BOWLING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7078, 16 March 1910, Page 9

BOWLING.

The weather on Saturday was all that the most enthusiastic of bowlers could have desired, and aft a. result there was | finite an armv of Irundlers of the lignum vitae indulgiiiK in their favourite pastime on the \aru.iis ;vi'eeii-i. Thorndon tackled Victoria m a iourriak senior pennant inatcn, but were beaten by a fairly big niajoiiiv. viz., U) to G.J. >'oriv<;o:!'ci lour inil'.ctcd a severe reverse on U-.i-raiid's team, the latter ■.-oin;,' down by IS jjoinhs. Bary also liu-i'-ihed up with ». mojoriiv of 12, his opponent, MclCorrow, not getting past the fatal )i). Jaclrman, as usual, did vr;U for Thxondon. JinUhing 9 tip against llueston, but with the other three rinks beaten his fine effort to save his side was in vain. . .

Tu the fcfiiior pennant competition Xewtown mst Kolburne, and won hand-1 fomely by Do to 70. Most of the games were well fought out, but J. J. Roberts' team proved much too solid for Kelly's, the latter finishing 15 points to the bad. The Wellington skipper, Bell, was in great form against Lloyd, of Karori, on Saturdav, and the points .were rattled up in good style. Bell takes a lot of beating on his own ground, as Lloyd found to his cost, for the final chalking of the board showed a total of 36 to 16 in favour of tho Wellington skip. The battle between Thorndon and Hutt on the Lower Hutt green was very close, the home side going under by the narrow margin of three points. The best game was between Nicholson and Hoben, which was a ding-dong encounter, and ended with tho Hutt skip having a single point to the good on the 21st head. Two rinks from Te Hiwi invaded Petone, but had to admit defeat after a stubborn bout, the score reading 4'l to 36 against them. The last head in the game between Dr Ross and Shallcrass wns very exciting, but the doctor managed to pull it off by a single point. Matches for all sorts of trophies, such as feathers, buckles, monograms, stars, etc., were competed for, and these challenge games, as usual, produced some stirring encounters. Te Hiwi sent a team consisting of Hill, Gilmer, Leighton.and Lock (skip) to Kelburne in quest of the Edwin Feathers. The men from Island Bay returned in triumph, having defeated the holders, Smith's team, by 23 to 12.

The junior stars were captured from the holders, Brookes, Wakolin; Hill, and Battersby, by Casey, Parker, Buckingham, and McKenzie (skip), after a. stubborn resistance, the chaflengere winning by 22 to 18. . , , At the Lower Hutt Walton's team threw out a challenge for the club monograms, whioh were in- the, possession of Stevens's four. In this instance also the challenging party proved successful, the holders being worsted to the tune of 22 Mr Chandler has wtritten the South Australian B-A. (says tho Sydney 'Arrow") sugigestinK that they arrange a conference of delegates of the various bowling coverning bodies of the Commonwealth £> take place in the Crow-eating State at Christmas, during the currency of the competition for the surgle-handed championship of Australia. Mr Chandler proposes that the matter of a standaird bowl for the whole of the Federated States), and if possible the Dominion, might then be dealt with. He points out that the conference -which took place in Sydney resulted in. general agreement regarding an uniform length of green, and the standard bowls matter should not 'be anything like as difficult to get ov«r. ' . The success of a team largely depends upon the men pulling well together. Esprit (1b corps ia absolutely essential towards tho success of combinations, no matter in what they may be engaged or where, tend esprit de corps is not nearly so general among elderly people, who might very reasonably be expected to know and recognise its great value, as it is with younger persons. "We can't pull together now, there axe too many cliques, too many parties. Oh, for the old days again, when none were for the party and all,-were far-the State," is the frequently heard wail of the club that has fallen back ia the march, of progress. For the Tasmanigm ohaanpiom singles Thurston amd Crouch, and Williams and Pringle, were left in the semi-finals, and both the Launieeston! mem -were success, ful, Williams beating his opponent by 21 to S, -while Thurston had a margin of 10 ower Crouch. The play of the winners was eocceptionally prillia.nt. Thia left Williams and Thurston! to meet in the final. As the game progressed it -wba seen that tbe former was in fine form, and ihe defeated Thuirston by 17 to 7. Williams is evidently a very consistent player, as he has been champion of the Launceston Union for four years. Thurston, the runner-up, is well-known, in Victoria as ai sound player. Mr Barratt, a veteran Sydney bowler, has been telling a "Referee" scribe something of the early history of the game in Australia. According to Mr Barratt, the oldest bowling green in New South Wales—if not in Australia—was situated at the roar of the' old Woolpack Hotel. right in the middle of the hotel gaj-den. Some years ago Hhe Government bought this property, and the hotel, bowling green, eto., no longer exists. The now courthouse and other buildings have been erected om the site. Mir Nathaniel Taylor, Who died on January 10th, 1883, was the proprietor and owner of the property. He formed the bowling green in, 1870, but Mr Barnatt cannot give the exact date. The oldest green in the Dominion, and I think Australia as well, is that of the Auckland Bowling Club, at Grafton road, Auckland. This was started as far back as 1861. Nearly all the early players have passed away, but Mr Tait is still to bo seen on the green, and he has used the same set of bowls'for over thirty years. At tto Wellington Club's green this afternoon there will be a match, between tho WeJlington Employers aind the Builders and Contractors' Association. The following have been selected to play:—Employers: Sexton, Ramsay, Mack, Ballinger (s),- McLay, Kitto, Bush, Wylie (s); Godber, Townsend, Remington, W. G. Thompson (s); C. Smith, Carroll, S. S. Williams. N. McLean (s); Gaudin, Wiggins, Veitoh, V. Dimook (e); Builders: P. C. Wait,. Chote, Burke, Campbell (s); Dement, Menelans, Trevor, Fossette (e); Glsndining, Bennett, D. McLean (s); Clark, junr.. Maneon, GSordpn., W. L. Thompson (s); Clark, senr., L. S. Humphries, Edwards, Johffl.Bbcm (si, ''..._ .■_•. • xOta. St. Patriot's Day a matdb. is to take place on the Wellington Clubs green between teams representing the Law and the Banks. Each side is hunting up every available player,- but rumour has it that some of the No. 2 men will cause despair among tho stops. WELLINGTON v. CITY AND SUBURBAN CLUBS. The • Wellington Club's annual match versus combined City »u<J Suburban Clubs, postponed from February 26121, will be played on Saturday next. \\ ellington's teams are as follows:—Ledger, Fooke, Lawson, Bell (s); O'Sullrvan Hildreth, Mayer, Cburchward (s); Haybittle, Simm, Lockie, N. McLean (s); Grundy, G. Frost, H. Frost, Moult (s); C. Smith, Erskine, L. Blundall, Ballinger (s); Hyams. Norton, Freeth, Porteous (s); Manz. W. H. Bennett, Waddell, Dall (s); Gronfell, Hunt, Veitch, Webb (s); Adams, Geddis, Brodie, G. Brown (s); Boyd, A. Laurenson, Carroll, Berry (s): Evans, Tanner, E. M. Blaie. Hamilton (s); Greatbatcb, B. B. Allen, Kmvig, F. Laurenson (s); Pr.vor, A. Wylie, £VXPP, Bush (s); H. F. Allen, Skinner, D McLean, Still (s); J. Smith,. Gale, Gibbes, Remington (s); Pearce. Plrmmer, Gruar, Sicvwright (s); Arnold, J. W.. Brown, Russell, Thompson, (s); W. Muir, Hustwick, Leslie, p'ascoe (s). In thie junior pennant match on the same'dav Wellington Club will be represented "on the Newtown qreen against Kelburne by Nielsen, Roberts, Fay, Glendining (s).