ANGLO-COLONIAL SPORT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1745, 16 August 1905, Page 48

ANGLO-COLONIAL SPORT.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. ' (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON June 30. Your recent visitors, A. F. Duffey and Alfred Shrubb were among the, competitors at the Wolverhampton Charity Sports last Saturday, the former being among the entrants for the 100 yards scratch race, and Shrubb the threemiles scratch Duffey won his heat, but in the final event, when leading by a couple of yards, he collapsed suddenly some fifteeen yards from home, and Avaa beaten by eighteen inches by S. JET. Thompson, of the Birchfield Harriers, in 10 l-ssec. Duffey explained his breakdown to a sudden and paralysing spasm of pain Avhich shot through his spine and left his legs Avell nigh powerless. He Ava-s unable' to turn out again that day, and it isi quite on .the cards that he will he unable to take partin the championships decided to-morrow. Shrubb, who Avas in fine form, had a comparatively easy task in the Threemile Race. Running strongly from the start he gradually dreAV aAA r ay from the opposition, and sprinted home a full quarter of a mile ahead of the second man m 15min 11 2-osec. To-morrow Shrubb and his old opponent, A. Aldridge, meet at Stamford Bridge in the Four-miles Championship. Aldridge is said to have made considerable improvement at this distance, but with Shrubb eAudently fit in spite of his Antipodean tour, and the subsequent spell of shipboard idleness, thei'e is little doubt that he will Avin the title for the firth year’ in succession. The Australian amateur Poidevin, whose feats with bat and ball for Lancashire against Worcestershire I mentioned last mail, played by far the finest innings of his life in the second innings of the County Palatine. Going in at the fall of the second wicket, the Australian remained unbeaten to th,e close, putting together a Avell-nigh faultless score of 168 not out. This, together Avith his 76 (run out) in the first innings, made his contribution to the Lancashire score 244 for one out, and brought his first-class average up to 44 for the season, and his aggregate of runs to 704.

Poidevin’s venture Avith the ball in Worcestershire’s first innings resulted l in the folloAAung fine figures:— 15.4 overs 2 maidens 66 runs 8 wickets. But he did not come off at the second time of asking, for though he boAvled very well, he had 35 runs knocked off him in 15 overs without securing a victim. Still 8 wickets for 101 runs on a perfect wicketi is not a bad showing for a player who l has hitherto been held in no esteem as a bowler. Worcestershire managed to make a creditable draw, scoring 185 and 376 for 4 wickets, against Lancashire’s 195 and 468. Yesterday PoideAun scored another “century” for Lancashire, this time at the expense of the Sussex bowlers. His effort', which was hot marred by a single real “chance,” extended over three hours and a quarter, his strokes including 17 fours and 7 threes. During the oast fortnight the little Australian has done capital work for the County of his i adoption. He scored 122 against Somerset. 76 and 168 against Worcestershire, 3 against Notts, and now 138 against Sussex —507 runs in 4 innings. In event of misfortune befalling the Australian team Captain Darling might do a good deal worse than calling upon Poidevin to lend a helping hand in the remaining Tests. His irelusion in the Australian team would certainly be justified, for he learnt his cricket in Australia, and has a birth qualification to represent that country. At the Bath Club last Monday evening, B. B. Kieran gave a very fine exhibition of fast swimming. He swam 600 yards in the extraordinary time of 7min. 42 2-ssec., beating the British record of Bmin. 3sec. by no less than 20 3-ssec. Of course, this performance was done in a 25-yard bath, and will not figure in our record hook, but it Avas a splendid swim, and pi’oved that Kieran is quite his Australian self in still fresh water, and fit as one could wish him to be for the Mile Championship decided to-mor-row in Highgate Pond. In that he has really only Dave Billington (our mile record holder) to beat, though there are seven other entrants. None of these on known form have the faintest chance of defeating the Australian or the English crack, indeed if this pair race all the way their opponents will be hopelessly out of it ere a quater of the distance has been negotiated. During the evening—it Avas the occasion of the annual swimming contest ’twixt Oxford and Cambridge, and Royalty, rank, and fashion, Avere much in evidence —Kieran had the honour of being presented to T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, and the Princess Patricia. Miss Annette Kellerman supplemented Kieran’s swim with a very pleasing exhibition of sAvimming and diving, and altogether Australia was very much to the fore at the Blues aoquatic fete.

Two Antipodeans, in the persons of Anthony Wilding of New Zealand, and H. Chappie, of South Australia, figured in the victorious Cambridge tennis sextette which opposed the Oxford team in the twenty-fifth inter-’Varsity contest decided at Surbiton last week end. The Light Blues, thanks in no small measure to Wilding, Avon both Singles and Doubles, with a record of 12 matches to 6, 26 sets to 14, and 206 games to 157. In the Singles, Wilding, in turn, beat Mavrogordato (6 —1, 6— 2)-, Uhl (6 —1, 6 —3), and Pate las on (6 —3, 6—2). but Chappie, after heating Uhl (6 —1, 6—3), lest to both Mavrogordato and Paterson, the former beating the South Australian by 9—7 and 6—3 and the-latter by 6—l, 6—2. In the Doubles Wilding, in partnership with PoAA'ell, won all of the three matches in easy fashion, and Chappie, Avith Stuart as partner, Avon a couple of matches in good style, hut lost the third to Mavrogordato and CroAvder at 3—6, 6—3, 6—l. The Avorld’s record for five conseouti\ r e events—running, cycling, SAvimming, rowing, and riding a horse—each over a distance of one mile, is, I believe, held by an Australian, Avho accomplished the feat in 1 hour 17 minutes some years ago. Mr Richard Wilson, of South Shields, a well-known North Country athlete now in -the “veteran” stage, Avho holds the record for a similar jseries done over a quarter of a mile, is shortly to attempt to lower the aforementioned figures. His quarter-mile record of 12 minutes 12 4-sseconds Avas made in 1901, and he has, I understand, undertaken to lop at least fi\ r e minutes off the Australian time for the mile series.