Out Door Sports And Pastimes

Free Lance, Volume XIV, Issue 694, 18 October 1913, Page 21

Out Door Sports And Pastimes

By Toaohline.

Cricket.

IT seemed to me that the Management Committeer of the Wellington ' Cricket Association were in a big hurry to get the season started when they determined to begin matches last Saturday afternoon. Evidently, the man in charge of the weather held similar views to mine, for the rain that fell last Friday made it a practical impossibility for the wickets to be prepared in time for play to begin on Saturday afternoon, and, although things were not so bad when two o'clock came round, the matches had to be postponed for the simple reason that the wickets were not ready. Which; in my opinion, was a good thing, because tne opportunity for an extra week's practice at the nets must be to the advantage of the players and the game. s

I had a look over the Basin Reserve, and was more than pleased with its appearance. The grass has a fine body in it, and, although the ground will take a lot of working, the work • done •on it should produce good wickets. The fielding area, also, is smoother than in. >the memory of the oldest inhabitant, so that players ought to have an enjoyable'time daring the ensuing, cricket season, if they are so minded. With it all, also, is removed the reproach from us that the Basin Reserve is ' the worst cricketing area in the Dominion. .

There is one;mitter that haff been discussed many times, and that is the boun"daries for the ordinary champion/ship matches at the Reserve. It seems to me 'that this is a good time to put things in order in the direction indicated. The boundaries that at present operate were brought into force many years ago, and there, is no question about it but. that our players have to run out too y many of their runs on the side of .the field where there are no boundaries. Each wicket should have a boundary on all four sides —and not on two only-:—and_ it might bo possible to so arrange during the week that a new order of things will be brought into force by Saturday next. ' Under the laws of the <-ame the umpire arrange the boundaries, but the rule© of the Cricket Association set this d9wn as one of the duties of the, Championship Committee. Probably a delegation from both these bodies could arrange things to the Satisfaction of the players.

"What are the prospects for the-com-ing season is 'a question that is often put to one these davs. Candidly, I feel in a more optimistic mood just now than ever I have felt in connection with the playing of cr»cket in and I wDI be hugely disappointed if we cannot write the coming season down as a successful one when the time comes round to stow away the cricketing gear for another year. Why I feel this way is hard to determine. ' Probably the fact that it has been decided to abolish the district scheme of playing cricket in Wellington may be "the man behind the gun'' as far as I am concerned, for my opinion has been very decided that club cricket is the only thing that is possible to make the playing of the game successful m the Empire City. Again, it may be-that the big effort that is being made to wipe off the Association's indebtedness makes me hopeful. So many people are being brought into close contact with the playing of the game through this art union that it must have a helpful effect. in stimulating public interest in the various matches.- Mr. ' Gillie _ Wilson and the committee working with him are sparing no efforts in pushing the scheme into the forefront, and my wish is that it may be as successful as the keenest optimist amongst them.desires.*

I regret that the' South Club has gone out of existenoe owing to the lack of members, but, even from the days of tho old Newtown Club, the dub in the southern part of the citv has had a hard row to hoe. And, since the introduction of the district scheme, things have gone from bad to worse; so much so that, after last—season's experience, it v?a& only in the order of things that South should be found wanting when the roll was called. ,

But the Old Boys Club will more than make Tip for the defection of the Southerners, • for > -the simple reasra that a strong club, with a love for the associations connected 1 with it, will take the place of a weak one. The Wellington

College has had' many of the finest citizens in the city, at one time "or another amongst its pupils, and they all retain a keen interest in anything that will bring their Alma Mater and the institutions arising from their association together as scholars under Mr. J. P. Firth into prominenoe before the public. Therefore, the fact that the Old Boys Club is once again playing in the senior championship will, in my opinion, tend to create a greater interest in the games during, the season now commencing.

The North Club, last year's champions, will lose Blacklock, who goes over to Old Boys. Southall, also, is a doubtful starter, but Wellington cricket, and the North Club in particular,,will not be able to throw any bouquets at themselves if the lengthy left-hander is allowed to take his departure from the ■ city. Twohill, who had a good year in Invercargill last season, both with the bat and ball, has come back to Wellington in the servioe of the Public Works Department, and haa rejoined *his old club. Wilson, Wilkinson, Bray, Casey, Hiddlestone, and Luckie are onoe again in the eleven, and Manning, an ex-Dun-edin player promoted for the concluding piatch last year, should easily keep his place this time. Wagstaffe,, the promising wicket-keeper and .forcing bat from East B, has joined North, and Galloway , and Fevier are new names in the team.

The East A team have lost Stan._ Hickson, who will for • the first time in his cricketing career in Wellington—a fairly lengthy one, by the way.—be found playing this year in the same club team as

his brother Claude. * Old. and familiar faces in the East team are Hickey, Gibbes, .Midlane, McGirr, Johnson, Baker. Nash; and Wighton. Watson has been promoted from the B team to look after the 6tumping duties, and new faces "are Mabin and' Marling.

•The East B team is fairly familiar, and Varies little from the last two seasons. The club has decided to make the two teams distinct sides,. a- decision that has much to commend it, and one that should have always been adoptedBowles, Grimmett, Hutchings, W; Smith,- Dooley, Bates, and Collett are well-known "B" players, and - they are. strengthened with the addition of two fine South-players in Walters and Garter,- and a promising Centralite in A. Smith. Ryan is tde well-known lefthander from. Ha wke's Bay. who played a couple of seasons ago when he first came from' Napier, for the old Midland Club. . • ...

The Central team will miss the Rev. Biamires, who went to Hawera since last season, but Stan. Hickson, already referred to, will help to filKthe blank. The others are old hands, to wit, Kinvig, Naughton„ Robinson,. C. . Hickeon, Jackson, Mitchell, Paterson, and. Sisson. Roy Murphy is back in the side... and there is a Ryan also, who comes with a reputation as an all-round player from across the Tasman Sea. —-

By the way, on Saturday afternoon I met Cook, who came across from Nelson and played a little for the Central team. He has just returned from a holiday jaunt to Sydney and Brisbane, and called in at Wellington on his way to Gis-

borne, where he will hang out his sign, as a surveyor for the time being. . Arthur Fenton has joined the : Victoria College team, and will devote much of his spare time to coaching the younger players of the club. Much good should to the cricketers amongst the students at the 6eat of learning , on Sala-* manca Hill in consequence. Birch is notreturning to the Old Boys, ab waa.-ex-; pected, and will assist the Collegians. Others with him. are : Howe, Fanning, Mcintosh, Dempsey, Dickson, and Cao— dick. Joplin,;with a,fine*record at Wellington College, and who played 'a coupleof games _ last year without ; showing a reproduction of his schoolboy form,, remains with . the 6ide, and Duncan,, whodid good work with the bat and ball ia the. junior, team, has received deserved promotion. F. Beechey, an elder- .brother of the. Old player, joins_. Victoria College, and as he has the~ reputation of being, a .fine bat he should .beof much.assistance to them. Mason, who played a couple of timea-. with the East team and has had Enelish experienoe,. is "a new player inthe Hutt team; for .whom" Burton, late of the South,' is said also to be .playing'" this year. By the way, Burton was married on- Wednesday^.this week, and f I have pleasure' in extending him " 1 my hearty congratulations .* and good . wishes. Rodgefs, F. Judd, . Staples, - Aldereley, Isherwood, Patton and Stiles are again eager for their turn to take a strike. E. Judd comes back into the. side; and Ellison and Glennie, - two pro-

■aising juniors,; get promotion. Thee© fellows at .the Matt play the game for • the; same's sake, and a trip out to their ground is one of the pleasures of the season. .. -■

It is stated Smyrk is coming back to'Petone from Napier, where last season he captured 103 wickets in all matches at *an average cost of slightly over six ruflfl a wicket. Cates will onoe again be the "stumper" for Petone, and Brioe, Bennett, Nunn, Finlayson, Tregear and Hardham will be amongst the eleven. / Wynyard,' ' 'Pi's" eldest son, looks like keeping up the family name, as he is doing well afc' both football ana cricket: rhe gets his place in a senior side for the first time this Beason. Smith and Powell will be-given "another trial, and O'Donoghne, a promising junior, will be raised a step. McKerizie,- away with the New. Zealand football team in California, iwill be otit of the aide this season.

Only four of the original Old Boys team will be playing this season in its ranks, viz., Tucker, Blacklock, Beechey, and .Mason. ''But .they make a fine foundation for .the eleven to start with. D. C. Collins is farming in the Wairarapa, and. may come down for one or two matches, but, aa he is a moral certainty for the' New Zealand team, for Australia, he will not Be able to help the Old Boys much. "Tom" Hales has not made up his mind, yet whether to retire or have another season at the old game, and it may be as an Old Boy that ne will take the field when - the weather is a bit warmer. "

"Wills, Dan and Dick Hay, Grace, Goldfinch,. Leys (a left-handed bowler who has had some instruction from Saunders), ■ Smith* and Thomas (the likely wicketkeeper) are all in the running} for places in the team—and it. is a likely-looking side,-too.

Writing of Old Boys reminds me that Wilfred Findlay, the ex-Wellington College boy. who promised to develop into something above the ordinary as a fast •bowler, has been doing more than well during the cricket season that has-just closed-in England! In "the report of a match between the Architectural Asso-

ciation and Radlett, the following sentence Appears: '."Radlett could do nothing', with . J.. W. Findlay.. who took six wickets for- nine runs."

Dan Reese, the well-known Canterbury cricketer, has made a sporting offerto "Gillie" Wilson, "the chairman of-the - Management Committee of the 7 Wellington "Cricket The local bodywanted to play home afid home - matches ■. with it this year, . but the southern association, owing to its numerous engagements this season,, has -found. itself unable to comply with the request. • And this is where Dan Reese comes in, ,with a suggestion that should prove very acceptable. He proposes to bring a team of Christchurch cricketers to . Wellington, the majority of- whom will pay their own expenses, during New Zealand Cup week—Christchurch's carnival time—to, play the local representative eleven. The expenses / will amount to about £20, and, if the weather proves anyway decent, a goodly should result towards wiping off the Cricket Association's indebtedness.' Dan Reese has always proved himself a •sport of the first water, and this is only •another instance. ... The Wellington Umpires* Association is sadly in need of members. Any of the readers of.these notes who care to help the old ea me along by umpiring I will be pleased to hear from. It will ' give me much satisfaction to pass their names'along to the correct authority.