ATHLBTIC SPORTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8939, 31 December 1887, Page 6

A THLBTIC SPOR TS.

FIXTURES. CRICKET.

December 31— H.M.s. Squadron v. Auckland Associa'','S«" ': " '■'■''/" : ' tion. , • ■ "." '"'* AQUATICS. January 29 —Auckland Annual Regatta ifebruary 11-Kemp v. Uliflord, Ohamploiiahlp of the World March— World'* Soulllng Carnival at Sydnoy April -HanUn v. Clifford, £200 a-«ldo.

- CRICKET. The past week has been rather a busy one in crioketing circles, the holidays attracting a large number of players to practise, and on Monday last a really good match was played between teams chosen by Messrs. Testro and Stemson. The former did some good batting, and put up a good score of 204. Wright showed some very good form, and played nice cricket for the good figure of 70 ; while Fripp showed good defence aud free style while amassing 21. Of Stemson's side, H. Thomas showed up best, and carried out his bat tor 47 runs, put on by good batting.

On Thursday afternoon a match took place between an eleven from the Nelson and a team representing the Herald, which resulted in a defeat for the latter by three wickets. The game was won by the superior batting power of the blaojaokets. Of the defeated team, a couple of men or so showed good batting powers and put on a goodly number of runs ; but the efforts of the tail, particularly in the second innings, produced nothing but a row of ducks' eggs on the score sheet. The losers are, however, determined to have another try at the sailors, if the latter can find time, before they leave on the sth proximo.

During the Christinas holidays the Gordon Club had a pleasant little trip to Whangarei to try conclusions with the local men, who have lately received a welcome addition to their strength in the person of W. Meldruui, who thus played against his old club. The game was decided in the first- inuings, and the visitors gained a narrow victory by eight runs, the scores standing: Gordon, 02; Whangarei, 54. The former started their second innings, and got 90 runs for seven wiokets, to which A. L. Meldrum contributed 21 runs, and Li. Lusk was not out for 37. VV. Meldrum secured five wiokets for Whangaroi, and J. Anseane was the chief trundler for the Gordon.

The junior cricketers of Victoria do not seem to be a very promising lot, and the sporting writers anticipate a bad look out for Victorian cricket in a couple of years. The following caustic remarks upon their play are from the pen of "Vigilant" in the Sportsman : —"I don't suppose since the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a cricket ground there has ever been a worse exhibition of cricket than that displayed by the juniorß, who played the English team last week. This, 1 think, will be readily admitted by nine hundred and ninety-nine of the thousand spectators who witnessed the match. Indeed, the juniors themselves don't dispute it. A stranger, unless fortified with the knowledge that the Melbourne Cricket Club —the V.R.C. of the cricket field—was running the show, would feel inclined to regard the whole affair as a travestie. The aoleotion of the juniors, to start with, appears to have been badly bungled, and the whole thing, whether looked at from a financial point of view or as an exhibition of cricket, was a miserable failure. Until I looked on at this match I had always been under the impression that it was very much more dangerous aud difficult for a batsman to score if eighteen men ware in the field than it would be if there were only eleven. 1 find I was wrong. My experience of this match has taught me that 1 have been cherishing a delusion all along, as in this case it was really the reverse. More runs were actually made when the eighteen men were fielding than would have been rcored if the junior team had consisted of eleven. This may sound inexplicable, but it's right. The majority of the eighteen appeared to have a rooted idea in their minds that one or other of the other seventeen fielders was in duty bound to run after the ball, no matter where it rolled. At least three catches were bungled and missed because the gentlemanly junior to whom they were duly addressed and delivered imagined that they belonged to somebody else, and religiously refrained from touching them. It certainly via* very hot, and this may have exercised some little influence on the energy of the Victorian juniors, but I am inclined to think that had very little to do with their defeat."

Many expressions of regret have been made among local cricketers at the early death of Norman Porch. He was well known and very popular, and some few years ago was with his brothers Fred and Bill, one of the pillars of the. Otahuhu Club, for which he did good service with both bat and wioket gloves. •■-.'■. AQUATICS There ie very little to chroniole in rowing or boating matters lately, although a good deal of pleasure yachting is being done. Many of the clubs have crews doing training work in anticipation of the whaleboat races at the approaching annual regatta, but in tho majority of caßes the practice is of an intermittent character, for which the holidays are to blame. With next week over us I expect to see the various crews settling down to steady and continued work. The sad fatality which occurred on board the Truant on Monday last has excited great interest among boating men, and the fate of tbe unfortunate tallows who went down has been spoken of in terms of deep regret. It will act as an impressive warning to many of the careless and inexperienced hands who frequently sail a yacht as if she were a thousand-tenner.

While we hear so much about Beach and his prowess, it is refreshing to find soma one who is ready at the same time to giv« his beaten rival his due. The following tribute to ' the latter'e abilities is from the pen of Mr F. W. L, Adams, an old oarsman of repute in Sydney: — " In the hour of Hanlan's defeat, perhaps an Englishman to whom rowing matters wore onoo a oare, and that at a time when all the best scullers of his country were going down before the Canadian in a manner calculated to bitterly humiliate the mother and traditional mistress of one of the most special forms of her sport —perhaps an Englishman may be allowed, with some appropriateness, to take such an occasion of reminding Australians of the true significance, in the history of rowing, of the present victor and vanquished., In England, before Hanlan's arrival, the old system of arm-aud-shoulder work in boats was more or less discredited, but it was rather less than more. Rowers lacked the originality to break from the past. The same may be said of the old system of training. Haitian was the first man who applied the truly modern intelligence. He was the first; man who perceived that, the legs ami back being stronger than the arms and shoulders, they should be used as the principal means of propulsion, flo did more than this ; he applied the same intelligence to what we may call the technique of rowing. Ho saw the vast amount of wasted anergy that ensued from imperfect mastery of the tools. Wheu Hanlan came amongst usi in England, we for the first time saw a man who had thoroughly realised what human strength and human skill could do in a boat. Ho marked an epoch in the hictory ot rowing, and the strong British mutton-heads of the old school were an children before this incarnation of intelligence and skill. Now his secret has become the oommon property of anyone who has any pretension to being a really modern rower, and 'all can raise the flower, for all have wot the seed.' Hanlan is none the less remarkable for that—except to the muttonheads, aquatic or otherwise. Australia congratulates herself on having the champion oarsman of the world. She should congratulate herself on having a pupil who, having used the results of the sagacity of his master, has proved that, the brain of two competitors being eliminated, muscle will ha victorious. I have nothing to say against Beach. He has won his laurels well, and now oan be left to wear them well. But what! I do say is, that in the history of rowing he is unimportant. He marks no epoch ; he contributes nothing to the intelligence of sport, whereas Hanlan is the first of the really modern rowers. Our old British heroes of the oar have no more in connection with him than our stage coaches havo with our railways. All honour to him thou, who, at least to the disinterested lover of sport, comes more near to representing the triumph of mind over matter than any other rower of our time."

At a committee meeting of the West End Rowing Club held last night the following crews were drawn to contest in club fours, to take plaoe on Saturday, January 21 :—I, J. N. Baxter, J. McDonald, T. N. Baxter, D. Sustins ; 2, F. W. Edwards, E. Dowden, R. Dowden, R. Baxter ; 3, J. Fisher, G. H. Dickson, J. Clark, H. Elliott; 4, H. E.

Griffiths,G. Chapman, C. Farquhar, — Airey; 5, W. A. Lumaden, H. Gentles, W. Spiers, W. Dignau ; 6, J. E. Cooke, J. W. l'axter, G. Dixon, M. McGregor ; 7, K. Maaefield, K. Jack, A. Jones, — Lowry ; 8, IS. H. New» man, F. Clutßam, C. Martielli, F. Atkinson. Jason.