LONDON SPORTING EVENTS

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1930, Page 16 (Supplement)

LONDON SPORTING EVENTS

THE FIRST CRICKET- TEST'.'. V . ~;_■. 1 • 'I A GREAT MATUH ALL THROUGH. ' (Special To News.) j London, June .19. ■ After a match which proceeded to , within an hour of the end of the fourth ] day England won the first Test against j the Australians at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, by 93 runs. The result is de- { eisive enough to suggest a comparative- < ly tame' finish, but throughout the final ; stage there was keen interest and ex- j citement, with Australia fust making < a valiant race against the clock to get < the runs, and then setting their backs ; to the wall in’an heroic attempt to foil Chapman and his men by making ] a draw.' ' •, i - One reviews the match-.with mixed •; feelings. First, what course would the j .play have taken if all luck had been E eliminated? On- the opening day the < Aiiritraliaius appeared to have accom- t plished a winning performance in dismissing eight of England’s - batsmen for 241. Chapman, tossing with, his lucky ■ half sovereign which he obtained out < of a Christmas pudding when in Aus- ( tralia, beat Wbodfull .for choice of inn- j ings, and at once seemed to gain a con- < siderable advantage. There was not a < flaw in the pitch, and the eleven were ] expected to bat all day, and run up a ] score which, would place them safe from defeat. But, whilst Hobbs stayed, wick- ] ets fell with startling suddenness. Ham- 1 mond, Woolley, and Hendren scored on- < ly thirteen between them, when they ■ were expected to obtain ten times as .< many;-.-What was the'matter? Had thp ( pitch deceived everyone?'The--truth was that Australia’s success was 'a triumph for the bowlers, and Grimmett in particular. As has been eaid, Hobbs saved a complete breakdown,- and then Chapman played a captain s part by attacking the bowlers, and scoring 52. Towards the end of the day clouds gathered, and rain fell, otherwise there is little doubt that the innings would have been completed. ‘ _ ) The Australians went to • their hotel ... believing that they were well on the <i road to victory, but before they sat t down to dinner rain fell in a deluge, i and it was still coming down when a they awoke in the morning. TVoodfull 1 had arranged to be called early, but, <s after one look out of his window, he i went, back to bed. At that time it did i not seem as though there could be. any < play that day. However, about nine i o’clock the rain ceased and the sun I came out, with the result that a stait i was made after lunch. What would £ the wicket be like ? Would it play so i heavily into. the hands of the bowlers 1 that the Australian batsmen would be t helplees? But,first there was England’s t innings to be completed, and the score <. was raised to 270, a much better total .- than could have been, expected at . one i time. Indeed, there wab the possibility that it.would prove an exceedingly gdod 1 one. The pitch, however, had not been i affected to tiie extent that was feai.ed, i and there was no doubt that the Aus- 1 traliams contributed to their failure. < Their start was even worse than Eng- 1 land’s, Woodfull. Ponsford and Brad- i man being dismissed with only twelve i rums on the board. AU .these valuable wickets were claimed by Tate, who ( bowled at a great pace, or rather he made the bail come off the drying pitch at a great pace, and, thougn Kippax played a hero’s part in trying to. s-top ; the rot, and was ably assisted by Richardson, there was no real recovery, and the side were ail out for 144, leaving England with a lead of 126. It was this lead which turned the scales, despite the fact that, if luck had been with Chapman’s side previously, it now definitely turned against them. _ Hobfcd and Sutcliffe hit up their tenth century in Test matches, the Suiity. man playing brilliantly in compiling 74. -As a batsman he truly played his part, having a total of 152 for the match. But soon after he was stumped through running three -yards down the , pitch to drive Grimmett. Sutcliffe was struck on the hand for the third time by a fast ball from Wall, and the injury was so .painful that he. had to retire. In fact, -he was unable to take any further, part in the'match. But 1-25 for one, or rather two, put England in a very strong. ■ position, and, though, both Hammond and Woolley failed a second time, Hendren played a great innings of 72', arid, the'Au/stialians were set to make..'|-428', to, win. A feat or this magnitude; had; never been accomplished. Its° severity wad heightened when Woodfull syas quickly out. He was never comfortable, in facing the fast bowling of,.Larwood. The ball flew off the corner ,of hia. bat. and he was brilliantly caught by- Chapman,-at backward point n .', . • But .the .bowlers- met with no more, success that day-, and the Australians started on The last stage,.having to get 369. There was bad news before play started. La.r\vopd had been taken ill in the-nighf.’ and; the-doctor would not let him get,. Up owing to an attack of. gastritis. This, wa’s a serious blow for, England. It. left Chapman with only three bowlers, and two.of them. Robins and Tyldesley, were slow bowleia. In the circumstances, Australia’s prospects improved considerably, and, though Ponsford was out at 93, there was always a chance that the runs might be obtained so long as the brilliant Bradman remained. As a matter of fact, they were well ahead of the clock, and, though .Hammopd did splendidly as an emergency . Ljovvler, -Chapman was greatly handicapped in ' ordering'his changes. Indeed, he.rkcp-t Tate on for over an hour, and the. Sussex man did not send down a single loose ball.. With half their wickeds standing, the tourists required only 155 to win, but at length Bradman wa-s out, and the end quickly followed. The Australians have a rather long tail, and in the tense struggle it did not wag to any good purpose. It was a great match, played in the finest sporting spirit, and one was as glad that the Auistralians were able to "bat on a pitch which was as good at the finish as at 'tha etart. In one respect they created some surprise. It had been thought that their bowling was weak. As a matter of fact, with Grimmett in deadly form —he took five wickets in each, .innings—it was as strong as England's.. So far as the English side is concerned; there may be one change for the second Teo't.. At the eleventh hour Woolley' was preferred to Duleepsinhji, and ho was the one failure. In . the circumstances, the Ing dian batsman may get hits chance at [ Lords. WIGHTMAN TENNIS CUP. r # t Tim English women’s. lawn tennis I team won back the Wightman Cup,

beating America’s representatives, in a dramatic match at Wimbledon. The trophy has now been held four times by each country. Airs. Holcroft Watson played the chief part in the victory, her match with Miss Helen Jacobs, America’s second string, being the crucial one. In this Mrs. Watson ~ ed nervously,'and quickly lost the lust set. But she is notoriously a slow starter, and, finding her form in the second, she chased her adversary about the court in a startling* fashion. Rarely has a woman player hit so hard, and, though all her shots were from the back of the court,. Miss Jacobs wilted and broke down before the fierce attack. Indeed, she was so distressed that once, in changing over, she sat down on a chair by the umpire's stool. The iulcm do not permit a rest to be taken between games, but Miss Jacobs did not hold up play for more than a few seconds. However, she could not withstand Mrs. Watson’s hitting, and she lost the match. . . On the following day Mrs. Watson had to play Mrs. Helen "Wills' Moody, as the champion wishes to 'be called ■since .her ' marriage,' and every seal round the centre court was filled. Would she-dare to try and hammer Mrs. Moo-' dy off the court as she had done Jacobs? It was quickly seen' that this was to be her endeavour, and as she won game after game the excitement was intense.' Eventually she led five games to love. Airs. Moody raced fiom corner to corner,, and still'she-lost the points. Wlf?n she was gravely in danger of losing a set, for the first time since she became champion in 1927, she suddenly changed her tactics, her aim being to slow, the pace down. In this she succeeded by lobbing and lifting her drives, and the effect on Mrs. “Watson’s game was remarkable, and she lost only one more game in winning at 7-5, 6-1. The deciding match was the doubles, in which Airs. Watson and Mrs. Godfree beat Mrs. .Moody and Miss Jacobs, after losing the first set. .

■ ■ BOXING AND BOXERS. SCOTT AND STRIBLING. \ Air. Jeff Dickson has decided, widely, (writes Eugene Com) not to have the Scott-Stribling fight staged on a Sunday. I am not squeamish, and 1 hope that I am not old-fashioned; but the verv suggestion that such an important fight as that between the British heavy-weight champion and Stribling should take place on the Sabbath-, hurt my susceptibilities more than I can tell. I have no objection to Sunday games, but a fight in the open of firstrate importance, and, therefore, one bound to attract a considerable crowd, would never do. It must not bo forgotten that Scott 'and Stribling will meet in a London suburb,- and if they bad fought at Wimbledon on a Sunday there would have been such an outcry as never was.- No, let us stick to the old order of things. To court unnecessary trouble is a thing that should .always be avoided. The match, which as you no doubt know, is fixed for the 28th of next month, has taken on added importance in view of what happened last.week at the Yankee Stadium. Without the least doubt, either Stribling or Scott must be matched with Schmeling. If . Scott had not been committed to Stribling, a fight' between him and Schmeling would have followed as a matter of course. The German, wo are told, has been enthroned as the title holder. .1 strongly deny his right to it. It is true that it is agreed that he was badly and inexcusably fouled by Sharkey, but so was Scott at Aliami, and therefore if there be consistency and justice Scott should have been declared the winner at Florida, and Sharkey not only disqualified but barred from fighting for an indefinite period. I am- not disposed to hold Scott up as a wonderful fighter; he is not that. But Ido maintain that he is a decidedly unfortunate one. He has done infinitely more than Sehineling, whose record is surely the least unconvincing of any man set up as a ■ world beater.

I long ago came to regard the custodians cf the American ring as a law unto themselves, but I confess that I was amazed when, so soon as Scott was out of the way, there was every haste to enthrone the German. It is as if there were a conspiracy against Scott to deny him his incontestable right. However, the British champion may take it that if he beats Stribling in a thoroughly conclusive way even Americans will feel that they may no longer withhold from him the right to try for the biggest prize the ring may offer.

THE ALMIGHTY BOX OFFICE. I have not seen Sharkey fight, but I feel that I know the manner of man that he is. Jack Kearns assured me, when he was over here with Mickey Walker, that Sharkey, were he not given to brain storms, would go far. I am afraid after what has happened, it is not possible for Sharkey to discipline himself. There is, as was to have been expected, an effort being made to have the Lithuanian and the German matched again. It is possible that there will be a second.fight, though it may be difficult to arrange. One of my correspondents writes to say that Schmeling will be bound to meet Scott if our champion accounts for Stribling. That, I grant, would be the proper and logical thing to happen, but Schmeling has never shown himself keen for a fight with Scott. The whole position, as I see and understand it, boils down to £.S.D. For some extraordinary reason, Schmeling has captured the imagination of the American fans. It ‘is said that they have warmed to him because he is so very much like Dempsey. But, even so, it is astounding that a man who was knocked out by Gypsy Daniels, and who may not point to any exceptional performance in his record, should be permitted to get away with £35,090, a sum by the way that Sharkey, despite the foul which he was held to have committed, has also received. When there are such vast sums running loose, to be picked up, is it to be wondered at that we have among heavy-weights so many duffers? I think I can see what the bosses of the American, ring are after. For the next few months Schmeling will be boosted sky high. He will be put into one or more fights which he will win, perhaps in a. dramatic way. Meantime, Camera will be allowed, and even en: couraged, to creep back into favour, and at what is deemed to be the psychological moment, the Italian, having been forgiven for'whatever sins real or imaginary he has committed, will be match-' cd with the German. It is the box office, I am afraid, that does that, for the box oflice is of paramount importance over on. the other side. It is what a mam is worth in dollars that counts; real or proved ability, it would seetn, is the last .consideration, I am. almost

driven to the conclusion that, _ in the matter of world’s championships, we had better cease to trouble. Can you recollect a heavy-weight championship of the world being decided on a foul? No.

Charlie McDonald, of Manchester, as I feared, was no match for Len Harvey at Premierland; he was knocked out in the second round. It was a disappointing affair and did not draw the public as was hoped and expected. On the same day (last Sunday) Jack Garland outpointed Kid. Pattenden. It was a most creditable performance on the part of the Irish lad.

’ The Ring under new. management' staged its first show at the. beginning of the week, and a success was, scored. It was much to be regretted, however, that Mr. -C. H. Douglas, who was the referee, decided that he had no option but to disqualify Frank Fowler of York, for ;hitting Maurice Griselle, the young French heavy-weight, low. When I first saw him I doubted whether he would stand up under anything like severe punishment —whether he had it in him to fight back. -He seems to have taken more than- one hard crack from Christner, and was none the .worse. That being so, he has established his gameness —and gameness in abnormally big men is rare. I subscribe to the popular belief that, nine times out of ten, the bigger the man the more likely is he to capitulate, PROOF POSITIVE. When, then, Camera having ■ shown that; he has it in him to weather a storm, and, further, that he can do so by boxing, he must now be taken seriously, and not thought to be only an astounding freak. Fear is expressed that there will be a conspiracy to deny him an opportunity to fight for the title. 1 do not think it will be’ possible to keep him out, unless he suddenly blows un, if only for the reason. that he is a .wonderful box office proposition. .With the Sharkey-Schmeling fight decided, a definite move will be made to get Camera whitewashed by every boxing body throughout America. That would be more easy of accomplishment if Camera met and defeated that huge negro Godfrey, who, they tell me, could make something of a meal of any white heavyweight, if in the mood. I hope it will be possible for Leon See to make such a match, for he must realise that it would settle the worth of his prodigy. Things move quickly in America, and I am prepared for almost anything. I certainly expect to fihd, in the very near future, there will be no sort of bait .on Camera, who must surely be. taken seriously by the rest of the heavyweights of all the nations. He positively cannot be kept out of the scheme of things. The likelihood is that he will remain in America until he, and al.' those with him, have been .given a tull pardon. Tn that event, and if lie continues to go from one success to an-, other, he will have earned the right to take a tilt at the title. PHIL SCOTT’S TEST. The position of Phil Scott will be the more definitely shaped .by what happens on July' 28,. when he is to fight Stribling. Our champion must win if he Js to keep on fighting. If liq beats Stribling, he must again b'e matched, for the world’s championship. If not -that, then a contest between him and. Camera would surely draw the biggest .“gate” ever known in this country. Victory for Scott over Stribling would, open the way to a tremendous fortune. I see that Kid Berg is shortly to do battle with Kid Chocolate. Surely if Iw wins the Americans will be the first to declare that Sammy Mandell must meet him for - the world’s lightweight title. ' It should not have .been’ necessary for Berg to fight and beat Chocolate for hiirT to be held qualified to try for the championship. He has already done enough, te convince all reasonable folk is the nearest approach to Mandell. Berg, however, should not be dis-couraged-because of the many’obstacles

and excuses put in his way to attaining world championship, rank. - - • When the late’ Freddie Welsh had cleared the decks, it took him the better part of two years to get to grips with Willie Ritchie, the then reigning chamnion.L And, when he did so, he was obliged to fight for little more than his expenses. We have arrived at a time when it does not follow that a worlds champion is the best fighter- in the world. If it were possible for us to have our accepted best pitted against |the best in America, more- than one world’s title would change hands.