WORLD OF SPORT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19814, 4 December 1919, Page 2

WORLD OF SPORT.

LAWN TENNIS. TFeom Our Correspondent.] LONDON, September 25. J iio greatest lawn tennis reason on ? rass in the history of the game has just concluded. Of all the British Sames revived after tlio Armistice, none have oa,joyed more popularity or attracted greater attention than lawn tennis. Right from the first post-war tournament at Queen’s in April down to Hulinghnm, large crowds have thronged the courts and stretched the entry lists to breaking point. The presence of the all-conquering Australian Service contingent has, of course, Jiad much to do with the game’s attraction. Never previously has such a fine collection of great players from one country competed at' Wimbledon, and never with such success. It was mainly owing to the efforts of the colonials that England, the inventors of the game, failed to win a championship. Although on the surface this was rather a catastrophe for the Old Country, it may have been a, blessing in disguise. I ho game affected by the Australians was a much more virile one than the home variety, and the effect of a scason s exhibition of its beauty and utiliLS ol } d c d °. much improve the standard of play m this countrv. With tins set-back staring them in the face our men made an astonishingly fine £ O T„ ln i th , ? Da T Cup ’ aild wi ' l out to Australia with at least a chance of baCC tllc - • tr °PlW. Outside Wimbledon, our visitors also did well. ■ r *V l that on the ladies 5 ’ ide Jliss Ryan, the brilliant Californian player, had a remarkable season rious t' ?/ ,SS M ’ Ka f e - «nknoi4 prelOUS to the war, also did extremely '\oll. Lieutenant-Colonel A. R p Amgscoto was easily thc best of’ tho homo players, and both at Wimbledon Davis Cun ea t C r d th ,f final and in the hi ? / , I ,’ thls fi aJknt officer played beautiful lawn tennis. His one hsd sliow was against CL L. Patterson tin present champion of the world’ tu CRICKET’S FAREWELL, ihe cricket season is also at an end Oval h with U tV U a glor - v afc mai with the annual “Tost” between 11,0 »«*3 very end, whilo Woollev hit ,

SOCCER, TMI’ROVES. Jhe fourth .Saturday of the A turn season snw a t welcome improvement in tins standard of play in the bip league matches. Xo rlonbt the, more congenial conditions—soft grounds and low temperature—hiul a good deni to do with this, while the various teams mi° n ? W ' )e P' n ning to shako down a hit, ho forwards especially wero in line lonn, and there was some heavy goal seining. Thus Bolton Wanderers scored six goals against Manchester City, Manchester Cnitod five against Preston, Bristol City six against Linsn(l Cardiff five points against These performsnces were all by home chibs. Away from home, ” est Bromwich scored five times against Everton and,.the Spurs three times against South Shields- The last I?®"! remalka.blA one in that all the goals obtained by one playra- Wikon— -and a debutant into the bargain. As tiffs young man from Atnerstone also scored four consecutive goals for the clnb in the London ChalJenge Cup on the Monday, he is evidently am an to be watched. Watching tins last performance, one was impressed with the newcomer’s brainy inerpictation of the centre forward posiUon. V ilsou j 5 a well-made youth with

n very good knowledge of a pivot’s duties. While always on the lookout for an opportunity of scoring, ho docs not forget that he is after all only a link in the chain, although by far the most important. Coming into the Tottenham team as a substitute for Cantrell, it is obvious that Wilson will require a lot of shifting if he plays the football he showed against South Shields and Millwall. With reserves of : this type, Tottenham Hotspur should have no difficulty in retaining their place at the head of the Second Division, a.nd maybe finally achieve their ambition of regaining a place in the coveted First League. While all is going well with the Spurs, another famous club in Aston Villa cannot seem to get a start at all, and have yet to win their first match. For their match at home against Liverpool—lost by the only goal scored—they hoped to have the assistance of Richard Sloley, the well-known Corinthian player, but the old Brentford man found himself unable to turn out owing to a, business engagement. This policy of playing class amateurs is undoubtedly a good one provided the men can he induced to put in sufficient training to keep Jit enough for the great pace at which modem professional football is played. When it comes to manipulation of the ball and general cleverness, amateurs are every whit the equal of their professional colleagues, but it is the pace that kills. NERVE STRAIN IN GOLF. Tbo glorious reign of what we call the ’iriumvirate of golf may not yet be at an end, but there is evidence that the strain of competitive play is being acutely felt by the famous trinity, Va.rdon, Braid and Taylor. A real sensation has just been created by these three masters of the game failing to qualify for the professionals’ inatahplay championship. About 110 of the men attached to clubs in the South of England met on the links of the Son-

ning-on-Thames chib to which Abo Mitchell belongs, and neither Vardon, ilraid nor Taylor could scramble into one of the first twenty-six places. At different times in the past each of them has 1 ailed to qualify for tho event, but this is the first occasion when they have all gouo down together. Rightly I or wrongly it is being assumed" that I these famous players have arrived at tho age when they must surrender the honours to younger men. Braid is a few months the senior of the otner two, and all throe aro bordering on fifty. At Sonning it was clear that it was flic nerve-strain which beat thorn. They played their shots up to tho hole-side with all their old certainty of strength and direction, but as soon as they tackled tho business of getting the bail into tho hole, they blundered woefully. It is always an agonising experience to play two shots on ,to the green perfectly and then to waste one by missing a putt of a yard or less. It is worse

than topping a. tec shot, or lifting your | head and putting an approach into a hunker. These veterans putted like novices. During the two rounds, Vaidon and Braid each missed the hole 1 two or throe times from distances of less than two feet. Their blunders were i incredible. They had to be seen to bo | realised. There was no mystery, howj over, as to the cause. It was' clearly i I a case of nerves. Taylor attributed hist I failure to another defect. “1 can’t.

! stop the heavy halls wo nr#- using to-j i (Jay.” lie said. But, wo need not takei 1 his confession very seriously. There is I no one who has better mastered the! art of applying back-spin than Taylor. I and there are many who are stopping i the heavy balls effectively. If Tavlori found that ho could not make the hall j spin the reverse way and so keep his J approaches to the green near the hole, the defect was probably produced by a want of confidence and a. consequent lack of crispness in the making of the strokes. In view of the lailnre of the Triumvirate it is a little curious that first place in the competition at Sunning was gained by Alec Herd, who is more than a year the senior of Braid. J'his old St Andrews player gave a superb display. Clearly’ nerves have not yet begun to trouble’him. Rav was second and Mitchell and Duncan third ami fourth. Following down the list were a number of young men of great promise, but it is likely, when the tournament is completed at Walton Heath next week, that the winner will be one of the first four of the .southern proles-1 sionals to qualify. BOXIXG AND BOXERS. “To attain proficiency in boxing—and I would Say this of all our manniaking sports—it is necessary,” writes Mr Eugene Gorri, “that you should begin when you are young. The younger the. better, for when you are young you are imitative, quick to learn and, given the right kind of teacher, your lossons become a matter- of, joy. ’ For many j'ea.rt I have preached about the necessity of doing something for our schoolboys—those who have not the good fortune to go to a public school. And now. I am pleased to say, the Amateur Boxing Association are going to do time which I have long advocated. They are going to have schoolboy championships which will bo open to liR lads in England, Scotland and Wales. Thu ulc-

‘ mentary schoolboy is much better off in • the matter of games than he Was a. few ' years ago, but ho is to a very Oon- ’ siderable extent dependent upon the enthusiasm and encouragement of seine > individual teacher. His sports are not • organised thoroughly, and at some 1 schools ho has no sort of playground at • all. The making of the' schoolboy i sportsman should be the concern of the ' | Government; ©very schoolboy should I have a decent playground and provision should be made for him to have ■ the necessary things for him to play with. Now every boy worth his suit is > a fighter by instinct and inclination; ! every lad has so much steam to let off ' and if he were taught how to box and i encouraged to box iu a. proper organi ised way, and to know that he has an 1 opportunity of proving his mettle ' a gainst boys of other counties and counJ tries, we should brood a. race of boxers i second to none. The A.B.A.’s appeal - in head masters deserves the heartiest - support of the principals of every ; school, and I shall he disappointed and 5 surprised if it is not given ungrudgl ingly. There is nothing so splendid as 1 tho Public Schools Championship—noi thing which tells so eloquently of real i sport, and the boys of our elementary . schools, given the chance, would make i quite as bravo a show. There is any > amount of chivalry in the county conii- ■ oil lad. Ho only wants the opportunity j to show what ho can do and the rest will bo easy.’" .

battixg. W <il Most Times Hendren iat » n B>- "ut. ill. J. X. Craw- 1H 7 «•M ford Hobbs Mead G. Gunn 1)11081 W. M. Turner 12 to as s 488 3.50) 1720 1451 1605 SOI 141 305 207 .185 306 4 61.00 0 60.32 7 55.46 2 63.08 3 53.96 Hearn* Payton as •20 1050 671 218 1 Si.,57 ' 40.28 Hardings 26 1101 ♦54 1 7»> 6 47.92 3 47.88 •’ 47.52 •T. Gunn J. IT. Nan-2-t 002 in maim Hippor I'. .1. Knight 10 at as tia 1S30 163S lot 169 its 1 45.86 15 45.62 3 45.87 BOWLING Hardy Overs. Run?. WItis. Avers go. SI.n 234 18 la iv> .Rhodes 104S.S 2365 .164 14.42 J. 0. White Partin Field soo 256 107.3 1013 661 378 12S 41 33 14A1 16.12 16.43 Woolley 060.2 2156 128 17.16 Heap tto.t 1147 66 17.37 R. S. Wilson 321.5 699 40 17.47