THE NEW ZEALAND BOWLERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2151, 16 May 1895, Page 34

THE NEW ZEALAND BOWLERS.

(Australasian.) A CHAT WITH THE CAPTAIN. --SOME HINTS FOR AUSTRALIANS. Scotland is the home of bowling, and New Zealand is the home of the Scot in the southern heuiispheie. It is not remarkable, then, that the Came should have become acclimatised there, and

that $»c colony should torocfoeo 86me |fr*and bowlers. But it wai not till recent years tuat it obtained a footing. Mr J. Paul, the manpgor Riid or^nniaor of the team of bowlera which ha,* just had a pleasant and succeasful trip through New South Wales and Victoria, ia a Scotchman, who Icivut tb.9 game In tho old country, ond he Is kuown as the father of tbe game in the North Inland. So enthusiastic was he In advancing the game tbnt "Paul's bowls" became a standing joks in his neighbourhood. There had becu a bowling green at Am-kland for about 30 years, and the gume was played in a languishing fashion till about 10 years ago, when Mr Paul started a club in his own town, New Plymouth, in the Tavftnaki district. Then rapidly the fashion spread, until now there is ro considerable town wi'hout its bowling green, an'i tonrnamouts are held every yoar betwocu the North and South Islands. There must be {something remarkable about the New Zealand players. New Plymouth is a towit of fiom COOO to 6000 iuhaMUnts, and a couple of rink* hive been chosen from its club, of about 25 playing inombsrs, who have more than held tleir own with tho picked pUyors of New South Wales and Victoria. The team won three matches in Sydiioy and lost three. In Victoria they have won three matches, lost two, and oue ha* been drawn. The other rink was from Auckland. Iv a chat at tbe White Hart Hotel, whera the team weie comfortably installed, Mr Paul was ask*d what ho thought was the principal d fference between the pfay ®f Australians and New Zealandors ? " Tha groat difference," said he, is in the style of delivery of the bowl. Ihe Austrnlian players take a fixed position ou the mat ia dehveiing. The New ZeManders stand erect, take a step forward ou to the green with the left foot, and deliver the bowl in a manner in which hand and wrist and body are all used together in a free, grac fill motion." You think, then, that your style of delivery gives you an advantage ? " So great an advantage dops it give that I may assort. Without the least desire to say anything boastful, that until the Australians adopt oar style they w.ll never be able to eend a team to New Z-ialand that will win a, tingle match. Mr G. G. Munro is, I consider, tho most dangerous antagonist that I have mat here, and he has adopted the New Zealand delivery since he vieited U3 at the time of the exhibition." Is not your play likely to injure the green ? " Not in the least. The left foot n placed firmly down on the sward, and has no more effect on the green than walking over it has. It is only the too of the back foot that could injure the green and that is always kept on the runt. We u*o indiirubber niata, which give a better hold to the foot than the cocoarmtniaU which are used here." Is your method in accordance with the rules of the game? "Most certainly it is. We have adopted the Scotch rules, ana it is the universal nractica in Scotland. A badsfyle of delivery, once obtained, is very hard to get) id of. Theg*mois understood here eqn Uly ab well as it is with us ; but we shall, as I say, always have nn adv<inlag-j do long as tho crumped s'yle of delivery is adhced to." How do our greens compare with yours ? ! "Tho givens all rouud are very good here ; the one. exception we have met was tho As.hfkld green, which was very bad. The BAlraningrven in Sydney iaa pei feel one ; they have the bsst ap.-liaccrs for levelling it that I have seen. In fact, I understand that there arc several te'entific men contacted with if, and it 13 treated as a sort of orphan child amongst Ihtm. It is certainly a delightful green. Our team was, of course, at a disadvautage in playing on strauga greens. lv Sydney we clungod greens for overy g*mo. It ia oaly about the oad of a game that you get to know the peculiarities of the green, and then you have to go away to some othor. I asked the Melbourne Association to allow us to play all the intercolonial matches on one sreen, and they were good enough to nnke us that concession. Tli3 surroundiogs of many of the greens over lure are most beautiful, far better than anything we can show in New Zealand. But, on the other haod, it ia a distinct disadvantage that so many of them are in public parks or rcse.'ves from which tho public cannot^o excluded. Ourgreen3 are, in nearly every care, the private property of the club." How do they compare with your greens for ploy? . "" Our greens aU pl:«y much keener and faster. I notice that a good deal of clover is need herp, which makec the sward heavier. We uuenothiug i but couchgrasß, and we use mu.-h heavier rollors than are used here. We have to pUy as hard hore to draw a shot as we have to make a drive on our own greens. In fact, some of our greenß are so keen that, as a player with a turn of humour said : ' Man ! she runa three yards after she has stopped.' " Do your rules differ very much from those observed here? " There are several points of difference on what I thick are imrortant points. Our minimum length for a head ia (Kifc. Here you play much fchoi ter. In Sidney 30ft is the miufmum, which is altogether too short. I think it is ridiculous, rind more like a game of marbles lhan bowls. The Melbourne limit is 50ft, whirh is much more reasonab'e, and I would not object to that, but 1 thiiik if our limit was reduced to 60. t that would be about the best length. "Another point to which stiong objection is taken by our men," continued Mr Paul, "is the practice of allowing a player to play his bowl as a block ' only 4ft or sft away from the mat. That w*s not practised against me, but it was agJiintt sonic of our rinks. I think it most objectionable and ui'fair. A till man with a long ann could place his bowl without bowliDg it at all. It is not bowling at all. It would be the same it iv a boxing match the hands of one man were tied and the other was allowed to pepper away at him as he pleaded. Our rule is that a bowl must be bowled half the distance, or it is taken off the green. A legitimate blojk is a most important part of the game, and if a player lias the skill to bowl so as to effect a block ho is justified in doiug it, but there should b- some limit, if the game is not to become mere trickery. Half the distance is short enough. Another point of less importance is thatif the jack is driven into a neighbouring rink during tho play, that is a 'dead cud' with you as it is with in ; but you do not mako it a dead end if it is driven into the ditch at tbe side of the rink, whilst we do. On that point they were inclined j to agree with me in .Sydney ; but they would not give way on the short heads of 30ft, I am sorry to ''In Sydney tkey play time matches, but here you adopt the sirae plan as us, of plaj in>; a certain number of ends for a match. The objection we found to the time system in New Zealand waa that if a side had a good lead there was a temptation to waste time iv every possible way, so as to prevent tho other side catching up, and that led to ill feeling. If so many ends have to be played, there ia no advantage to be gained by waiting time. Twenty-five beads make a game of two hours and a-h»lf Jength on an average. I think your system of pla> ing another end wneu there is a tie is better than ours When the number of ends hare been played we stop, even if there is a tie, unle.l3 by arrangement. Another end in almost all cases decides the match, and that is more satisfactory." In conclusions Mr Paul said— "The tour of the team had been a most enjoyable one. We have been treated everywhere with the grtatest ho?pitality and kindness, and our matches have been plajed in a f.iendly spirit without the slightest f iction. I might say that I don't tpprove of playing for trophieß in inter-club or intercolonial matches. In buch matches there is too much keenness, no ' beg pardons,' no give and take, such as have distinguished our matches. There is some talk of a team coming over t) New Zealand before long, and when th; j y come 1 can assure them of a heirty wi-lcome. lam delighted with the success j of i ur |>l.iyers, particularly as they are by no meaii3 j a representative team, and in our own club we can pick two ricks which could beat thof c we have broiicrht away. But it is impossible to get all the best players to leave on such a long tiip. None of us had any acquaintance with Australia, and our recollections will be of the most agreeable i kind."

Last Saturday the New Zealanders played their final nutch iv Victoria on the Fitzroy green. There was a good attendance of vi itors, and great interest was taken in the game, which was closely contested. Fitzroy put a couple of strong rinks into the field, but again were the visitors Victorious, tho final scores leaving New Zealand

ahead by 2 points Paul was engiged agsinst Blyth, but the New Zealand rkipper was equal td the ociasion, and had a majority of 5 points in his to? in. In tho lirat intercolonial' congest Meakia wai drawn against Newman (N.Z.), and the Fitzroy captain sustained rather a severa drubbing. On this occasion Meakin had his revenge, for he turned tho tables, and just got homo a winner by three points-, being well backed up by Hood, who played a moat consistent game. Altogether a pleasant and close game was much en joyed by all. The following is the score :— NRW ZEALAND. Rink No. 1.-J. Dinglo, T. Every, H. Ward, J. Paul (oaptnin) •. 2* R\Dk No. 2.— F Jewry, P. R. Carthew, G. Rundlo, G. Nowmau (c.vptain) .*• ... 22 Total ... «, , M «. iO 11T7.ROV. Rink No I.— Clark, Fawcett, Carr, Blyth (captain) 10 Riuk No. 2. —Moss, Dr Thomas, Hood, Meakin ■ (captain) w ,„ 23 Total ... U Majority for New Zealand, two points.