GENERAL SPORTS NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20641, 13 August 1930, Page 16

GENERAL SPORTS NEWS.

DACRE'S BATTING AT LORD'S.

LANGRIDGE A TEST CANDIDATE.

FULLBACKS IN BRITISH TEAM.

"Enthusiast," Hamilton, asks how many halfbacks weiit on tour with the 1905 All Blacks and whether F. Roberts played in .every game. Roberts was the only half* back chosen and he played in every match except one.

Tho only Scottish player in the British Rugby team, W. B. Welsh, played his first international game of tho tour in tho fourth test at Wellington _ last Saturday. This was the only occasion on which the British team played the All Blacks with representatives from all four countries* of the United Kingdom.

An amusing story was going the rounds in Wellington last Saturday morning. A business man from the south had fitted in his engagements in order to see the Rugby test. On entering a certain hotel on tho morning of the match he found that, members of his staff had also decided to make a trip north to see the match. ,

"Argument," Ohura, seeks the following information How many times the world's championship sculling title has been hold respectively by Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada 1 The world's single sculling championship title lias been raced for on 71 occasions from 1831 to 1950. England has hold the title 28 times, Australia 28, New Zealand 9, and Canada 6.

Billy Edwards, at present in Australia, holds that ho has been the busiest wrestler in the United States with tho exception of Strangler Lewis. Last yoar he averaged nine matches a month, apart from exhibitions. There was 60 much travelling that ho frequently went by air. Open-air bouts are becoming popular in Texas and Florida. Edwards says in'tho United States 40 per cent, of the audiences are women.

The announcement in Brisbane last week that E. Harris, the brilliant Rugby League wing-threequarter, had accepted an engagement with the Leeds Club, England,/ caused a surprise. Harris played for Queensland against the New Zealand team and his football was so impressive in that match that negotiations for his services wore opened immediately after tho game. Ho is a well-known school teacher and is the fastest hack playing tho game in Australia.

The tour of the New Zealand League team will cost about £3OOO and in tho first eight games the receipts have totalled only £l2lß, malting £IBOO required from the remaining five matches. On the figures of the earlier games in Sydney, the additional receipts will hardly be more than £BOO. As a result the £IOOO provided by tho Australian Board of Control to aid New Zealand will not he repaid, and will remain a dead loss for years.

Whon the New Zealand Rugby League team met Ipswich, Abbott, the only, halfback chosen for the tour, played on the wing, while Seagar was given a _ place behind the scrum. Australian critics comment adversely on the decision to take only one hooker on tour. The team's failure, particularly after Stephenson was injured, is attributed to New Zealand's inability to win'the ball from the scrum. One Sydney writer says tho position is difficult to explain and only reveals bad judgment in selection.

Strangler Lewis, who is expected to appear in New Zealand on the completion of his Australian contract, won his wrestling bout last week-end in Melbourne. He formerly held tho heavy-weight championship of the world, but was defeated about a year ago. Although the account of his match in Australia did not give him any credit he is considered one of the_. most formidable and' knowing mat-men in the game. His head-locks causa his opponents great trouble. He is 38 years of ago and has been in the game for 20 years. ,

Joe Stccher, a 17-stono wrestler, passed through Auckland this week on his way to Sydney, under contract to Stadiums, Ltd. He has held the heavy-weight championship three times. Tho first occasion was after the death of tho famous Frank Gotch. He lost tho title but won it again in 1920, only to lose it to Strangler Lewis two years later, who Idet it to Zbyszko. In 1925 Stecher regained it by beating the Polq and held it for three years, when Lewis again defeated him. Stecher's brotjier, Tony, who accompanies him as his trainer-manager, is also a wrestler.

Bowlers and fioldsmen frequently appeal to umpires in cricket, but cases of umpires appealing to batsmen must be rare. An incident of this nature, however, is related by a correspondent in on English paper. ."I was officiating as an umpire in a Lancashire crickot league," ho says. " The bowler sent down a fast ball which, marvellous' to relate, removed the middle stump without disturbing the bails. I was in a quandary, so I walked up to the batsman's end and had a consultation which proceeded on the following lines: — ' Well, I dunno whether tha't out or not, but are't satisfied tha's been bowled V to which the batsman replied, '* Aye. Awreet,' I said, ' tha't out, then.' "

A correspondent from Waikino inquires as to tho players who have filled the fullback position focr tho British team during its Now Zoaland tour. Up to and including the fourth tost, G. M. Bonner played in four games. J. S. Bassett, who was unavailable for the opening matches of the tour through an injury received on the voyage from England, played his first game against Wellington on June 3 and altogether has played in 13 matches. The only other players who- have played at fullback are R. Jennings and T. JonesDavics, although in "the game against West Coast N. Poole received an injury and dropped back to fullback, JonesDavies playing in the threequarter line.

Although ho did not do well at the beginning of the cricket season in England, C. C. Dacro, the New Zealand cricketer at present playing for Gloucester, did -not take long to strike his real form and his fine performances have helped materially in putting his county well up on the championship table. In a recent appearance at Lord's ground, London, Dacre compiled a sterling 95 in a manner familiar to Auckland enthusiasts, his score containing a generous numbor of boundaries. Several times the batsman rattled the scoro board at Lord's and had the spectators in an apprehensive mood with bis. mighty hits. A prominent London paper summed up Dacro's innings with the following announcement on its posters in six-inch type: —" Lord's Too Small for Dacre." The latest information states that Dacro has scored over 1600 runs so fur this season. Another cricketer welt known in Auckland, J. Langridge, is a candidate for the team to represent England against Australia in the fifth test, which starts at the Oval on Saturday. With E. H. Bowley, Langridge acted as player-coach to the Auckland Cricket Association for two seasons and' performed most creditably against the Australian team under Y. Y. Richardson, which toured New Zealand in 1928. When the last English team was picked to defend the Ashes in Australia, a prominent critic predicted that Langridge was one of the young players likely to meet the Australians when they paid their return visit to England. Langridge, who bats and bowls left-hand, is a good all-rounder. His bowling has been highly successful this year and he already has over 100 wickets to his credit in firstclass cricket for the season. Langridge is only 24 years old, t