ATHLETIC SPORTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7716, 14 August 1886, Page 6

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

FIXTURES. FOOTBALL, Auckland v. New South Wales, about August 25. J August Otago v. Canterbury, Dunedin.

AQUATICS. Beach, v. Wallace Rons for the championship of«tne

world. Matterson v. Perking, £200 a aide, August 16. P. Kemp v. Bubear, £100 a «!de. Tournament on the Thames, September.

CRICKET. AUSTR4LIANS IN BNOLANU. August 16.—Gloucestershire, at Cheltenham. August 19. —United Services, at Porumouth. B&Augu-t 23.—Cambridge Past and Jf resent, at Leyton. August 26.- Sussex, at Brighton. August 29—South of England, at Gravesend. bebtembtr 2.—Gentlemen of Kngland, at Scarborough. WALKING. August 21— Moreshead v. S. Goodman for two miles championship, on Domain Cricket Ground. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. ■Rkprrßicnt«tive — McOninland learnt his football as a seni')' with the A.F 0.. coming out their wholeback. He joined Gordon when it was formed. li. Mclntyre brought a reputation with him from Wellington in IHSS. and played for Ponsonhy tnat season, returning home when Whiteside visited Wellington,

FOOTBALL. The great match is over, and the result is, as everybody knows, Auckland has won, after a great battle by four points to Wellington's two; but, it must be stated, that the game, although a good one from start to finish, was not up to the expectations of many, especially the critics; there were few mistakes, but the play was not brilliant, bar that run of Whiteside's. Our backs were good, but then the Wellington forwards were better, or rather they played a different game to ours, and came on to the field in better condition to last the ninety minutes than the Auckland men, We immediately ask what was the cause ? for all along so much implicit confidence had been placed in them and their ability to play both a fast and brilliant game. Was it the ground, heavy from recent rains and Saturday's match, or that they were too heavy, and not equal to the dashing Wellington "boys"? Iso; I think the answer will be found, on a little reflection, that the oonrse of training was hardly right. Heavy dumbbell lifting, horizontal bar work, and a little jerky dribbling and puntahout of an evening only develope the muscular frame, without supplying that all important factor—staying power. To combine good long runs of the ''go-as-you-please" fashion, with practice and strict training ' seem the essentials for a representative man or club player if he wishes to make his mark. Whether the Wellington men were naturally a better lot ia another question, but the fact remains that but for our good backs in the second spell our forwards had almost gone to pieces, and only came together when individual play shone, and a good rush would sweep the blacks away for a time till they again assumed the offensive. Perhaps the forwards' efforts were somewhat dis : counted by a little too much passing among i the backs of a somewhat reckless character. Still, all will, 1 think, admit that it was the unselfish play of our wing men and half backs that enabled us to score in the first term. We had but few chances of doing it in the second. Wo were taught many lessons by the visit of the Wellington men in 1880, and something new to us will no doubt have been noticed on Wednesday. The passing among the black and golds was not noticeable, but then their punting, collaring, and dribbling were good,there being not a vestige of funk in the way they went for their men. None of their backs were really fast, but then we cannot expect them all to be equal to the Ponsonby crack halfback. They all did their work well, and to single them out, Fairbrother, although he missed Whiteside, McCausland, and Roberts were all good. The late Auckland and then Gordon fallback has developed into a capital player during his sojourn in the capital, showing that his training in Auckland had not been bad groundwork for him when he can, after being a) season there, be picked as a representative, and then play in any position behind tho scrum, Roberts was not quite up to expectations, but in football as in cricket, each player has his day out. He was all there in the beginning of the game, playing with a dash and spirit that bespoke nim his place in the New Zealand team. We missed his drop kicking reputation, and even it may be said that the match was bare of any good work in this direction except Ryan's fine drops. J. A. Thomson is still a good man, although he was the oldest man in the team, and was the only rep. who played on the Domain in ISBO. He still kicks well, and has plenty of running yet left in him. He and the present captain of the A.F.C. may be compared together. Stock made no mistakes, always got his punt and displayed great judgment when he put the redoubtable Auckland halfback into touch after he had eluded all but him. In forward work Cooper and Ellison were conspicuous, with Smith and King on the edge of the scrum ever watchful and always where the ball was. It may be said that the blacks were very often down on the ball in the scrum endeavouring to work a point, and it was not without cause that the whistle was frequently blown. There was a ndenoy also to play offside, but then that generally occurs among fast men, and the temptation to break the rules is irresistible. King was very smart, indeed, and surprised the blues in many a rush by his quickness in finding out the position of the oval. What accounted for the blacks coming through so often was that our men did not lock in the scrums, and were thus more easily broken up. Our rushes were ?rand at times, taking the ball from the '25 flag right into the camp of the enemy, but what was the use of them if reckless passing in a great measure threw the work away. Turning to our own men, Whiteside, of course, was far and away the beat man on the ground. He could not have been in better fettle for the match, lacking none of his old dash and brilliancy in running, fending, and picking up. His play all through was aided considerably by the unselfish play of the blue and blacks' captain ; and if he had been entrusted with the ball oftener than he was, the score might have been enhanced. Joe Warbrick captained the team, showing considerable judgment in the way he handled his men ; but somehow he was not in his usual form, and was never dangerous at any stage ol the match ; however he received a nasty kick which must have knocked a good deal of dash out of him for the remainder of the game. Whether he was playing too close or not was not apparent, but the intercolonial rep. was not oq the whole in the form expected. Poland did all that was expected of him, stopping rushes well, and making his short dodgy, runs when wanted. " Darbie " Kyan was in rare buckle in the first 45 minutes, kicking grandly, and doing all his work in firstrate style, but like many others in the team, he was not so prominent when goals were changed, as then he tried to ran, and invariably lost his kick. Braund played better than had been looked for, and his stopping of Fairbrother near the end of tho first 45 was a piece of play every whole back would not accomplish. However, I think I am not alone in asserting that the Wellington try might have been saved. W. Warbrick played a hard game all through, collaring well and stopping the rush with his accustomed pluck, but his drop-kicking was a very mediocre display, indeed, for a half-back. He had plenty of time for most of them, yet they were nearly all mulled. Among the forwards Lindsay, although he played a better game in the second of the trial fifteen matches, was in the first rank, displaying all the knowledge of a veteran Rugbian, with plenty of "go" left in him, even to the finish. It was he who first passed the ball when Whiteside got in. Meldrum proved himself thoroughly entitled to his place in the team, and, along with Arneil, although the Wellington wing men were rather smarter, were game to the finish in collaring and dribbling. O'Connor did not give all the weight he possesses in the scrum, but his dribbling was better than usual, and on the whole played a far better game than had been anticipated. Moginie and Spencer both played well, and Lecky, who was somewhat incapacitated by a bad hand, worked hard right through. Veale and Murphy were always in the thick of it, and kept well on the ball to the end. The former, i learn, will be unable to play agaiuat Sydney. Auckland still wants a place-kick who can be depended upon for easy shots. Ryan cannot be denied in difficult angles, but when opposite the posts somehow be misses oftener than he succeeds. That try of Wellington was thrown away, and indeed it may be said the match as well, by the waste of time that took place in preparing for the kick. The crowd became demonstrative, and the Wellington threequarter back lost his head when he made his effort. A goal would have placed

Wellington one point ahead of Auckland. Summing up the play of our men in the second spell, with the* ball constantly on oar side of the centre flag, there can be no doubt that the blues played a good defensive game when their training had broken down almost entirely. The matoh will be a memorable one, and the public showed their appreciation of football by taming out in numbers that were unprecedented in the annals of sport in this colony. When Auckland and Wellington meet again it is to be hoped they may play under the same auspices, and contest the matoh with a like good feeling. Whiteside's try brought cut one of the cleverest bits of play in the match when he got in his foot had marked the touch line a vord or so from the gaol, and of course he had to return, but it was done with so much smartness that he fairly astonished the black and golds. Be brought the ball into play by just giving it time to bounce, and then throwing himself over the prostrate Southernpr into coal, gaining his try. The inter-island match for next season was to have been discussed during the visit of the Wellington men, but nothing has transpired as to what was done to further the proposal. The grand stands, although temporary structures, did not repay their cost on Wednesday, on account of the numerous "dead heads," who scaled op the backs of them.

It is said that Williams, of the Wellington team, intends returning to Auckland, and that Gordon have secured him.

The Selection Committee have picked the following teams to play on Dilworth's paddock this afternoon, in preparation lor the match with the New South Wales team, expected to be played on Saturday, August 28:-

Prob«bles (Blue and White)Braund, R>aD. Warbrick, Whiteside, Poland, Jordon, Arneil, W. Mel'l rum, Lindsay, O'Connor, Murphy, Spencer, Leckie, Wells, Moginie. Possibles (Colours).—Lusk, Madigan, Reed, Davy, Cooper, L Meldrum, Henderson, Carter, Crowe, Gardiner, Skardon, Mountfort, Stewart, George, Clayton, Bruce, Muir, Burton, Mills. East Christchurch is again at the top of the premiership list in Canterbury, and out of eight matches the yellow and blacks won 4, drew 3, and lost 1, scoring 27 points. North Canterbury was next with 7 matches, 4 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw, scoring 29 points. The return match between these clubs fell through on account of stress of weather.

The match between Queensland and a selected Northern team attracted about 1500 spectators to the Newcastle Cricket Ground. The weather was brilliant; although a chilly wind prevailed, it was perfect for football. The Newcastle men were small and light, and were soon overmatched by the heavy average weight of the Queenslanders, who seemed much better Buit«d for the rough scrummage work of the Rugby game, with which the Newcastle player are less accustomed. The first two points were scored by the local team, who made a spirited beginning; but the rest of the game was in favour of the visitors, who won by sixteen points to the northerners' two points. The Canterbury Rugby Union selected the team to play as Possibles v. Probables to-day in preparation for the match with Obago on August 28 :—Probables : O'Brien, Allardyce, Frances, -Vebb, Helmore, Taiaroa, Fooks, Dow, Horner, Sutherland, Moir, Beswick, B. D'Auvergne, Torlesse, E. Millton. Possibles : Crowe, Mathias,Wilson, McLean, C. D'Auvergne, Harden, Mountfort. R. Scott, Dewsbnry, Fuller, Atack, fliddlestone, Garrard, Hoban, Weeks, Dobbs, Turnbnll, and Bean. Emergencies : Hobbs, Donnelly, Bennett, Harman, Somerville, Taylor, Haast, Wood. In the club matches in Christchurch this season the following player* " potted " goals from the field :-Wilson (N.C.), 5; Francis (East Christchurch) and Crowe (Merivale), 4 each; Rayner (Hast Christchurch) and Mountfort (Merivale), 2 each ; Dallaß (Merivale), Beei : (Sydenham), and Mathias (Christohurch), 1 each. Lord Uarrington signified his intention of being present at the return intercolonial match between New South Wales and Queensland, which was fixed for Saturday last on the association ground.

Queensland defeated New South Wales on the Association Ground, Sydney, on July 24, before 4000 spectators, by 4 points (two tries) to 2 points (one try). J. S. Anderson played a fine game for the winners, and seems to have plenty of grit left in him yet. CRICKET.

It would appear that the top dressing, etc., of the Domain ground is not being laid this season according to the usual custom, and the turf will show the ill-effects in the summer.

The complications in reference to the English cricket elevens being arranged by Shaw and Lillywhite and the Melbourne Club are likely to lead to an open rupture. The Melbourne Club is determined to persist in its original plan, and has secured all the best dates for matches.

It seems that it was the Melbourne Cricket Club who offered Dr. W. G. Grace £1000 to come to Australia with the English team, but the doctor wanted £1500.

The following are the batting and bowling averages of the Australian Eleven up to and inclusive of the Lancashire match :— Batting : G. J. Bonuor, 13*6 ; W. Trumble, 18 6 ; S. P. Jones, 18 ; A. H. Jarvis, 157 ; U. J. H. Scott, 12 ; \V. Bruce, 12 ;G. G-tfen, 11-10; J. McC. Blackham, 10-10; T. W. Garrett, 97 ; E. Evans, 7'3; a. Mcllwraith, 7-2 ; G. E. Palmer, 5-2 ; F. R. Spofforth, 25. Bonuor aoored 276 runs, and Jones 2SS Bowling: Spofforth, 624; Giffen, 7-10; Garrett, 116; Evans, 13 6; Palmer, 16"8 ; Bruce, 23. Spofforth took 38 wickets, and Giffen 52.

Whatever may happen, for good or evil, to the Australian team now in England (says the Leader " special " correspondent) before their tour is completed it is beyond question that up to the present time fortune has not' smiled upon them. In many apparently little matters which, however, have been really of more importance than might generally be supposed, 1 have noticed the luck of the colonial team to have been dead out. In one or two cases, for instance, they have had to bowl with a slippery ball, and the weather has cleared when the opposing team has been in the field ; good individual innings have come to an untimely end through " l.b.w.;'' and several times I have noticed that from miss hits the ball has travelled towards a fieldsman with unerring persistency. These are things that, of course, we all know happen at times to all and sundry, but I think that any impartial spectator of the matches played by the Australians since their initial effort at Sheffield Park will allow that, while they have scarcely earned favourable comparison with their predecessors so far as the actual merit of their play is concerned, they have certainly in some, at least, of the eight matches already played, been unlucky. A striking instance occurred on Friday in connection with the match against Cambridge University, which yesterday resulted in a draw, all in favour of the Australians, AUCKLAND COLLEGE AND GUAMMA.R SCHOOL C C. STATISTICS FOR 18S5-6. Matches played 11, won 9, lost 2. Runs scored 2130 for 192 wickets, agaiust 1119 for 185 wickets.

* Prize for fielding given by tlie Club. t J Priw for battinc given by Mr. K. Ear!. * { Prize for batting given by Mr. Mumford, Bowling Averages.

AQUATICS. A match was arranged to take place on Saturday, August 7, on the Hunter River, between Hughes and Priddle, for £150 a side.

Articles have been signed for a second race between Neil Matterson and G, Perkins, over the full championship course from futney to Mortlake, for £200 a side, on Monday next; £50 a side were staked, and the conditions are said to be similar to those of the previous match. If the permisjii n of the donora can be obtained, the challenge

cup now held by Perkins will h» "~~~" with the £200 to go to the winner P H ' event. " th« On Jane 12 a race between John of Pittsburg, and Jacob A. Gaudaur ''i Louis, was rowed on the waters of n J "t Lake, Pullman, 111., for the ■calling [** pionship of America and 2000 doll* i ' the start Teemer gained a slight l?j rowed 35 to the minute, Gaad&ur 811 trifle slower. The latter overtook l and at the half mile was a quarter of T 01 "' ahead. At the mile Gaudaur led by »i W and both pulled about 32 to the Pb > The mile and half turning post was " 6t "*. by Gaudaur in 9min 22800, with t close up. After the turning the l* seemed to become petrified, and turned r from his proper course. During the » '*'? der of the race Gaudaur did as heTi*' 3pulling leisurely, aud occasionally , • ping and saluting the people on the l* At the two and a half miles Gaudaur m'' down to steady work, and crossed i winning line 2lmin 20aec. Teemer A V e come in till 22min 43«ec. Teemer , a « , ot the roughness of the water in his rH'. ' seemed to have paralysed his right a 8!t '° the way down, and that at the tn* 011 became entirely helpless. The bettia '" '' 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 on Teemer, and even 8 V* the start the same money was offered if considerable sum is said to have c'ha hands. There were about 5000 iS present. Later particulars have been ceived to the effect that Teemer vomited intervals of several hours after the race, '* his condition was ascribed to the Bombij effects of overtraining and exposure tort" heat of the sun in the forenoon precedingli* race. s tte

For some considerable time past interest " rowing seems to have flagged, aD( j"" aquatic men, for what reason it i 8 h»rfj * r surmise, have until now made no effort i resuscitate this truly English recrtatio We are justly proud of our lovely ft.,t' mata, and upon its waters in times r'i have been held regattas which have affordS sport worthy of the name, aud which h satisfied the most fanciful. Take i" instance, the last rowing regatta on th* VVbau River in 18S4, which was man»»d entirely by a few of the more energetic members of the various club*. Since then however, there has been little or no pobli' exhibition of rowing, with the exception the big event of Anniversary Day, the return contest, and a few races for medals, partico. lurly in the Ponsonby, St. Georges, inj West End Clubs. Consequently it u languished like all sports that are not brought into prominent notice by interesting com. petitions. This season, however, promise! better, as the executive of the St. Georsa's Rowing Club has invited the officials cl the other clubs and any others who may be interested to meet at the United Service Hotel on Thursday Q eit at eight p m. to consider all matters that may tend to create a keener rivalry in their particular sport, but more especially to consider the advisability of organising aj opening procession, etc., for the coming season. There can be no doubt that tea action is trenching on the particular bueineti of the Auckland Rowing Association; but as it has been patent to all for some tin:! past that that body has practically failed to fulfil any of the purposes for which it wjj instituted, and to all intents it is no? conexistent, the action of the St. G.R.C seems to me to deserve hearty consideration and support. I therefore trust that the captains and secretaries of the other clubs will co. operate with the conveners in this matter, and work up their respective members into the necessary state of enthusiasm, and bo carry it to a successful issue. There it ample time to arrange details, but I would suggest that the time be not fixed too early, and so run the chance of a postponement, but rather delay a week or two and hold the opening about the middle of October, with almost certainty of fine weather, so essential to enjoyment of an affair of this kind.

'Cycling is in full swing in Sydney now* Club runs are very popular, and on Saturday afternoons machines journey out to all the suburbs of the New South Wales capital AEOCj.

Batting Avek*oe.". _________ Times Most Aver . Name. Runs. Ins. not iu " out inntjs. ° ' Baker .. ..13 3 — 10 4 3 Battley .. ... 141 20 1 33 7"42 Bell* .. .. 161 IS - 37 10-25 Cooke „ ..27 5 1 13 0 75 Cox „ .. 448 IS 3 108 2986 Fran'.is ., .. 365 19 2 77 21-47 GoMiet .. .. 310 21 1 47 15-5 Jackson .. 74 17 3 22 5 28 Kirby .. .. fi!t 17 — 12 4t(j Lundon .. .. 90 15 j 1 24 686 McLeod .. .. 68 11 — 34 618 Murray „ ..27 0 — 16 45 Plummar . .. 72 11 3 23 9 0 Walker .. .. 32 15 ' 3 7 26

Bowler, name. Balls. ovfr D [ wkts Rum. £™ rCooke *7. 7. 143 8 j 12 52 4 3 Francis 871 61 I 68 319 4 S3 Ooldie .. .. 895 19 j 27 16S H - <>4 LunJon ... .. 7e>3 49 I 36 287 7 97