N.Z. and the Davis Cup

Northern Advocate, 28 January 1939, Page 8

N.Z. and the Davis Cup

EVERY New Zealand tennis player who is a member of an ■affiliated chib contributes to the funds of the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association, and thus it is the rank and file of tennis players, thousands of whom are in what is jokingly called the “rabbit” stage, who furnish the money for sending teams overseas. In the circumstances these players are entitled to take an interest in the policy followed by the New Zealand Association, and the composition of the latest Davis Cup team, announced during the past week, may arouse some misgiving as to its wisdom. The team consists of' three players—C. E. Malfroy, Denis Goombe, and N. V. Edwards—only one of whom, Edwards, is resident in New Zealand. Malfroy has lived abroad for the past seven years, and the likelihood that he may return, to pass on the benefits of his experience to local players, is extremely remote. The same comment applies to Goombe, who has spent i the last two years overseas, with one brief visit to New Zealand last summer. He, too, may never return to New Zealand. Against this it is argued that New Zealand is fortunate in being able to call on players who are already overseas, thus saving a substantial amount in travelling expenses. However, it will cost a considerable amount to send Goombe and Malfroy to participate in one or two rounds (depending on how many tjie team survives) and their hotel and out-of-pocket expenses have to be met. When the expense of sending Edwards from New Zealand is added, it is obvious that the venture will be costly, and affiliated associations should*ask themselves seriously “whether the members they represent are receiving value for the money subscribed.

The position would be entirely different if the team chosen for 1939 were a strong one, or composed of young players. But Edwards, the youngest, is 26, and unlikely to improve very much. Goombe and Malfroy have done nothing whatever in overseas tennis, in the past two years, to justify the hope that the team will improve on the moderate performance of the 1937 team which beat China, but was beaten by South Africa. Surely, if.money is to be spent on sending players overseas, it would be better to select young players wlio would benefit from the experience, instead of spending money on a mediocre team, two members of which are not even resident in New Zealand,