SPORT AND PASTIMES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25426, 6 January 1944, Page 4

SPORT AND PASTIMES

Fine Bowling Performance An outstanding feature of the representative cricket match between and Southland was the excellent bowling of E. T. Mulcock, the ex-Canterbury player. The previous week he had borne the brunt of the attack for Otago against Canterbury, sending down 53 overs for 166 runs and five wickets. Playing this time for Southland against his former team mates, Mulcock was largely responsible for the mediocre batting display that was given by the Otago bastmen. His figures in the first innings were six for 26 off 15.4 overs, and in the second he took two for 27. H. W. Fraser also bowled steadily for Southland and showed his all-round ability by scoring 32 and 17. A Successful Fixture The New Year Golf Tournament played on the St. Clair links during the weekend drew an entry of over 70 players. The course was in first-class condition, and some interesting golf was witnessed. History repeated itself when J. N. Lemon won the Alex Sime Challenge Cup. The trophy is presented to the player who returns the best aggregate score in the two qualifying rounds of the Dunedin Amateur Championship. Last year Lemon won the trophy after a play-off over four holes, and this year, with a score of 149, he tied with J. A. Scouler, a club-mate, who is also on scratch. In the play-off Lemon retained the trophy by one stroke. The minor events were all well contested, and the committee of the St. Clair Club is to be congratulated upon a well-organised and successful tournament. Youthful Rep. Cricketer

Considerable interest was manifested in the appearance of a 14-year-old boy, Hugh Templeton, as a member of the Southland eleven against Otago at Carisbrook. This lad, who is a pupil at the Gore High School, had been showing particularly good form in the south, and .in a match betwen Eastern Southland and a Town team had made top score of 28, and had taken seven wickets for 61 runs. This performance gained him a place in the representative team, and in the second innings of the match against Otago he was sent in as an opening batsman, which, in view of his age, is probably a record for this class of cricket. The boy showed confidence and was actually at the wickets for 55 minutes, during which he defied the attack of five bowlers. He played the straight bowling quite effectively until A. W. McDougall got a fast one through his defence, but he has yet to learn to cope with bowling off the wicket. This little lad, who formerly was. a pupil at the Tainui School in Dunedin. has had the benefit of coaching from J. M. McMullan, the ex-Plunket Shield player. Dunedin Golf Championship

The New Year tournament played on the St. Clair links was concluded on Tuesday afternoon, when the finals in both sections of the Dunedin Amateur _ Championship were played. In the senior section A. Lawrence defeated D. C. Bennie 2 and 1. The course was fairly fast, and both played good woods and irons through the fairways, the deciding factor being the greater steadiness displayed by Lawrence on the greens. He was 2 up at the turn, and, although Bennie won the thirteenth with a “ birdie ” 3 and the fifteenth with an “ eagle ” 3, Lawrence was again 2 up after negotiating a three-quarter stymie on the sixteenth green, and a half at the seventeenth gave him the match. This is the third occasion on which Arthur Lawrence has won the Dunedin Championship. G. C. McKay, who played steady golf throughout the tournament, won the Junior Championship by defeating C. Lynch 3 and 1. The players were all . square at the fourteenth, and then McKay went on to win the next three holes. McKay, who plays off a 16 handicap, was round in 77, which was only five strokes above par for the course. Southland Well Represented

Southland will be well represented In the New Zealand championship bowling tournament, which will commence in Dunedin next Wednesday. All told, Southland’s representation numbers 89 players, made up of 20 fours and odd pairs, and singles, in addition to the many pairs and singles in the fours’ combinations. The Southland clubs represented are Ohai, Nightcaps, Winton Central, Hokonul, Gore, Edendale, Waiklwi, R.S.A., Te Rangl, Waihopai, Northend, Invercargill, Southland, and Georgetown. Southland has yet to provide a winner of a New Zealand bowls title since the present New Zealand Bowling Association was formed in 1914. Before that the Northend Club supplied the winner of the fours’ championship in 1910 at Dunedin. , A. J. Service, who is playing for Northend in Invercargill this season, was the skip of the fours, and the others were T. Watson, O. Wilson, and J. Padget.

Slow Bowler’s Success The Southland batsmen are obviously not accustomed to slow spin bowling, and L. Smith, the Otago left-hander, has reaped a harvest of wickets when playing against them. Last season at Invercargill he came out with the extraordinary figures of five wickets for 3 runs off 2.3 overs, and in the match at Carisbrook at New Year he again puzzled the southerners, taking three wickets for 32 runs and seven for 36. In the second innings the wicket favoured his spinners, and he employed his wrong ’un very effectively. It was one of his best performances in a representative match.

“ Butterfly ” Breast Stroke The remarks of a former American swimming champion, Major Gordon Warner, who is at present' in Auckland, regarding the barring of the “ butterfly breaststroke in New Zealand are interesting in view of the experience of the New Zealand breaststroke swimmers at the British Empire Games in Sydney in 1938. In the butterfly stroke, the recovery of the arms is made above the water, and it was noticeable in the Empire breaststroke championships that some of the leading competitors employed this stroke for the first 40 or 50 yards then reverted to the normal stroke, and unwound a sprint by employing the butterfly stroke tor the last 50 yards. The New Zealanders, it may be remarked, did not use this stroke. In spite of the fact that it is permitted by the international rules, it was, and still. is, forbidden in the Dominion. “It is hard to understand why the butterfly stroke is barred in New Zealand,” said Major Warner in an interview in Auckland. “ Your country is lagging behind the world in this respect, and it will be very noticeable in competition after the war. One has only to look through the records to see the difference in times between the old and the new style. For instance, the world’s record for 100 yards breaststroke stood at 62sec, but with the use of the butterfly stroke it has been reduced to 59 2-ssec. A young Brazilian girl toured the United States last year, and she recorded times which bettered those which stood previously to the credit of men.” Major Warner added that as it took something like two years to attain championship standard with the butterfly stroke, the sooner it was adopted the better. Any present breaststroke champion should make rapid advance in the change-over, as it was much a matter of correct timing, combined with practice, which could be indulged in on a surfboard. Valuable Experience

The value of the Brabin Shield matches for prospective representative cricketers was exemplified by the performances oi several of the younger- Otago players during the holidays. Cases in point are D. Murdoch, who not only batted soundly against Canterbury, but by his brilliant work in the outfield saved Otago many runs,' and T. Freeman, who was one of the most serviceable all-rounders in the Canterbury and Southland matches. Both players - appeared in the Otago Brabin Shield team against Canterbury last year, when Murdoch made 23 and 127 and took three wickets for 8 runs, and Freeman captured three wickets for 64 and two for 19, as well as compiling scores' of 12 and 69. 1 Freeman was chosen to represent Otago in the return interprovincial match with Canterbury last season, but Murdoch was playing his first major representative game at Christmas.

Police Life Saving Team A police life-saving team has been formed in Dunedin and will function as a part of the St. Kilda Surf Life Saving Club. The sponsor of the movement is Sergeant D. O’Carrol, who will have associated with him several men well known in swimming circles. Among them are Sergeant N. Kempt, formerly captain of the Waitemata Amateur Swimming Club; V. Newall, an ex-Otago swimming champion and prominent surf life-saver; and G Wootton, who was an instructor in the St. Kilda Club some years ago. The formation of a police team will be welcomed by the Surf Life Saving Association and no doubt the example of the Dunedin men will be followed in other centres.

Safety-first Tactics The representative cricket match between Otago and Southland at Carisbroo* at New Year was characterised by particularly slow and low scoring. The wicket, although affected by recent rains, was not so bad as to justify the extreme caution displayed by many of the batsmen. In spite of the fact that Mulcock was undoubtedly in a destructive mood, the safety-first methods adopted not only against him but against all the bowlers tried was surprising, particularly in view of the fact that one-day cricket is played in both centres. The fact that 101 hours’ batting produced only 475 runs is sufficient in itself to indicate the dreary nature of the play.