CRICKET

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 12140, 30 December 1933, Page 11

CRICKET

W .'a FOOT--V /'-.•" ; "■ :,; xi;:- J jr j - * Harold Larwood, 'the England and. KotlirigKamshire; cricfeoter;. underwent an ' operation .on his left; foot vat' a nnrsiing Homo in Devonshire Place,' W. i’tf ■ “Af A ? ' V;'-'" d Captain H. A,. Brown, secretary of tlio Nottinghamshire : County Cricket C ; lnb, : issued the following- stategieht: ‘‘A thiokeni’d*and inflamed pnrsa#ith the underlying sesamoid bptic .was'toy " V*' tjf ’?MT : • •?*. : ip moved., The .operatjohufyas ■satisfactory,^find dim prospects pf. frill, recoy-o-i . T t t-v '.’Si* • cry are gopd.. .u 'A.;' . v ;'-. , - Thp operatioii ry.as ■. decided on after Larwood's fpQt, last wijgtpr in m 'ty, .■respond to treatmenti , • / A. ib.urpQ. is a»’.-‘membranous poutjh interposed bctween„ certain innsci.es, arid tendons, tp. project.? them/ play over, the bony, surfaces., of a joint. . ■'Efyo- term scsamojid, hope refers to tiny •rouudpd pipces of bojig: developed in certain tendons to. diminish ‘friction ip tendons near, p hony, .surface,. , , -

THE LURE OF TOUR.

ADVENTURES OF AUSSIE, /'; • ‘ 'CRIOTiETERS.

Thus J- Cr. Bridges in- the. Melbourne “Argus”: It is .a riotous scene. Many., hundreds of colored -aWeamers snap' and 1 float in the breeze between. deck and wharf. . . a huge crowd cheers and shouts world of farewell as the 20, 00-tog ocean lfiier piyings aw,ay. from Fremantle, and the Australian en is on its way to England once more. A voyage of adventure, with Ehglandi thp .'final de.stinfitiojn, ,BBs begun. Every cricketer who played in the two recent trial matches in Melbourne and Sydney had his mind oh thd gangway of the . ‘ bleating palace’’ (which will leave Australia in March. To the, cricketer there is nPthing ini hisi career to equal the lura oi; that tour. To become a. memher 'of the Australian Eleven is the life’s dream of. the player- Every day is a day of keen anticipation and splendid realisation. Hew worlds are ope fled up to him. He sees places of which bo has read and dreamed since, boyhood- He rubs shoulders -j witfi. dukes -and princes. At -no exv pense to himself he- sees the. world under conditions which are denied even, it© the man of. wealth, for i,t is not everybody who- is invited to spend .a. day with the King and Queen. at Sandringham, or is y the. gue^tl, of the. Prince of- 'Wlales,. And, at the end, of. * this wondej; tour the cricketer will receive a 'further prize of £6OO, a. tidy bonus this for g yQuhg. man.

On a tour every playeif lias experiences on and. off the cricket, field that xeinain wonderful memories throughout his. life. Into. the few months of his absence ifi crowded, a life-time ,of excitement.' I recallan "experience of Sam Everett, 'the “baby” o| . the 192 G team at Colombo', on "the way to England. Everett, always bubbling over with boyish good nature, was leaving, the cricketing gfonndj at Colombo when fie was surrounded. by a mob AS;. natives, who,; with. arms. outstretched, •' WX§. frying, piteously, “Master, master.” Everett was; so, overcome - that! 'he dipped, fiis - hand into his' p’cket and threw /five sixpences' into the air. Hovy hp enjoyed watching the .scramble.. for those, coins-!- But later "he vdiscovered that the supposed: "sixpences were half-: sovereigns which he" had exchanged for notes earlier in the day. . !'f-' Ponsford-, who isi ope of the “certainties” of the. next..'tour, has fiis memtories of travel, hike"pther 'membars Qf..;fhb teain, he subscribed . to the sweep on the day’s ' run of the ship.. on an occasion, when the prize money wa s worth winning- The 'first prize was worth : about £IOO. Ponslost that, prize by the" lehgth of the steamer. Then there was his ad,-venturon^,-cancel-ride,-, rtear the Pyramids,-. these :rides you are. always accompanied, hy a. native camel driver. "'When., he has yep on a steep incline hoi brings . the, animal to -a half afid pleads or. demands a tip. Should' 1 the tip he satisfactory you enojy. 'a comfortable ride hack -to Mena House. Put disinclination, to part with a fair-sized tip is generally followed by an uncomforthhle', j ourncy. Whether Ponsford'’s .answer' to the, earner hoy pleased is not known •but members of; the. team had 1 > the epectacle of Ppp.^oyd: qareeririg down hill 1 on a .bolting, campl.. . •-

; A DAY AT THfi2 RACES. Most' cricketers on tour enjoy a day at two afi -.tbei races • when resting from, hi 1930, while the Australian Eleven,, was: in Paris, most;" of them journeyed). to AuheuU,' where.,the 'Melbourne; boy Wj Scanlon ■wag tiding,; an-d the AugtpaTfitin trainer ferairff Bullock had a feW horses ongagfidfi tkauiifd .#adl._SQfU»lon 'Bode fihe Tas.fi o;f the. day. To 'a man.' the,;. Australians \ jiPjWwS their, faith and money fio; that horse., which .'fit ' 8 to, l on.the par.i-. >', n,tuel- The! -.scenp aspasfcthe pQ^h.w| : i,iiye in, the. lgejncrry the Tong wfesfe? ?5° 0 the Afistrailiahsi were ''ftill \\standing afi'. tho ■ pay-out collecting thousands y and fhOTSands of ‘*\nd : afterwards' they ;? ;w%e.- photoifront | <’v :c “IviV" ■ CPhnslord 1 hafffidfapKheir ; nptialfije exp^riefi^d ; hhis “ifinie'> with the King.

;It happened duping’. the, -^est', ’’ ’ lqt| Lords three years ago. Pfey ; Aygs [stopped; Avbile ) on. ;tp/the: field],to shako hands with the f English , an,d Aiistraliani tqams. ' At bb.e time Ponsford Avas inthq eighty fie& and ho. apfKjared to bei for' a .penury, but the edj | to,, urpiavvo him,, andtlns'. .'nyickotj • fell immediately the Royal “How, the King got -Ponsford out’’ was a story seized upon . the, cricket ;• •; jt. was <pi rthe'bamo gronnd that U. r arr.Qp. the great le|t-banct" tQK, ‘ ‘carried Ki s’ bat,” in the Test ■ match in As his innings Avas ,eoniplefed when the-King wagi chatI ting; mill too i Australians in " their . drebsing-i:oom, Bardsley. had, the distinction of a receptioh. alt to himselt. The,-King shook handsi with Bards■lpy, and congratiilated him op his century, T%. keep, the. conversation qliye His Majesty, asked: “Apld how is Bardsley ?’” Bardsley had'A habit -’ of speaking pu.t pF the, cdmer 01P his niputTi, witli qnA|h&lT of the mouth closed;, 'and in this manner ho replied to the King, saying: “Not tbof qWer- Not too clever.” Another time he Mvas talk-

ing, to the Duke of York, andj indi•.cai'ing tlio Prince of Wales, who was standing•; a tew'’yards' away, Bardsley/remarked, . ‘‘Why don't you' ' get ‘hys nibs’ to take a team to' Australia some day ?” What a grand, .natural.'fellAW was Bardsley., His .placeras 'leift-hapd : batsman has not. yet been" filled "in Test/crickejt: " ’’ LUCK AT MjQNJTE CARLO,

1 In 1921 the) spent a •few-, days/at Mont© barlp. H. "LV'Cpllihs '‘invested’- the" team’s spare' path with great siiecess) .and when players ari-iyed in London they read Stories in the newspapers ahpjs "Lucky Collins.”,, How'i'that -soubriquet ‘ stuck to Collins'! " .Many books might be written on touring teams and tlieir experiences, but at the moment one’s thoughts go back to [He qdingley, Leeds where the third'Test'match is played. There-in 1921, ah. Australian ! player was 'acotorded a remarkable- ovation by a hugd orowd. lit ivas amazing ini' its unexpectedness. Han sen' Cdr.ter, the wicketkeeper,, was; one'' off the tail-end batsmen, and instead of walking to the’ wickets in silence that usually accompanies a tail-ender he received a storm of applause that began fyom the moment he left the he, got tol the Avick#i. As' hp shaded up it; broke out afiiesh, and. Carter had to walk away from the crease. Then it dawned, bn us that Carter was the only Yorkshire man playing in this. Test game, staged " in Yorkshire.' They are a clannish lot, those' 'York' shire! people, "andithey .regard it as a right to have a. ; Yorkshirema'n in. the English' team playing Teat matched there. Oh this occasion the English’ selectors had, overlooked Yorkshire’s claims,. But the Australian selectors had supplied! the deficiency. ~ ~"

One remembers Headingley again in 1926, and one of ‘the most sensational first "overs in Tefib cricket. Cferay the English captjain, having Won the. toss,, sent the Australians* to. bat on a wicket good "for hundreds) of trains. But from the. very firsfi. ball of the game Bardsley was caught by Sutcliffe off Tate. One .for none. Then Macartney, the newcomer,; after having tmade two runs, should have). been caught in the slips hy 'Cairr, . but . the chance was .drop-, ped. Then Macartney played ah astonishing innings. I have neyeif seen a -more dazzling display in a Tesfi match.. iHe gofi a.’hundred before Hunch, and had tho crowd wild with exeitpineiit. . v■' . * “

At, Headingloy again just four years laserj saw Macartney in the press-box wajtching • Bradman repeat Macartney’s .:■ feat of getting a century before 1 lunch- Then "Bradman wept on to make 334, the record in he history of Anglo-Australian Test cricket. ‘ ; ' ; ’ ' '■*

•sutcbirfe:. And horbs.

Bradman and Woodfull fia.d not been.-guilty of nerves in n Test match; until the, .lardine-Barwood combination gavej crickpt a new h?e.aning,:. hfit . and Sutcliffe have displayed ,temperament mpro ..than once. Sutcliffe wag, so upset hy Vic-: tor Richardson fielding at silly-point, just /oat. Sf~ reach of his bat; in A Tesf match, at Sydney that he prot©,ste|d- against . the Sfiluth. : Austhalian’s movements. There> was a .moment in ,a : Test match played in Melbourne, too/ when -Hobbs,‘ disappointed i that the uihpijre pad -not given; a decision against Ryder Sn." a run-out appeal, threw his'cap pul the ground. •ft [must have 1 ' been nerves, for ffobbs has completely forgotten' the ,' incident. . Indeed, he has oftep denied fii'S part in it." lyhen : Hobbs had Woolley as his partner, to opep the innings' for at Lprd’s. itfiree years";through injury—He was a’- vietjm of nerves.*.’ Eor '■ yegis he had "opened With the Yorkslirieman, and they.had become a wonderful combination. The .presence, of Woolley ip,. Sutcliffeis. place * iso ’ worried \Hpjbbs >.fhat he not .makei ,«•' start',., ancl, fie • was dis- ' 1 run.;' * ;"<•

MILD, “JEIITLXTES.” TtlE-V MAY BE CAUSTIC, BUT h.'-'afiTHEf. DOM-T CtrRSE. . •, V' ' ' ' " ' v . Sydney barrackers ■ ?,a inild-tein-. .pereel. lot. They pttlp '-throwing " of, ' orfipge, • afidj fiast

ana skins, hut swearing—oh, dear,

There,’have been occasions at the Sydney ’Cricket Ground when the pomp cuts from the “Hill” have been rather close to the “language’.’ mark, hgt : there has 1 never been 011 c like that in Melbourne, the other day .when the abusive language of a spectator Avas beaird all over tho ground. Instead or being arrested he was ; only warned, the constable, perhaps ■ haying a little sympathy Avitli the 1 man who had watched 157 runs scor r ;ed in 315 mimites—-and. standihg oh hot asphalt at that. \ ■ A high police official said later ! that He’ .could not 'recollect one /' spectator ibeing proceeded against for using offensive language, but that did jiiipt 'mean that action would, not be taken if necessary.

The. time-honoured “Get a. bag” or “Take ’iin orf” ''might bo "offensive to jardino and Larwood, but nob fo tlie secretary of the N.S.W. Cricket Association, Mr. Heydori. ' Bad language, hoAvever,, in a different category.

Mr. Hoydou said that offensive barracking avouUl certainly bring decisive action, but lie did not think that the . association Avould be required -to - niove, us the police would take whatever connsc they thought necesshry.' '..