even though the bettered times were those also put up by herself. On this latest occasion the shattered record was that held by her for the 220yds women's back stroke, from which she clipped 1 4-ssec to bring it down to 3min 7 2-ssec. This was the fourth year in succession in which Miss Lane has established fresh Dominion figures in one or other of the events. She also won five titles at this meeting, a distinction shared with her by Miss Margaret Payne (Kiwi) and S. Williams (Dunedin). Miss Lane is -the lady who holds the delightful belief that the best and. surest way to achieve relaxation during a race is to smile, and keep smiling. When one comes to think of it, there is a wealth of wisdom in that belief, and not only in respect to swimming.

Tennis Ranking Matches. Keen interest is already being taken in the tennis ranking games, and a number of interesting matches were played during the past -week. One of the best was seen when G. Laidlaw, of Kaituna, accounted for J. Paterson, of St. Clair, 6-5, 6-5. Laidlaw gained a substantial lead in the first set, but Paterson evened the score before the Kaituna man won out on his opponent's errors. In the second set Paterson had a chance to even the sets when he led 5-4 and 40-love. At this stage Paterson was commanding the net position, but was not finishing off strongly enough, allowing his opponent to force him into errors. Radford took the first set from Falconer without losing a game, but failed to maintain his form in the second set, and only won out at 6-5. In the second section Rudkin played great tennis to take the first set from McDonald, of North-east Valley, but McDonald's steadiness gave him the deciding sets. McKinnon played good hard tennis to defeat Bennetts, of North-east Harbour, in straight sets 'An excellent doubles match was seen between Radford and Laidlaw and Robertson and Cameron for second place on the doubles ladder, the former pair winning 64, 5-6, 11-9. In this match all four players gave a good exhibition of driving, volleying, and smashing, the Kaituna pair being slightly better than their opponents in the air.

Ormiston Strikes Form. Those who are able to recognise a capable batsman when they see one were pleased at J. Ormiston's display for Dunedin-Carisbrook B against Grange-University. Ormiston, who came to Dunedin at the beginning of the season from Wellington, 'where he played for Institute-St. Pat's, had failed to get properly going in the three previous matches, but on Saturday he revealed his true form, and compiled top score—26 not out and 71 —in each innings. It was good, too, to see Alex Knight break his run of ill-luck. His 50 was a bright effort, and included four 6's. His partnership with Ormiston produced 107 runs, and saved the situation for the side, which had lost nine wickets when time was called, and still had 13 runs to get in order to stave off an innings defeat. . A Cold Swim. The Batt Cup Harbour Eace, an annual two-mile event organised by the Otago Swimming Centre, was contested on Saturday under atmospheric conditions which might well have deterred the hardiest swimmer from undertaking the long journey. As it was ; only,three took the plunge—D. Reid (Kiwi), scratch man, M. McGregor (Kiwi) 9min, and B. Keane (Dunedin) llmin. McGregor cried enough after half a mile, but Keane, an Otago High School boy, who was making his first attempt at a harbour swim, lived up to his name, and battled on gamely until he had covered a mile and a-half, when he, too, retired. Reid, who had previously won the Batt Cup race, as well . as finishing second! in the Annette Kellerman Cup, swam on to the finish, completing the course in lh 9m 37 l-ss. To the cheers which greeted the courageous swimmer when he emerged from the water might have been added the chorus: "Freeze a jolly good fellow." Robertson Back. The Dunedin-Otago all-round cricketer, G. J. Robertson, is back home after two and a-half years of service overseas, " Robbie," who did a lot ofgood work with bat and ball while in Italy and elsewhere, is keen to take the field again in Dunedin, and he will certainly be a great acquisition to the weak Dunedin-Carisbrook B side. Had he returned a week or two earlier and proved that he was.still in form .he would have been a help also to the Otago team against Canterbury: an allrounder of his type is invaluable.

Chess Champion. When one has discovered on the map the " independent State of Estonia," one sees it just the cosily situated little spot that would produce chess players; a quiet-looking country tucked away in a'corner on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. To Wellington from Estonia came, shortly before the war, T. Lepviikmann, a chess player of such calibre that in 1943-44 he was third in the New. Zealand championship, in 1944-45 second, and in the contest just concluded he finished first, undefeated but with three drawn games. Chess, of course, is a leisurely game; even more leisurely than Plunket Shield or test match cricket. It is a game for thinkers, and consequently not so popular with the public as, say, all-in wrestling. Like draughts, chess leaves the vast majority of the great public cold. The Wrong Turning.

'Taking the wrong turning usually leads to trouble of some sort. This applies to a swimmer in a back stroke competition who makes a turn in an incorrect manner during the race, a fact of which one of Otago's outstanding young swimmers was reminded when, in the lOGyds intermediate boys' hack stroke championship, he made one of his turns on his chest instead of on his back. This was Colin Gibson, and although he finished first the inevitable disqualification followed, and he was deprived of his 1946 title. Strangely enough, F. Tremaine, who Bnished third in the same event, also offended similarly, and suffered "the same penalty. So that W. Walker, who had filled \ second place; was awarded the honour and R. Wilson, who finished fourth, was placed second. Cricket Statisticians.

A Society of Cricket Statisticians was formed in England recently to check and publish.all big cricket scores dating from 1919. Mr A. D. Davidson, of 185 Waiwhetu road, Lower Hutt, has been appointed a foundation member, and has been asked to compile and check all notable scores in New cricket from 1919 to 1939. Davidson would like anyone interested in either forming a branch in New Zealand or assisting in the work to communicate with him. " The bestknown cricket statisticians are Mr E. V. Roberts and Sir Home Gordon, and not only do their figures differ in some particulars, but there is also some discrepancy between the averages in ' Wisden' and the actual scores recorded," states Mr Davidson. " One branch of the work of the society will be to check up on these published averages and correct them where necessary. A correspondent recently wrote to the society to say that he had made his one thousandth correction in his collection of ' Wisden's.' "

Proctor a North Aucklander. Ike Proctor, who has distinguished himself in. recent matches with the Kiwis, is another of the players about whom little is known outside his own district. Proctor was called upon to fill the half-back position in the game against a London fifteen just before Christmas, and his versatility is demonstrated by the fact that he was chosen to play against Wales at fiveeighth. Proctor, however, had made a name for himself in North Auckland, football before he went overseas. He is one of four brothers, the eldest of whom, Sam, was an outstanding Northland forward. After leaving school he played, in his 'teens, with the Hikurangi juniors, and occasionally with the seniors. Proctor enlisted at the age of 19, and before going to Italy played with J. W. Smith, the Kiwi centre, for the Northern Military District against South Auckland, at Kaitaia. Proctor, when auite a lad. played with the Newton team. That' was in 1938, but his youth was against him. and he was dropped from the team after playing a few sanies. Reliable All-rounder.

Among the comparatively few consistent run-getters in the senior competition is G. McGregor, the Kaikorai captain, who in six innings this season has missed double figures only once, and with a top score of 40," has an average of 27.40. ■ He is also a very useful bowler of the stock type; altogether, an all-rounder who has given uterling service to his club for many years. Last Saturday McGregor was the only batsman in the side to reach double figures in the first innings acainst Carisbrook A. and he remained unbeaten with ,25 not out. In the second innings he was going along nicelv. and had reachedi a dozen when he was out, to a great catch by Harwood, who took it on the edge of the boundary just as the ball was sailing over the pickets for a 6.

Filled His Boots, But To bear the surname of one famous fast bowler and to wear the boots of another should surely have ensured success in the case of a player who also essays the role of what is known in the cricket world as a " speed merchant." Yet when Eddie Pritchard was given his opportunity as a substitute for- Jack Cowie in the special match between Auckland and Wellington he found that, while he literally filled that fine bowler's boots, he was quite unable, metaphorically speaking, to fill his shoes. . Eddie Pritchard had, on a previous appearance on Basin lleserve ? done remarkably well, taking eight wickets for 67 runs for the Navy against the Air Forces hence his inclusion in the Auckland side. But 111 this match against Wellington he suffered from a sore toe, and finding Cowie's boots were not effective in easing the trouble, he was unable to field in the second innings. In the first innings he took only'one wicket for 60 runs.

One of the Best. " I doubt whether a better . centre has ever come out of New Zealand than J. B. Smith," writes our London correspondent. "This Auckland lad—he is only 22—stands sft llin and yet looks almost small alongside his two big wings, J. R. Sherratt and W. G. Argus, each of whom is 6ft lih. All three are fine players, but Smith is

the' daddy of the lot, always making the kind of openings from which tries come and as sure in defence as he is cunning in attack. After the big game at Cardiff I heard a Welshman say he had never seen a team quicker on the ball than, these Kiwis—and most of these Welsh spectators are very good judges of the' game.'!

Faster Than Larwood. The former Australian Test cricketer, T. J. Andrews, carefully parried a question, when visiting Sydney recently, as to the best bowler he had met. Andrews said:." I couldn't answer that inquiry, but Maurice Tate was the best medium-pacer, Ted McDonald the best fast bowler, and Jack Massie, another Australian, was more capable than Voce." Andrews regarded McDonald at his top as being faster than Larwood.

L. D. Smith Batting Well. Lankford Smith, the Otago captain, is having quite a good season. In tha three representative matches in which he has taken part he has scored 85, 4 not out, 36 and 11, while in club games his scores were 44, 4, 10, _3U, 2, 70, the respective averages being 45.33 and 26.66. He has .also been useful with the ball oh occasions and is a first-class field. His 70 in Albion's second innings last Saturday was a bright.knock and included two 6's in one over, and seven fours.

Wilding Shield. Waikato and Wellington have both lodged challenges against the holders (Hutt Valley) of the Wilding Shield, while Auckland is considering the matter. Waikato has challenged for February 1 and 2, and Wellington for February 22 and 23. Heartened by the success of their first defence, the holders are awaiting challenges with plenty of confidence, and there is no doubt, that the trophy will not be easy to lift. " Goodwill " Fixtures.

Though'peace has come (or has it!), the attempt—made under instructions from Field-marshal the part of the British Army of Occupation to spread goodwill in Germany per medium of sporting contests with the local lads, is apparently meeting with little success. Recently we were informed by cable that one of these goodwill fixtures, in the form of a Soccer match between a British Army eleven and a side representing the Hamburg Sporting Club, was staged, and Army observers were present to watch the German reaction to the fame. What those observers observed as left the question of the value of this kind of fraternisation still in doubt; For the German reaction was rather typical of the race. The spectators booed, howled, and cat-called everything the Britishers did, and their conduct generally was not such as to demonstrate willingness to recognise any goodwill gesture on the part of the Britishers, who, incidentally, handed out a 2 goals to 0 licking.

Batsmen " Pampered.'! Mr Harry Donnan, only surviving member of the Australian test team which visited England in 1896, does not view the future of cricket joyously —or even serenely (says the ' Sydney Morning Herald ')* [ndeed, he fears that the great game will become drab and uninteresting ilf batsmen contimie to be " pampered." He speaks with the • authority of more than 60 years of active cricket, and with the certain voice.of one who has fought with—and against—the giants. Asked'who, in his opinion, was the greatest bat of all time, Mr Donnan plunged back through the years, into the bearded days of cricket. •" There was Billy Murdoch (I saw him get 321 on the Sydney cricket ground against Victoria); there was Ranji the Wonderful; there was Sid. Gregory; and there was Vic. Trumper, the stylist," he mused. " But, for an all-wicket batsman, I would award the palm to Sid. Gregory. I watched him getting 102 on a really had Melbourne wicket, while his partner was four. To-day's batsmen are not of their standard.' Everything is ' made ' for them, nothing or little is made . for the howler. Perhaps things could be better ilf wickets were not covered. One thing' is certain—the srame must become dull if this mollycoddling of batsmen con : tinues."

Christchurch Cyclist for Australia. Canterbury will shortly lose another of its outstanding athletes with the departure to Australia of R. H. Knight, a New Zealand record-holding track cyclist (says the Christchurch ' Star-Sun '). Knight began his cycling career as a schoolboy at the age or 15 years and has pursued that career until now he ranks as one of New Zealand's leading cyclists both on the road and on the track. His capabilities as a cvclist were noticed in his first race by that veteran of track and road, Phil

O'Shea, who took the young rider under his wing and has been responsible fcr his tuition ever since. A great deal of the credit for the successes of Knight must go to O'Shea, who, with years of experience to guide him, has brought the young rider up to such a high standard that he has now decide! to take up cycling for a leading iustralian firm in Melbourne. Knight while in Australia may have as his supervisor the world-famous cyclist Hubert Opperman. If this is the cjse, the associations formed by O'Shei during his trips to Australia, where he secured three fastest times in ths Blue Riband of cycling, the Wamambool to Melbourne, should prove invaluable to the young cyclist. Like!;. Australian Team.

Heie is what the ' Sydney Morning Herall's ' cricket writer considers a likely team for the New Zealand tour: —W.'A. Brown (Queensland), S.jG. Barns (New South Wales), A. L. Hassett i Victoria), IR. Hamence (South Australia), K. Miller (Victoria), D. Talloi (Queensland), 0. G. Pepper (New South Wales), R. Lindwall (New South Wales), P. Freer (Victoria), W. J. OReilly (New South Wales), E Toshack Wales). G. Tribe (Victtria), B. Barnett (Victoria). Tribe is a left-hand, slow-medium spinnir; Toshack, also left-hand, bowls medirm pace, turns both ways; Lindwall s a fast bowler and quite a good bat; Pepper a fine all-rounder, a big hitter and a slow right-hand bowler; Freer a right-hand fastish bowler who awing! both ways and sometimes brings one hick from the off. O'Reilly, of course we know all about, also the hunch of fine batsmen named. Tallon is regsrded by many critics as a better wicket-keeper than any other now in the fuld, and he is a good batsman as wel. Barnett is the other 'keeper. The alove would (form a splendid combinaticn, giving us over here a cricketing tnat. The statement that Pepper has signed on with an English ciub is evidently incorrect. Since _ his return b Australia he has denied having nude any definite contract. He and oilier members of the Australian services team intend "looking around" before making any decision regarding professional cricket engagements. •