CRICKET.

NZ Truth, Issue 251, 16 April 1910, Page 3

CRICKET.

(By "Scout.")

I Haven't the least , sympathy with the agitation promoted by Dan iteese and one or two others for the despatching of a New Zealand titam to Australia next season. It is downright ridiculous to argue that an invasion of the Commonwealth by a Dominion combination will have the cflcct ot improving cricket to the extent wr desire, m those pails. Anyone with a grain of coruiuou-seu.se knows, guile well that it would pay tkc New Zealaud Cricket Council inQuitely better to retain the money and mabe arrangements to hiring teams to this side at regular intervals ; by this I mean teams which wiil play the game for the game's sake, and not emulate the late "leg-puKiog" performance of Warwick Armstrong and his merry men. Or the New Zealand Cricket Council, if it has any of the rhino to spare, might afford

financial assistance to those improverLshcd associations which are honestly de-' sirous of improving, their cricket by enlistinK the services of a capable coach. To say that Maoriland cricket will be j improved by thi* big drubbings itiflicted upon our men at the hands of second 01: third-rate teams on the other side of the Tssinau. is a passport to safe housing at Suiuiysids or Porkua. A Sydney writer,, referring to 'this proposed New Zealand inrasian, pcttiaentlr remarks: — "Ncxfr 1 season woiid not be a good time lor tke visit to lie made. The New Zealand matches Avguid , t rank as small goods \ alongside the South Africa* matches. Besides, New South Wales; aad Victoria could not spare tke dates for New Zealand as well as South Africa and Tasmania, and West Australia— there would be very , few Saturdays loft tor club cricket if all these tours were countcuauced for one season. Another thing, New Zealanders do not appear to have made much improvement since the last team visited Australia, and if that be the actual state of things, they would he hopeless against the best inter-State teams on Australian wickets." Rumored, that Wellington College authorities are thinking over a proposal to engage Tommy Warne as coach for the lads next season. The Victorian would fill the bill to a T. Apropos the report that a strong effort is being made to secure a Government billet for Warwick Armstrong m i New Zealand, it will be recollected that I when, the Anglo-Welsh team was about to I nnish its Domjaion tour m 1908 it was freely whispered that Jackett, one of the fuD-Vachs,- 'was" to \o provided with a snug little job; m the • Tourist Department. / Indignation was expressed m many quarters: at New Zealartders being caJmiy pushed aside for strangers, and a questtoaoa the. subject was put to Sir Joe Ward m PecHaraeut, our Prime Minister replying to the eEcct' that no such move was on the tapis. AU the same, the writer has the very best authority for stating that arrangements had been fixed up for planting friend Jackett m a denactment on which thousands and thoasanus of the public re»en,ue has been scandalously . frittered away. Tbe rumpus raised, howeter; caused thgse m authority .to pat their thinking caps on, and Mr Jaoteett went back to his qM lob m the Cold Country. If Warwick Armstrong gets aay sgessial fawor m this cow&try at i the espease. of deserriag natives' (of tho Dominion, thcra will be some nasty <jnestions asked, greatest cricketer of the world though he be. Dan Reese's mis-handling of his bowlins talent m the late test match at the Basin Reserve brings home to one tke i fact that many first-class cricketers appear to be u'naWe tp ' grasp the idea that bowling changes should be quick, ; and that no matter how well a bowler is howling, if he fails to shift the batsmen he snould be> removed for aasther man, who, tbough perhaps not rearly his eq,ual, may nevertheless possess, the right length of ball to. dismiss the batsmen, j Artlwir Shrewsbury, was a marvellous j tactician m this restect, and he even I changed his bo.wler— thougn bowliDg well i and, taMng wickets— to ..suit the known j weakness o? the opposing batsman. It was his wonderful judgment' -in this respect which made any team captained by j him so very difficult to defeat. : Report of, a Brisbane match played, a few weeks as;o contains the names of a man named Ball on .one side, and a codger named Batt- on the other. It only required a bloke named Stump to complete the outfit. A Melbourne "junior" named W. R. RofciAsba (.«therwise^ 'Digger") "who performed the hat trick m a final match recently, played m a '"test, match aßaiast England m 18*5 ami m other represen-. tative criciet . over 25 years agp, figuri Q E against both . N.S.)v\ and English ' teams. ■ .■ . : ' ■-.-'■ :■; ; ■ ■• '', 1