Lawn Tennis War Behind Iron Curtain

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27112, 21 June 1949, Page 8

Lawn Tennis War Behind Iron Curtain

All is not well on the lawn tennis front behind the Iron Curtain, and the Red leaders are up against a novel problem: Lawn Tennis—ls it “Democratic”? The popularity of the sport has been increasing steadily in Russia, and now the newspaper of Red youth, Komsomol Pravda, publishes the results of a detailed inquiry which it has made about the state of lawn tennis in the Soviet Union.

The game, it seems, is booming in some places, and in disgrace in others. The. directors of the great sporting clubs, such as Dynamo, Spartak, and Lokomotive “ consider that tennis has no interest for Soviet youth.” The paper quotes one director as explaining; “Only two or four people at a time can play tennis, so that it is not a suitable sport for the masses, such as soccer football, for instance, with its 22 players.” In Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, and other cities the paper’s reporters found tennis courts overgrown with long grass, or boarded over to make dance floors.

Yet, in spite of official dis-

couragement, young people persist in their demands for increased facilities to play the game. Certain tennis clubs in Moscow have this year over 50,000 applications for membership, but can admit only 250 players because of the lack of ' courts and equipment. One critic complains that young people ought to be able to hire, and not have to buy outright, such things as tennis shoes, balls, and rackets. In Moscow a racket costs around £lO, which seems to indicate that the v game may have to struggle to survive its natural enemies. In the meantime, a vigorous campaign is being conducted against a small group of sports writers who have advocated more liberal sports programmes for Soviet youth. One paper describes these sports reporters as “decadent, anti-patriotic cosmopolitans, tramps without nationality,” and demands “a merciless purge in our sporting literature.” Cowie’s Remarkable Record Whatever doubts New Zealanders may have from time to time about the < standard of their country’s cricket. x there will be few who will not agree that in J. Cowie the Dominion has groduced one of the outstanding owlers to play in test cricket. It is nearly 17 years since Cowie made his initial appearance in first-class cricket, and long ago he established himself as an outstanding performer in Plunket Shield matches. It. seems, however, that the greater the occasion the greater the man, for Cowie’s record in test matches is even better than his figures for representative matches would suggest. On the 1937 tour he took four for 118 and two for 49, four for 73 and six for 67, three for 73 and none for •15 in the three tests played. In 1946, against Australia, he secured six for 40. A year later, against England, his figures were six for 83, and in the recent test he took five for 127. Wisden described him as the outstanding player in 1937 land his performance in the second test (ten for 140) as “masterly.” In the six tests in which he has played, Cowie has accounted for 36 of the 65 wickets which fell to New Zealand bowlers. His complete test analysis i5:—238.5 overs, 48 maidens. 645 runs. 36 wickets; average 17.95. These figures compare favourably with those of any other bowler of any other, country in tests, and in the words of a Christchurch writer, “Cowie must rank as one of the greatest of all time.” All Black Films Warner Brothers Pictures (N.Z.), Ltd., have been fortunate in arranging for very good films of the first All Black match in South Africa against the Western Province Universities, and also for each of the four Tests. These films will create great public interest, and as they will be sent to New Zealand by air, it is hoped to release them simultaneously in the four centres. The film of. the Universities’ match at Cape Town will be sent out in about a week’s time, but in the case of the Tests, the films will be released as early as possible after the actual day of the game. - Good Display I. Aitkenhead, the first five-eighth in the Training College team, played a fine game last Saturday against Alhambra. He handled cleanly, was quick off the mark, and did not pass the ball to a player who was in a worse position than himself. He was always looking for an opening and his speed, combined with his straight running, made him a dangerous player near the line. The try he scored was a fine effort. Racing for the Alhambra line with two men in support, he cut the defence to ribbons, literally “strolling” through a gap to score.'He also used the short punt judiciously and combined with A. Lonsdale in several penetrative movements.