THE WORLD OF SPORT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 11 June 1926, Page 5

THE WORLD OF SPORT.

TO-MORROW’S BIGi EVENTS. HOME CRICKET. THE FIRST TEST. The biggest events in the c 1 ickei world are the test matches betw-vn England and Australia, which in a long line blaze a cricket trail wa,v hack to 1868. World-wide interest has teen, taken in these matches, as each tour Is arranged. The present tour is specially noteworthy, because of the length of time since England lost the ashes, and of the great desire in England that they should he recovered, a desire which bias been made public in correspondence and controversy such as perhaps never before lias been .seen. To-morrow is the 'day on which so much interest lias been focussed, .and which will see the opening of an historic match on which so many hopes are centred. The fortunes of the teams in that match will be followed with tremendous interest all over thte civilised world.

5 The English team. selected, contains no surprises, and is mainly the old brigade, -solid and tried. Most followers of the game would have agreed on, say, eight of the team, differences existing on the choice of the other three. It- will be the general wish that Sutcliffe will have entirely recovered .from his injured -leg, so that the; opening combination may lie once- more Hobbs and Sutcliffe, who scored such triumphs in Australia. Anticipation will he very keen as to which captain will get the spin, of the coin, and whether Collins’ extraordinary luck will stick to him. A fair field, even .luck and no favour will be the general wish of followers of the grand old game the world over.

RUGBY FOOTBALL. NORTH v. SOUTH ISLAND. In view of the tour of an AH Black team to Australia, Wellington, where the North and South Island teams meet to-morrow, will be the cynosure of all eyes and the centre of all Rugby thoughts in New Zealand. Two verystrong teams have been selected, and while no doubt a. feeling of regret that fine young players from Taranaki have not been chosen, the knowledge that the North team is practically AH Black will make them realise that to get in that team is exceedingly difficult. HOCKEY. INDIAN ARMY v. CANTERBURY. The. Indian Army team —many ai fine team in many branches of .sport have come from the Army as well as from the other services—have had a conquering tour so far, and it would appeal unlikelv that they will be beaten in the Dominion. They will play one of the important matches of the tour to-mor-row, when they meet Canterbury. As hockev is reported to. be' of a high standard in the South, enthusiasts may expect a good contest. The Army team is winning golden opinions, both on and off the field, and its performances are watched very keenly by hockey enthusiasts.