SPORT AND PASTIMES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25410, 16 December 1943, Page 3

SPORT AND PASTIMES

Acquisition to Otago In view of the inability of several of the recognised members of the team to travel to Christchurch for the match with • Canterbury, the Otago cricket eleven is 1 fortunate in being able to call upon the I services of the two Southlanders, E. T. Mulcock and J. Scandrett. Mulcock should I be a big help, and his presence should j make all the difference in the attack Last season Mulcock, who is a mediumI pace right-hander with a decided offswing, represented the South Island Army team against the North Island Army side, and he played for Canterbury against Otago. Scandrett is a useful all-rounder, and has represented Otago in Plunket Shield cricket.

Interclub Golf The Otago Club was at home to St. W Clair during the week-end, when the . flj final interclub match of the season was played. Twenty-four players from each club took part in the four-ball and singles matches, and the Otago Club won 18 games and lost six. Some excellent golf was produced in one of the four-ball games nS when the two St. Clair players, D. C. I", Bennie and W. Clayton, met B. V. Wright and W. G. Wight. Throughout the round, . A the best ball was par or better, and alto5sJ gether nine “ birdies ” and one “ eagle ” rj}' were scored. At the eighteenth the match 's* was all square, and after two good shots Clayton chipped into the hole for an <a " eagle 3 ” to win the match 1 up. The Pi Bogey Competition played at Balmacewen on Saturday was won by J. N. Lemon, W with the good score of 3 up. Lemon, who J is a scratch player, went out in 35 and sff came home in the same figure. His Tf round included five “ birdies.” HigW Standard of Diving

Interest in the diving at the Otago swimming championship meeting last week centred mainly in the intermediate girls’ event, in which Miss Mayzod Reid, of the Dunedin Club, succeeded in retaining her title after a good contest with Miss Peggy Strang, of the Kiwi Club. The displays given by the two girls were up to New Zealand championship standards, but Miss Reid showed a little more consistency and this gained her the decision. These competitors had some interesting duels last season. Miss Reid won the Otago and South Island championshins, but Miss Strang, who represented Southland at the interprovincial meeting, reversed the decision on that occasion.

A Close Finish Air Force would have scored a comfortable win over Kaikorai on Saturday had some of the later batsmen shown the enterprise cf Lankford Smith, who, along with V. McCarten and N. Larkins, had put their side in a good position with half an hour to go. As it was Kaikorai won by five runs. When C. F. AUcott began to tire, the Kaikorai attack was not formidable, though E. Rennick required watching. Two stoppages for minor injuries deprived Air Force of at least one over, and that might have been sufficient to alter the game. It was one of the most interesting games played in Dunedin this season, and the fact that Air Force were only five runs behind at time, gave the handful of spectators who remained something worth waiting for. G. McGregor was again Kaikorai’s batting mainstay, and on this occasion made half a century, but it took him 80 minutes. The most attractive innings of the game was Smith’s 48, and it was unfortunate that after playing so brightly he should be run out. Impressive Performances

Two of the outstanding players in the Otago Boys’ High School eleven which made an impressive showing in the annual cricket match with Christ’s College were W. P. Finnegan and R. N. Couper, both youthful members of the side. Finnegan, a left-hand batsman and right-hand slow bowler, was the highest contributor in each Innings with scores of 72 and 60, and he took three wickets for 54 runs. Finnegan is an aggressive batsman and displays good footwork, which also implies correct placing. Couper is a promising left-hand slow bowler. He gets a good deal of nip from the pitch and turns the ball appreciably both ways. His figures in this match speak for themselves. He bowled 25 overs, and captured five wickets for 63 runs. Champion Shot Putt Exponent

The feature of the Otago Amateur Athletic Centre's sports meeting at the Caledonian Ground on Monday night was the performance of D. Herman in the 161 b shot putt. Herman, a former New Zealand champion, is now attached to a local air station. In the services’ event he got the weight out to a distance of 38 feet, and in the open shot putt his best effort was 39 feet 7 inches. With a little more competition, Herman should soon approach his best New Zealand championship figures. He appeared here last winter in the Canterbury Rugby side,- and was tain of the South Island team in the interisland match at Wellington. Impressive List of Titles

Miss Ngaire Lane, of the Kiwi Amateur Swimming Club, added to her already impressive record by winning five titles at the Otago championship meeting last week. She has not been defeated at a provincial championship meeting during the past five years. In 1939 she won two junior freestyle championships, and in each of the succeeding three years she won two freestyle and one backstroke title in the intermediate class. Her successes this season consisted of three freestyle and two backstroke titles, and in spite of the lack of competition, her times were uniformly good. In the 100 yards women’s backstroke, she had a swim-over, but her time of 76sec was only 1 3-ssec outside of the New Zealand women’s record. Miss Lane shares the New Zealand junior girls’ 50 yards backstroke record of 35 4-ssec with Miss B. Owens, of Auckland, and she is the holder also of the 100 yards intermediate girls’ backstroke record of 73 2-ssec, a time which has not been beaten by any woman swimmer in this country. North End Regatta

The Butterfield Shield, awarded for the best aggregate at the North End regatta on Saturday, was won by the Port Chalmers Club with 31 points, North End being second with 201, and Otago third with 18J. The Port Chalmers crew which won the Senior Four was identical with the combination which enjoyed considerable success two years ago, J. Alcock having resumed his seat in 'the boat. Otago won the Youths’ Four from Port Chalmers and North End, and only a length separated the three crews. The most exciting finish of the day was provided by Norm End and Otago, which tied for first place in the Maiden Four, the crews being together from start to finish. Otago also won the Junior Four from, North End and Port Chalmers, and here again only a canvas separated the crews. K. Parish' (Otago) scored three wins during the afternoon, stroking the winning Youths’ Four, Junior Four, and Junior Pair. The Port Chalmers representative. N. Glengarry, gave a good performance to win the Maiden Single Sculls.

Candidates for Championship Honours

T. Wilson (Dunedin) and C. Gibson (Kiwi) were the outstanding performers in the intermediate and junior boys’ divisions respectively, at the Otago swimming championships last week. Wilson, who won the 100, 220, and 440 yards intermediate freestyle titles, as well as the 100 yards backstroke, returned times which suggest that he will have to be seriously reckoned with in the freestyle events at the New Zealand championships at Auckland. Gibson also showed all-round proficiency, winning both junior boys’ freestyle titles in addition to the backstroke. He had not previously swum in a 220 yards race, but his time of 2min 58 3-5 sec was the best that has been registered here for some years. A tall youngster, with a good style, Gibson is another from whom good performances are expected at the New Zealand Championships. An Historic Trophy

The St.. Andrew’s Cross, which was competed for at Balmacewen recently, is a gold trophy embracing, as its central design, a replica of the cross of Scotland s patron saint. It was presented to the Dunedin Golf Club at the time of the club’s formation in 1872 by the club captain, Mr C. R. Howden, and according to the inscription on the trophy it was for annual competition on St. Andrew’s Day. The Dunedin Golf Club at that time had a nine-hole course on the Town Belt, adjacent to the site where the Montecillo Home is now situated, and the links were also used as grazing paddocks for cows. This led to many difficulties, and play on these links gradually ceased. The game was revived some years later when the original club was reconstituted as the Otago Golf Club, and the trophy then passed into its keeping. Eleven gold bars have been added to the cross since it was first competed for 71 years ago, and the names that are engraved on them form all epitome of golfing tradition in Otago. Among the earlier winners of the trophy were D. Hood. W. D. Murison, T. Andrew, Professor J. Shand, D. B. Howden. D. Baxter, M. Fogarty, P. Adair, M. Smith, T. McFarlane, and George Todd. Mr. Todd, who for a long period was an honorary life member of the club, died about three years ago. Promising Lawn Tennis Players

After winning a very closely contested semi-final, 31—28, Scott and Miss Y. Rudd won the final of the Otago Lawn Tennis Association’s handicap tournament on Saturday against Dickens and Miss D. Rackley by a similar margin. The winners, a pair of very promising young players, gave a good exhibition, and they should gain valuable experience from their participation in the Canterbury Lawn Tennis Championships, in which Robson and Miss Robson, another youthful pair, will also be taking part.