CRICKET IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 6 January 1923, Page 6

CRICKET IN SOUTH AFRICA.

■ It is a remarkable fact that, though two decades since keen an,d :-resolute fighting was carried on against the British armies i* South Africa for three years, in a very short time that country settled down and became one of. the most loyal parts.of the Empire. Under the leaders who were the most determined opponents of the British forces the country progressed, and under them, too, when the call for assistance came to the Empire, the forces fox service in Africa and overseas were organised, equipped and sent away. Gen- | eral Smuts proved an able and far- , seeing leader and did great service, not > only in the field, but later in the councils of the Empire. "While the value . to the Empire of work such as his has always been recognised, 4 men of all shades of thought have long agreed ; that sport has a welding power among the peoples of the Empire. Tours have been organised in different parts of the world, in cricket, in football, and in i other sports,.and their influence-has all been for good. These tours included . South Africa, where athletes of the ■ best type, men, too, of the timbre of those young student-athletes who qualified for Rhodes Scholarships, represent- ; ed their Dominion. In football and in sports, as in cricket, they proved theii : ability to more tha nhold their own, Men like Sinclair, Falkiier, Nourse, Vogler, Schwartz, Pegler, and those who were among the first to develop the googly showed that cricket was a game in which the Englishmen met opponents worthy "of their steel. The contests between the Lion and the Cub ' have been going on until the present I day, and have provided many an inI teresting struggle. They have led to many warm friendships between the players, who have been, as it were, ambassadors for the Empire, and 'have played a part—and not a mean one—in cementing the ties that bind the different parts of the Empire together. So it has'been with keen enthusiasm that Englishmen all over the world have watched, and with the greatest interest, the test matches being played in Africa. ; The team sent out from England was considered almost as good as could have been chosen. They have met worthy opponents, and in the first of the series were honourably and fairly beaten. In the second, which has just concluded, England has scored a victory, but one so harrow that it might with a little luck easily have been another win to the men from the Southern Hemisphere. The success achieved was due largely in the first to' the fine batting of Taj'lor and the bowling of Blanckenberg. In the second a new bowler, Hall, was unearthed, who did remarkably good work. His play in the remaining match will be watched very keenly.. The next meeting of the teams will be awaited with the most interested anticipation, and whatever the result may be we feel sure we echo the general hope in saying that the luck may be even and the best team may win. ■ *