OUTDOOR GAMES

Northern Advocate, 16 November 1929, Page 12

OUTDOOR GAMES

ON FIELD AND TRACK

p, It. Lumsden, a Hanraer player, scored 101 retired at Hanmer on Saturday, of which 98 came from shots to the boundary! His score consisted of 14 fours and 7 sixes. Lumsden, a left-hander, who is several inches over six feet, with a reach and power in proportion, jvas the crack batsman in the Christ’s College first eleven last season.

New Zealanders will have the opportunity of seeing the greatest professional golfer in the world in action when Walter Hagen visits here in February. He will be accompanied by Joe Kirkwood, who visited Nojjg Zealand some years ago. So far arrangements have been made to play exhibition matches at Christchurch and Wellington, but it is not certain whether those are the final arrangements.

Plum Warner recently issued an impassioned appeal to Australian cricketers to adopt the wider wicket, which has evidently come, to stay in English county cricket. Plum is satisfied that one experiment would be convincing and that the use of the wider target would then be extended to the matches between English and Australian teams, including the tests. Ho is still in hopes that the Australian Board of Control will agree to this for the coming tour of England, especially since the South Africans have fallen into line.

While some of the Australian tennis bodies are seeking to ban the mingling of professional and amateur players, the English Lawn Tennis Association is considering a movement to encourage it. It has been suggestgested that an annual open championship on the lines of the famous golf fixture be held, and the matter is to be discussed at the next meeting of the International Federation. It certainly seems anomalous that the amateur golfer and cricketer may foregather, cheek by jowl, with the professionals of their land and remain uncontaminated in public opinion, while to do so in tennis invites easting into outer darkness.

Some people have peculiar ideas regarding the proper methods to be adopted when training for swimming races. Recently, at well-known baths, it was noticed that not one competitor jw;ore a costume. All swam in trunks only. These swimmers should have worn woollen or cotten costumes, which would have greatly assisted them in their preparation for the bigger events tp come when they arc obliged to perform in costume. Swimming in trunks only while training or competing in club handicaps is on all fours with removing a horsed shoes while training and replacing them for a race. Swimming in a heavier costume than that to be worn in a- race has everything to recommend it. When competing in a race in a silk costume, after training in a heavy suit, the shimmer is materially advantaged. Oversea stars train in woollen costumes, over distances from 200 to 400 yards.

H. L, Hendry, the well-known .Victorian cricketer, has transferred to Richmond. He has played some good knocks for M.C.C. and Victoria, and at least one century stands to his credit against Chapman's team, a fine 112 in the second test at Sydney, after he had got 37 in the first. He failed to keep this up, and was dropped in the later games. If Hendry can reproduce his form of a couple of years ago this season, there aa-e less unlikely things than a trip to England for him, for his slip fielding is still good, and he is a reliable change bowler.

In all probability the next KirkWindeyer international cup matches will be played at Shirley in conjunction with the club’s annual Easter tournament in April next (says the “Press”). If this plan is followed it should make the next Easter tournament one of outstanding interest, as the leading golfers of Australia and New Zealand should be present.

The United States elaims to have unearthed another tennis champion in Miss Sarah Palfrey, a sixteen-year-old Boston girl player. For the second time she has won the girls’ national championship singles.

The British Road-Walking Association took part again this year in the international four days’ long-dis-tance marches held at Nymegen, Holland. A record number of competitors took part. The fifteen British competitors all completed the course, and gained 100 per cent, honours for Great Britain. The British contingent were accorded a wonderful reception on their' arrival at, and departure from, Nymegen, and at the various places passed during the marches. The British competitors did 55 kilometres (34 miles) per day within the stipulated time of eleven hours, their average time being 9J hours for each day’s march.

An English paper reports that Mr Max Woosnam, the well-known allround athlete, is lying seriously ill at Weaverham Grang“e, near Northwich, suffering from a tropical disease brought into his home by an imported parrot. At first the disease was thought to be typhoid fever, but its true nature was revealed by the diagnosis of a London specialist. Mr Woosnam, who is making satisfactory progress, was formerly captain of Manchester City football club. He won several amateur International caps and was given a full International cap in the match against Wales in 1922. He was also a Cambridge Blue. When at Winchester* he was a free-scoring cricketer, and he was a first-class lawn tennis placer.

A weird departure from rowing traditions was made on the Thames lately, when a crew, coached by the genius who had, evolved the idea, attempted to give an exposition of what the inventor calls “syncopated rowing,” The basic idea is to have at least two oars in the water all the time, thus avoiding the waste of propulsive power evolved in the swing forward to the catch. The boat is started as usual, and then stroke and 7 strike a shade ahead of 6 and 5, and so on down , the boat. The display proved a washout, the oarsmen failing to master the timing. To the outsider it is difficult to see how the recovery is to be made with at least two men in the boat going back on their sides.

The young man had taken his girl to see the first cricket match of the season. Naturally, he desired'to impress her with his knowledge of the game. Just as a new bowler was about to take his run, he said to her, “Watch this chap carefully and you’ll se§ his leg-break.” “Gracious,” said the girl, “I don’t know how you can bear to watch such things.”

A young girl was learning golf. Her father was keenly interested in her progress. One evening at dinner he said to her, “Well, my dear, what did you take to the first hole today?” “Seven and six,” answered the girl. “No, no,” laughed her father, “I don’t mean what was the result of your game, I mean how many strokes did you take to the first • hole?” “Seven and six, daddy. Seven hits and six misses.”

C. G. Macartney has been batting so -well in Sydney club cricket this season for the most part on bowlers wickets that strong efforts have been made to induce him to reconsider his decision to keep out of first-class cricket. On present form, not only his batting but his bowling would be an asset to the next team for England. However, there are other fish to fry, and though he will tour England with the next Australian contingent, it will be as a special correspondent for the Sydney “Evening News” and affiliated publications.

A London message of October 3.1 says:—The keel of Sir Thomas Lipton’s Shamrock V. was laid this morning in Camper Nicholson’s yard, at Gosport, in the presence of Mr Charles Nicholson, the designer. The vessel [will be built with a length of 76ft, in accordance with the rule of the New York Yacht Club, and it has been mutually arranged that it will be fitted with Bcnnudion rig instead of the older type of gag, mainsail and jock-yarder. It is considered that the similarity in rig will ensure a sporting contest.

The French Press is publishing the views of experts as to the world’s best ten tennis players. They almost unanimously agree with. W. T; Tildon that the five are Cochet, Lacoste, Tilden, Borotra and Hunter, Dr Mpnbarrin, then adds Lott, Boussus, Doeg, Van Ryn and Moldenhauer. Another writer, M. Domerguc, selects Henuessy, dc Morpurgo, Austin, Lott, and Brugnon, while M. Maximelanet prefers dc Morpugo, Boussus, Brugnon, Lott, and Prcnn. He recalls that. Mr Wallis Myers named Lott, Doeg, and Van Ryn.

The financial aspect of the Australian Rugby League team in England is causing the authorities in .Sydney grave concern. Up to the. end of the Huddersfield match the' takings were £1215 less than for the corresponding number of games (ten) in 1921-22. The decline is attributed to reduced prices, but by all accounts League attendances, even at club matches, are falling off all over the North of England. In play up to the end of the Huddersfield game the tourists had scored 302 points to 95, or 72 tries 43 goals to 17 tries 22 goals.

Scottish bowlers this year captured the two greatest prizes offered in England/ this notwithstanding that there are at least ton Englishmen to one Scot playing the game in England. Dr Nicol won the London gold badge, and R. G. Colquhoun won the single championship from nearly 4000 players.

In Brisbane the other day a dirttrack motor-cyclist, Frank Pearce, got over the mile in 74 l-ssce, breaking the world’s record, it is claimed, for a race of the kind. The time was I.sth of a second better than Frank Arthur’s figures of last year, which had been equalled by P. Grosskreutz, |

Two curious golf shots have chronicled recently. One was in Sydney, whore a player forcing a ball out of a divot hole had his glasses smashed by the straight-pulling pill. The other comes from America, where a player hit a 405 yards hole in one. The ball hit a concrete road, and hopped on top of a moving motor car hood, rolling off the baok. As it fell, a spinning hind [wheel caught it and flung it over a bunker on to the green whence it took refuge in the hole.

The International Rugby Board has at last made up its mind that the play-er-writer is overdue for the toma-. hawk. In future, no member of a British team on tour or at home is to be permitted to write football matter for the Press. Even more significant is. the announcement that no member of the Rugby Union executive may in future write football matter and retain his position. This is in keeping with" the best traditions of the Rugby Union, even if one or two famous names vanish from the newspaper columns or from the list, of the amateur organisation’s controllers.

| The American tennis authorities are • in a quandary over the ease of Elissabeth Ryan, She. was born- in America, but has spent most of her tennisplaying life in Britain. She is not to play for Britain, and though she play-, ed for IJ.S.A. at Wimbledon in 1026, the American panjandrums.have now (decided that her American domicile is j not sufficient to permit her to .appear again as a representative of the Stars and Stripes, As far as tennis is concerned, the groat doubles player is a girl without a country, and under the rules of international tennis even the taking out of naturalisation papers will not remedy matters.

Stan Brice, the shrewd Wellington cricket selector, is not going to have an easy task this year when it comes to picking a representative side. There are a number of young players who are "knocking at the door, while some of last year’s stalwarts have not yet shown anything like last season’s form. The next two games mil tell a tale one way or the other, as Brico will be .requited to pick his side, to meet the Englishmen in four or five weeks. Whatever happens, Wellington will probably require to find room for young Blundell, whose University bowling feats were the subject matter of quite a few cables from England last season. ‘The Wellingtonian will be back in the city early next year.

I ' At .the VSydney Velodrome, Ron I Nicholson, the ' 1925^‘New v Zealand t Road Champion, won a seven-mile motor-paced race.

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