BOWLING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13775, 13 December 1906, Page 5

BOWLING.

Br Rixknt.

Mr J. Johnson, official bowl-tester, had quite a field day at Port Chalmers on the 6th. when ho put, through .16 sols. He stales that not only did Port have in readiness a. perfect green, but every facility was accorded him to obviate any loss cf time. Mr J. Riplej', who assisted Mr Johnson, also deserves commendation; it's a tiresome thing- to roll howls about the green all day and no jack to play to! Up to daie .fyr Johnson has put through oTS bowls, and about 12 per cent, have failed to pass ihe test.

Tho contractor for United Club's greens at. Christchurch hopes, with fine weather, to have the four greens available for play during the Exhibition tournament. Several members of ihe newly-formed Eelburne Club. Wellington, have announced their intention io take part in the N.Z.B.A. tournament.

Information reaches ine from Gore that T. Lock intends- to lake part in ihe rinks tourney at the Exhibition gathering.

All going well, Taieri Club intends opening its gree\i to-day. The plot is not by any means, in the pink, of condition, anil it's bawl luck, for the members have not had too much practice (hiring the .past season or two, But. they* seem io gel therejust the same, especially when the championships are beinir fought out.

Glancing over.the fifteenth annual reporfc of the Northern Bowling Association, I could not help noticing the following, under the heading "Association Secretaries":—"Northdrn Bawling Association, 11. T. Wheeler, jun., Diiuedin: Northern Bowling Association of New Zealand, J. 11. Mentiplay, Wellington"! Surely a. printer's error. If not, it only bears out

what 1 have already stated in this column : that the north is pi-oj.arcd to grant, us all privileges if we'll only amalgamate. Hut to ruli ns mil in one,aci is too much. And wo (X.Z.8.A.) were 50 famous only a. day or two ago! Such indeed is fame!"

I am in receipt of a copy of the' Northern Bowiin'g Association's programme for the club Champion Fours tournament', io lie played ai Masicrtou in January.. The matches will be: Kadi club aga'inst each club iiniil concluded, the scores to he by dub win.'. The entry is £1 per rink, anil entries must reach Mr Mcntiplay, at Wellington, on or before the 3]. st December.

Mr W. Dull returned to Dunedin' on Moudav.

I learn that Mr 1!. T. Wheeler has wriiten to Mr ¥. J, Barlow (president X.//.8.A.) inquiring as to the probable stale of the greens and the number likeiy to bo available for the Exhibition tournament. Entries arc coming in freely for the Exhibition loitrnainenr. If should not he forgotten that entries for the rinks are due on Jtnuary 3. This will allow of ample time for a detailed programme to lie issued showing the days on which players will need Io put in an appearance and 1 ilie greens 011 which to play. Wiih regard to concessions to howlers Iraveljing on trains. I believe ilia! Mr Wheeler has interviewed the authorities,' and will, during the week, intinlale 1o intending visitors Io Cltrislehureh the. extent of their travelling liabilities. Taieri Club is endeavouring io bring forward tho inlerclub match againsl St. Kilda. It. is considered that April is too liite in the season.

There is some talk or llio match Olago v. Dttnexliit l>eing played on Saturday next, instead of December 22, ihe latter date being considered too close io the Christmas holidays to ensui-e a. full muster of players on the part of Olago. I have been granted the privilege of reading a private communication to a Dunedin gentleman, in which it is stated I hat tho tour of the All Whites, in Australia has not. been without effect. "Not only lias Xew Zealand bowling been advertised, but yourcountry never got a better advertisement." says the writer. Mr Adam Glen, late of St. Kilda, has removed to Oianfaii. where be joins his son in the softgoods business. G. Prince's rink leaves Wellington for the Old Country on March 23. Prince writes to a frond to tho effect that he would- very much like to learn of a South Island rink being formed Io accompany him. Hero's a chance for some of the AH Whites.

Tho many friends of Mr'W. A. Scott will regret to loa.ru. that ho has had ■ a really bad time since returning from Australia. On inquiry I learn that ho is progressing sat isfactorily.

Another member of the All White team, Mr 11. \V. Jleid, who underwent a trying time whilst in Australia, continues to' improve.

An Australian paper says:—"Two wellknown members had a peculiar experience on tho green on Wednesday. A fouriwwl game was arranged with two .clubmates. The latter started with 4 in, ami the game was abandoned when they wore lying 5 in, the result on tho board reading 20 to 1. This shows what surprises the game has in store for those who follow it."

After all that was said at banquets and on the greens, a Tasmanian .journal has tho following:—"A bowling carnival takes place at Christchurch, New Zealand, in connection with tho Exhibition, some time in January."

Though it is late' in tho day it is worth remembering this: when the All Whites camo through they put in a day at Invcrcargill, where they nlayed a game in the morning against local players. A'visit to the Town Hall and Theatre followed, and then another game' was' arranged. This latter was entirely informal, and the rinks were made up " without regard to colour." By this means the visitors were brought more in touch with Iho local players, and the scheme—a suggestion, by the way, from the fertile brain of t,ho manager, H. T. Wheeler—proved a decided success. The game was one of the most enjoyable and sociable of any that have been played in Invcrcargill.

Mayor W. B. Scandrett (Invcrcargill), speaking of tho late tour of tho'All Whites, said they would " leave an impression on Australians of tho satisfactory appearance and capability of the manhood of New Zealand."

Noted by a Sydney bowling scribe:—' " Play had not. been long in progress before onlooking critics began to note tho superiority of the New' Zealundcrs' deliveries. They; as a whole, putjheir bowls down very much belter than the New South Welshmen, and soon,. t00..' it was seen ihat the home skippers were a great deal at fault through not. in most coses, having a knowledge ( of the peculiarities of some of the.players they had-to" direct. With the other side it was vastly different: every captain know every mifn in his rink thoroughly."

A Sydney paper, 'commenting on the New Zealanders, said:—"M'Laren's.third (Buchanan) gave a very . fine, exhibition, and there were times when it was difficult to say which did tho better work—he or his skipper."

The third round of intcrclub games was played on Saturday, when, although the greens were in first-class playing condition, the strong wind which sprang up about noon completely demoralised .players en the outside greens- -it. was impossible for a playor to accurately gauge the green. And it was a day of some surprises. Roslyn defeated Taieri; Dunedin, for tho second time, in succession, went under to the. men from Kaituna's bennic banks. Roslyn only pulled out four rinks against Taieri; KjtituiM'- toed- tho mark afainst the parent club with eight rinks—four at home and a like number besieged the citadel. I will endeavour to enlighten readers as to the why and wherefore.

lii tlie game Roslyn v. Taieri it is said that Taieri would* havo had no difficulty whatever in scoring a win but for the fact that one rink—a tournament oner at that—was sent out to "try the mettle." It was a. failure, and one'or two of the Taierj men are of the opinion that the experiment should not be .repeated/ I agree with them in this matter. TournS l nieiit rinks should not be seleeted to renro ! sent a club in association fixtures.-. •■ At Qrocn the local .players had opposed to them four rinks from Otngo, and the home team scored the major:points —10 up. There was nothing at all wrong with the green, but it blew, a'gale all the afternoon. It was'"necessary <to take 17ift of green "on" the, wind, and to play tho other hand one needed a'."poker" —a real-No. 1, something .that would not go through' tho machine. Some of bur bowls only took 2in of green, on the windward side. If Otago got. a " wiping out" it's nothing; the members never expected to win, and in getting within 10 of their opponents Otago did well. It shows that in time—l don't stipulate anty particular date—the club may be successful, in winning "several" matches. Perhaps those, who, unfortunately,'could not 'journey to Green Island would know a little about. Ihe-cuting. When Otago entered the green and found BucliaMm and M'Donald (in ono rink, mind you) opposed to someone or other, the warriors from Arthur street simply exulted at the prospecf, and further inquiry elicited tho fact that Green Island had sent two or three rinks cf colts inio town lo get in some practice. Nothing daunted. Otago tumbled in their bowls, and .struggled against, "odds oil" favour-, ites. They were only 6 down,at tho seventh head; at. the fourteenth hoaVl scores wore fairly oven; but in the last couple of heads the wind died away to nothing! and A. Young and two or three of the G.l.'s knowing "bow much green-to take."-suc-ceeded in snatching a victory from Otago. Nad Otago won this match there >js a probability that the green would have been closed for Iho season, .and all the members taken a trip to tho Exhibition. T must describe the •" incident." IT. F. Moss (Otago) met J) Walters, and the game was evenly contested up to the fourteenth bead, where Walters got in some good work. With throe ends to play Moss was 3 down, but Walters and his men got in a 2 and a single. Moss getting 4 at the last- end. Walters 22. Moss 20. T. Scott met .T. 1?. Smellie. and found a tough job on hand after playing four heads. It was a big contract for a comparatively new plnver, and the deficiency of 16 accounted for a lot—in favour of Green Island. Allco met the veteran A. Young, and. while the former's men played a, solid ' game. Young—capable player, all know, him to be—never seemed to get going till the last end was played, when, 'through the opposing skin's inferior nlay. Green Island get in a 7. Alloo 34. Youus? 20. For Olago. 11av, I.orrimer, and Fynmore all played well, and it. was duo io their efforts that ihinas turned out as ihev did. J. Loudon" (Otaio) met \\\ M'Donald. and. as stated before,-he'am! 11. Buchanan made matters'too merry.for Loudon, who had to lie content with getting within 6 of his opponent—M'Donald 22. Loudon 16.

Anent the above match a correspondent, writes:— ,: More than passing interest attaches to the Taicri v. Poslyn game on Saturday, as each club bad two or three of their Ohristchnrch tournament rinks engaged. Carswell's rink met Allnutt's. and the score with 10 heads gone was 15 to

nil. From this on Allnuti's kam played a great uphill game, the final result being Taieri 19, Roslyn 15. Crop. Weddorspoon's tournament rink met Christie's learn. Roslyn went away from the jump, and ran 0111. winners hy 36 10 5 surely a record score against 11 Taieri rink. . The two oilier rinks finished nearly even, and Roslyn scored an easy win. Koslyn, although playing all their heavy metal against Taieri. also player! their inlerclub game with St. Clair, and scored another easy win. The hill club lias won all its marches so far, having put down Kstituna, Caledonian. Taieri. and St. Clair. In its Wednesday games its record is also good -all wins.se far. Ji bids fair to be premier this season.''.

St. Kilda trni- out 11 rinks last Saturday, 'riiis is a go-ahead club, and from all appearances everybody is going to get n turn.

Port Chalmers came up seven rinks strong to try conclusion's with Caledonians, and, after a close and inlercsiing game, succumbed-5 points. Green Island sent in three rinks of colts, and St. Kilda's pride got a set-back— 73 to 41.

While the greatest- harmony prevailed, St. Clair made no impression 011 Roslyn, and afli.'f. ilici lli?=cs Hancock bad provided the hillites with refreshments tiic latter lmarded a tram, and, have since added another rung io their ladder. Ail or consideration I have come io the conclusion that. Kaituna having readied the height of il< ambition, it is imneccssaTy Io iiiHicr further on the parent club. Last week, in this column, it was staled dial Dmiedih would meet foemen worthy of their sieel. and in practice this has been verified. Thai it- is a great win for Kaituna all must adtnii; but I cannot believe thiil- Duiicdin. in an eitrhf-rink control, is W odd point; behind Kaituna. With all due respcel io the players of Dunedin, there is not the f iigh.lesi doubt . that a revolution niii.-l come about if the old club isjlo hold the pride of place. It has amongst its large, membership a. preponderance of able players: it has also a few "who mli.yt 'be considered. 10 say the least (and without wishing to underrate their good deeds in years gone by), not qiiile so 'brilliant as, they were.a year or two ago. The lesson "Kaituna lias taught us should not be lightly heeded: bring forward all these who show special aptitude for certain positions, When Dunedin Club kicks over the oldfangled notion of retaining players in season and out of season tho sooner will it regain the prestige which up till quite recently it liad so long enjoyed, and, indeed, so worthily gained. As to tho selection of reams in last Saturday's match, there is nothing to cavil at—Mr Austin's choice was quite good enough, and possibly he, Isetler than any other member of Dunedin Club, is in a position to-day to say exactly what was the matter.

If secretaries will bo good enough to forward me a, sot of cards of intcrclul) ■matches, say, not later than Monday evenings, these notes mieht ho made rnovo general. Seeing tliat there are 15 or 14 clubs in the district, it can hardly he ox.'icetpd that comments on every game can Ibc given unless card.? are f.qmlicd.

In connection with iho New Zealand Federated Builders' Conference, hold at AVanpanui two weeks ago, the time-worn saying that bowls and builder* are closely associated is exemplified by the fact that a.t the recent conference several friendly games were played. The Wanganui Club generously granted tho use of its green, and had a match arranged in less than half nn hour after tho arrival of tho delegates, and a. four-rink game, Wanganui v. Now Zealand Builders was soon in full swing. Amonsst the Wanganui players was the genial secretary of the club (Mr W. Ilcdwell), and ether prominent citizens were Messrs L. Cohen, Fountain, and Bignall. Builders had representatives in Messrs Jacques and Recce (United, Ghr-istchurch). Stlubfcoriiold (Chrisiehurch). Chick (Canterbury), F. Wilkinson and M'Khmon (Roslyn), Baildou and Clark 'Auckland). Ward and Bcccliani (Napier), Thomson (Wanganui|. 'The preen was in perfect order, a,nd the hospitality extended by Wanganui Club was highly appreciated by the visitors.

Tho North End and Southland Clubs (Invcrcargill) met for tho first time this season in a. 10-iiuk match—five at North End and the remaining five at the Southland Green. Both greens were in excellent order, the latter especially beinff wonderfully keen and smooth. In each case the team playing at homo camo out victorious, the Southland detachment having the''substantial majority of 34 points on its own green, a majority tfefc was eclipsed, hou'eve'r, at North' End. the local contingent I here winnincr by 4Q points. Victory therefore rested with North Knd by 5 points. In the great majority of rinks iho senior club came out on top. three out of the five at North End, winning their games, while on their own green they did net lose a single event. A. K. Smith's rinlv had a long lead at. one time from that; of •I. Yates's, 'but the southerners tttiek to their leaders gamely, and pot within s'of them with the last head to go. This ought to have been a good enough position for Smith to hold, hut the end was a dismal failure for North End, and the South made a tie with five- shots. Haiti and R. Taylor, the "two veterans of .Southland howling, had a great tusrle, and were level with tho last end to' go. but, Taylor's men . proved superior in the last fry, and North' Eiid was defeated by 2: points. The big victory at- North End was almost entirely attrihutafcle to tho excellent piny of T. A. Wallace and his trio of assistants. They played • with great accuracy, all four, and put up j.ho largo score of 16, allowing their opponents to ncifc-h only 12 points. The most notable of the other games was that in which Howie, defeated J. Lcggat by '! _ points. The result? (giving skips' names) 'Were as follow:—North Knd, first: J. John-stone' 25, F. S. Stokes'2l, S. Hunter 22, J. Taylor 25. T. A. Wallace 46, A. Ayl-iii"- 12. J. P. Howi" 25. J. Logcrat 18, A, Harper 21, W. WY.'wv 23. J. Loudon 14. W. Smith 31. J. Hain 23, R. Tavlor 25, A. V.. Smith 23,' J. Yates 23. J. Allan 16, R. Wesnoy 25. 'P. L. Gilkison 16, .1. liennio 23. Tho match consisted of 25 heads.

''According to a cable published in the dailv paners recently, there appeal's to he tiood 'reason to hope that quite a rush of bowlers will shortlv set in from Australia, and New Zealand bowling will hum for a cctiplo of months. I am given to understand that the 40 Sydneysiders spoken of as coming to take part in the Exhibition tourney comprise only a, third cf those who will come across.

. -My thanks are due to more than a dozen friends who this week have forwarded clippings, newspapers, and paragraphs. I ragrot that space compels me to hold over muoh interesting matter. Bowlers can have their bowk engra.vcd to satisfaction at very moderate cost by John Swan and Co., Bath street.' Designs free. -Advt.