CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 18 March 1927, Page 11

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) .CHRISTCHURCH, March 17. NEW ZEALAND CRICKET. “It lis gratifying to see what strides Nbw Zealand cricket has made,” said Mr Warwick Armstrong, captaiin of .the Melbourne Cricket Club’s team, in replying to a toast at a luncheon given by the New Zealand Cricket Council in honour of the team. - “Some, people tell me,” Armstrong added, “that you will never havo| cricketersi here. Ihaye spent quite a lot of timei arguiing with them. You have got them here already. I only wish we had some of the material to work on in Australia. I can assure you that the material here is as good, if not better, tt.an the material we have to work on in Aus-’ tralia, to. prepare for the next wait of the Englishmen.” He said ho wished to congratulate the New , Zealand Cricket Council on its decision to send a team to England. He was sure that four or five members of the team would return champions, and would set a standard for the rest of the cricketers in the country. The trip would be* the makings of New Zealand cricket, and he was sure that the time was not far distant when New Zealand would produce cricketers equal to the best in Australia. A similar opinion was expressed by Mr H. Trumble, manager of the team, who was in his time' of the of g’eatest bowlers that Australia has oroduced. Mr Trumble said that he could not see why New Zealand did net turn out better cricketers. The material was here, and lin his opinion, all that was needed was a little- more keenness and a little more coaching. They should start with the schoolboys. Iter had athletes here—-he) had seen tiiem. working about the streets.

UNFOUNDED RUMOURS. Arising out oil a case called in the Magistrate’s Court this ■ corning, as a result of a police raid on a room in the Royal Exchange buildings, a rumour flew around the town that oHieif people also had been raided frr alleged breaches of the Gaming Act. Inspector Cameron said .this afternoon that the police had no fujUer cases in hand. It was :;ot uue that the police had warned owners -A a number of city premises thft bookmakers -were carrying on in ’bcir buddings, and that they must get out, otherwise the buildings would be closed up. “I cam emphatically say thao the police have issued no such instiuct.ors. Certain owners have merely been told that bookmakers were there.- IVe never ask anyone to carry our burden. We can do that ourselves.”

CAMPAIGN AGAINST BOOKIES. That the police had decided on a campaign against alleged illegal betting was made evident in the course of the conversation, but lit was not staled that there was any action pending against other than those charged in Court this morning. ________