Sport and Sportsmen

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17699, 20 November 1925, Page 4

Sport and Sportsmen

NEWS, GOSSIP AND COMMENT

BY

"ONLCOKER."

William Bowen, capped for Wales against the first . touring Maori team, in 1389, died in England on September 11. Bowen was a Swansea man, and was chosen to play for his country thirteen times. The Canterbury •cricket team will tour north this season. They will play Wellington on January 1,2 and 4, Auckland on January S, 9 and 11, and Taranaki possibly on January 13 and 1.4. M. E. Wood, the one-time famous All Black, who has been connected with c ricket in Hawke’s Bay for many years, is leaving this month to take up a position at Blenheim. “Morry” represented New Zealand on the Rugby field in 1901, 1903 and 1904, while residing in Wellington, Christchurch and AucklandHeavy scoring was the order of the day in Wellington senior cricket on Saturday. As a result the botvlers losta great deal of prestige. The outstanding feature of the afternoon was the record score of 260 by J. E. Banks, of Institute, who passed the previous individual total of 245 made by W. A. Baker in 1919. With H. Foley he added 267 for the third wicket. A feature of this season’s cricket is that to date no centuries have been made in Christchurch senior games. playing days have now been held, but the highest score so far is that of Crawford, who made a bright 64 not out against Sydenham. Several centuries have been registered in other centres, the best being that last week by Banks, when lie compiled 260 for Wellington against Institute. Harvard University has adopted an innovation for handling the Press. Head Coach R. T. Fisher plans to devote two hours weekly to interviewing the newspaper men personally, and S. dc J. Osborne, manager, has set aside forty-five minutes each morning for the purpose of giving out football information of the day to the Press. A mimeograph account of the day’s practice is to be forwarded the newspapers each night. Defence of the Walker Cup. international amateur golf trophy, will take the victorious American team to England next year if plans of the United States -Golf Association officials materialise. As the scene of the next matches, the famous Mun-field Uinks of England, are uader consideration. Several new. faces arc expected in the American team as a result of the rise of young players to prominence in the recent amateur championship at Oakmont. v » « :s A Christchurch correspondent writes: “Amongst those who must be accounted unlucky to miss the Australian tour with the New Zealand cricket team is R. O. Talbot, Linwood and Canterbury representative. Talbot, a promising young pla3*er, is one of those who would derive great benefit from a tour, such as the oive to Australia. Both as a fast bowler and a dashing bat, he is one of the best colts in the Dominion, and when it was found that Dickinson, the Otago expressbowler, was unavailable many thought that Talbot should have been substituted.” M ZrZ v? Probably the best opening pair in club cricket in Christchurch, F. Woods and C. G. Crawford, was dismissed in sensational fashion last Saturday in the match between St Albans and East ' Christchurch. Both were put out in the first over of the match, Stringer being the agent of destruction. With his second ball he had Crawford caught by Philps, while he shattered Woods’s stumps with the last ball of the over,

and Crawford had broken his duck, and Woods had one to his credit. One of the chief factors in this early dismissal of two such good batsmen, was the coldness of the weather, and a strong wind which helped Stringer materially. In the days before the war, Jimmy Gray, of the Sydenham Cricket Club, was one of the leading batsmen in Christcliuch. Although he has , now dropped out of the first flight, ho is still very useful with both bat and ball and he is as keen on tlio game as ever. He shows this keenness in a practical manner by imparting the liner points of the game to young Good sportsman that bo is. nothing pleases Jimmy Gray better than to be able to help a young player. He is always prepared to stand down in favour of a promising youngster. Comment on leading tennis players of New Zealand was made the ether day by Mr J. C. Peacock, of Wellington. In his opinion Bartleet, of Auckland, has the finest service of any player in New Zealand. Both balls were served with equal speed, and were well placed. The characteristic of the late Anthony Wilding’s play was the wonderful evenness of his swing, both in playing a ball on his forehand arid on his backhand. Ilis was a swing mechanical in its evenness. Len France would be an even better play*er if he used the chop strokes less and cultivated a forehand drive. Robson, of Auckland, possessed a good forehand drive, but lost many games because of the persistency with which he used the chop stroke. Tlie race at Melbourne HenTey in which the Victorian champions fMelbourne) met Hamilton (New Zealand), was the fastest heat of the Stewards’ Challenge. Melbourne appeared to have a good passage, but the New Zealanders were too good for them. The race between th=r West Australians and -the New Zealanders will long be remembered (says the “Globe”) There was little between them from start to and when the judge’s pistol was fired West Australia were only a few inches in front. This was probably due to a great effort on the part of Rodgers, the West Australian stroke, who proved conclusively his great dash and Judgment/G It must have been a big disappoilament to the New Zealanders, for nearing the post they looked like winning. Still, it is something to have rowed in such a race, for the crowds were stirred to a great pitch of excitement. The time—4min 40sec —was seven seconds slower than the first heat, in which Hamilton were not so hard pressed.

There is one stroke in cricket which young batsmen should not cultivate. It is known as the “in, and out again” and is frequently used by batsmen who make a “duck,” especially those who are bowled first ball. Bill Dailey, the All Black footballer is playing cricket for the Old Boys senior B team: this season. Last Saturday, when rain put a stop to the play, he had scored 30 of the 45 for two wickets which Old Boys had made against West Christchurch. A. Cox, of the Riccarton Club’s senior eleven, -who batted particularly well last season, has not been doing so ■well this season. He does not appear to have struck his true form yet. His scores to date this season arc 43, 7 not out, 9, 18 not out and 2. The third round of the senior competition of the Canterbury Cricket Association will be continued to-morrow. At stumps last Saturday the position of the game was:— Sydenham v. West Christchurch— Sydenham 178 for six wickets. Linwood 142, Riccarton 85 for six » wickets. East Christchurch 110, St Albans 41 for four wickets. E. Brosnahan is playing again for the East Christchurch senior eleven. Ho turned out for them for the first time this season last Saturday and was second top scorer with 24. Last season Brosnahan played several good innings for East, his best effort being 99 not out. Low scoring has been the order of things in the senior cricket competition in Christchurch so far this season, and, if this goes on, some bowlers will have very pretty averages. The highest innings scored so far is the 236 which Linwood made against East Christchurch in the first round and the honour of making the first century of the season still remains unclaimed. " H. T. Stringer, of the East Christ- j church senior eleven, is a bowler of ; more than average ability and a very useful man , to his side. So he | demonstrated last j Sa tu rcl a y aga i nst St Albans, when I lie got two of the | best batsmen in I Christchurch, C- 1 G. Crawford and F. Woods, in one over, Crawford for a. “duck” a7id Woods for a single. In senior cricket last season Stringer took 23 wickets for 533 runs, an average of 23.17. Stringer learnt bis cricket at the Christchurch Boys’ High School and after leavnig there he joined tlie St Albans Club, but a. couple of seasons ago he changed over to East. T. If. Ilortoq, who carried" off -the New Zealand amateur golf championship at Shirley in such decisive fashion. when he defeated A. D. S. Duncan by 9 and 8, had an equally runaway victory in the Mastcrton club’s championship last week. Playing against J. Kerr in the final, he was 9 up at the eighteenth hole, when Kerr threw the game in. Horton was playing almost faultless golf, and looks like being a big factor in Dominion golf in the 1926 season. In his tennis address in Wellington last week Mr .T. C. Peacock handed out a gratuitous insult to the chop-stroke man when he spoke of a player in New Zealand who would be much better if he stuck to a forehand drive. He also inferred that a man commenced to chop because he was too lazy to get properly into position for a drive. This was unnecessary and incorrect (says a writer in the “New Zealand Times”). The real position is this (and the statement needs a line to itself to emphasise it) : The chop will break up any driving game. Mr Peacock said that there was a moment when the chop was stationer v, and if this movement were seized the shot lost its effectiveness. This is a case of wrong observation by a very observant man. The ordinary chop does not_ halt so in its bounce—it shoots. And because it. shoots it beats the driver. There is' only one way to beat it, and that is to go to the net. To say that a man cannot get into the first flight with a chop is nonsense. Beals Wright was there: Wallace Johnson is there to-day; Tilden himself frankly Admits that his forehand is as much "chop as drive. The choppers in first-class tennis are few. because choppers themselves are few. As a ‘ rule they are steadier players than most, concentrate more, and watch the ball more carefully.

Eve Breaks Records. By many it is imagined that the cult of athletics for women is a modern one. But history shows that it was practised in the days of the early Greeks, when women were trained in such events as running, throwing the discus, and wrestling. To-day women show signs of coming into their own again as exponents of these and other sports. Thus, at the great Women’s Olympiad held in Paris three years ago the entrants exhibited their prowess at running, jumping, and tke throwing of weights and javelins, feats which the Victorian maiden would have regarded as being quite outside the scope of her sex. Such an idea, however, is now hopelessly out of date, as Mrs Elliott-Lynn, herself a notable athlete, shows in “ Athletics for Women and Girls ” a book that will appeal to everyone interested in women’s advancement in sports and games. The author was joint founder of the Englishwomen's Amateur Athletic Association, which, starting with one club of twenty members, now ( incorporates over 500 clubs with a membership of 25,000! An international meeting is held yearly at which women from many countries take part. The records set up by the contestants include: throwing the javelin, 121 ft; high jump, 4ft lOin; 120yds hurdles, 18 2-ssec. Mrs Elliott-Lynn sums up her advice to would-be women athletes thus: “I have played most games from school hockey up to the strenuous chase of foxes at home and bigger things on the Equator, and I find that my hour or half-hour’s athletics twice a week is less of effort, .is less exhausting than any other game. Chiefly because the great secret of success in athletics, as in life, is ‘Don’t overdo things.’”

lllllllll!IIIIIIII!lilllllII!l!illlllllllllllllllinHllilllill!IllllllllllilllllllililHII!IIIIIIIIIHI Four members of the New Zealand cricket team, W. R. Patrick, I). J. M'Beth, W. Cunningham, and C. Oliver played for Sydenham last season and all, with the exception of IM'Beth, are playing for Sydenham this year. .According to a member of the Sj'denham Club, who has been searching the records, it is unique in the history of cricket in New Zealand or Australia for one club to have four members in a national team. According to a London cablegram published at the beginning of this week, the “Manchester Guardian” has editorially made the following allega- ' lion against the Alt Blacks: “Many believe that roughness received a distinct fillip during the New Zealand tour.” Although the “Manchester Guardian” is a paper of great standing, the charge it makes is rather belated, and it does not cut much ice alongside the following opinion of the London “Times,” published after the memorable match between New Zealand and All England. In paying a tribute to the zeal with which the New Zealanders followed up the ball, the “Times” said in a leading article: “Keenness in this department of the game has been largely responsible for their unbroken 1 series of successes and, incidentally, for the charges of obstructive and even of unfair tactics brought against them. With these charges our own correspondent, who has seen nearly" all the matches, is unable to agree. His considered judgment is that, in a preponderating number of cases, their lapses have been unintentional, and that we believe, will be the verdict of nearly every spectator with an intelligent knowledge of the rules of the game who saw Saturday’s match.” The fir v st Plunket Shield match this season, Canterbury v. Otago, is just live weeks off- It is to be played at Lancaster Park, commencing on Christmas Day. It is about time that the Canterbury selectors got busy and picked the players in the running for the team so that they caw. be given special practice. With six of their best players away with the New Zealand team in Australia, Canterbury will have their

work cut out to make a good showing in the Plunket Shield games, and a bit of extra practice will not do any harm. At a gathering held this week to say farewell to the members of the Sydenham Cricket ( -lub, who are going to Australia with the New Zealand team, it was stated that in all thirtysix Canterbury players had represented this country at cricket. As a matter of fact, the total is thirtythree. This includes C. Oliver and C. G. Crawford, who have been selected to go to Australia, but have not yet played for New Zealand. Here is the list in alphabetical order: —J. 11. Bennett, R. C. Blunt, M. Boon, C. Boxshall, S. T. Callaway, T. Carlton, L. T. Cobcroft, C. G. Crawford, L. A. Cuff, W. Cunningham, H. De Maus, J. N. Fowke, F. S. Frankish, R. G. Ilickmott, A. M. Labatt, J. D. Lawrence, H. B. Lusk, T. Malone, D. J. M’Beth, C. Oliver, K. M. Ollivier, E. V. Palmer, W. R. Patrick, W. Pearce, D. Reese, A. E. Ridley, W. Robertson, D. Sandman, A. Sims, F. Wilding, C. G. L. Wilson, 11. B. Whitta and E. Wright. “Was the playing of cricket on Cup Saturday a success?” asked a member of the Management Committee of the Canterbur}* Cricket Association, at the meeting last Tuesday night. “Should players leave their teams that day so as to ensure that it will be a nonsuccess?” asked Mr R. H. North. “That is a matter for the principles of individual players/’ said Mr R. B. Ward. L. R. Brunton, the wlicket-keeper of the St Albans senior eleven, was in good form against East Christchurch on Saturday last. He caught out four batsmen and Jet only two byes go. On his dax r Brunton is as good as any wicket-keep-er in Christchurch. and in fact there are not mnnv better than him in New Zealand. but Ili o trouble i s that he is inclined to be erratic. A peculiar incident happened on a Dunedin cricket ground the other day. The bowler was about to deliver the ball when the umpire, whp appeared to be unsettled about something, called cut, “No, not yet.” The bowler evidently did not understand apparently that these remarks were directed to him, and he proceeded with the delivery, Extraordinarily enough the batsman skied the ball up and was caught. ; He then proceeded to leave his crease, I but when halfway back to the pavilion * he heard the welcome news that he | was not “out” at all, and that he had been really dismissed off a no-ball. He then went back and celebrated his “letoff” by remaining at the wicket all the afternoon. The question that was puzzling followers of the game is whether the umpire was justifie4 in his decision v Rule 4Sa lays it down that “the umpire shall take especial care to call ‘no-ball’ » instantly upon delivery.” Jn this in- j .stance the umpire did not do so until > some secorißs had elapsed after delivery. On the other hand, Rule 43 states: “The umpires are the sole judges of fair or unfair play.” Now, was the batsman in or out?, _ i

Wha is the *bcst all-round athlete in Australia? A contest is being promoted in Victoria to decide the question, and invitations have been extended to several leading athletes to compete, notably Frank Schultz (allround champion of Queensland)* liill Darby (former New Zealand champion), Charlie Bergmeier (half-mile world’s | record-holder), Tom Trebilco, Jack Curran (winner of the Stawell Gift in 1923), Bill Twomey (winner last year), and Tim Banner (this year’s winner), Norman Fisher (the Victorian middledistanco runner) and others. The events will be seventy-five yards, 130 yards, 220 yards, 410 yards, 600 yards and 880 yards. A writer in “I-’Auto,” the French, sporting paper, has some very bitter comment in a recent issue on the proceedings at the Imperial Rugby Conference, held in London last December. He says that one of the Dominion delegates was so incensed at the “diehard” attitude of the Scottish and Irish delegates that he told a member c-f the French Football Federation that it would have been better “to shut us cut altogether, for we have no rights. At least, that attitude would have been the frank one to adopt.” The “L’Auto” critic adds: “Everybody knows that it is the Scottish and Irish mmbers of the board who are responsible for making a close preserve of the Rugby game. How mu9h longer is this sort of thing to be tolerated?” A tennis incident which occurred at Wimbledon is instructive to umpires and tennis players generally. A ball which was allowed to pass as a good service produced the deciding point in a game. However, the question was raised whether it had passed over or through the net. As an investigation proved that the ball had gone through the net an appeal was lodged to have the point rescinded and a fault recorded. The umpire appealed to the referee, who ruled that it was too late to rectify the matter. This ruling was held by the authorities to be correct on the ground that there must be a limit to the time in which a claim could be made. Those who are interested in cricket have beerf taking note of some remarks made at a luncheon in London by Mr “Plum” Warner, himself a test match captain of repute. The famous batsman, alluding to next season’s visit of the Australians, suggested that we must instil into the selection committee the will to conquer. That advice follows upon some encouraging comments recently made by Ilobbs, the great player. But Mr Warner did not end therel lie ventured upon the somewhat thorny topic of the selection of a captain of the home sides. Ilis statement that he would be surprised if Mr A. W. Carr (the Notts captain) did not occupy next year even a more exalted position than he does at the moment, was not precisely a prophecy, but it certainly constituted a very broad hint. * Warren Bardslev's outstanding performance, he himself considers, was his two separate centuries in a Test match at the Oval in 1909, when he scored 136 and 130. lie considers it his greatest. He considers that his 121 runs made against Victoria, in Melbourne, on a bad wicket, in 1910, was his best effort in Sheffield Shield matches. In 1918, in the final between Glebe and Paddington, Bardsley scored 106 for Glebe, at Wentworth Oval, on an atrocious wicket. This, he considers, was easily his best performance in grade cricket. Several cricketers, when spoken to, described this innings as perhaps the greatest of his career. One international said: “There is, and has been, only one Warren Bardsley, and only Bardsley could have played such an innings.” Bardsley thinks that one of his best innings was in the last test in 1912, when he scored 30 against the great S. F-v Barnes on a sticky wicket in England-

Tack Dempsey may meet Harry Wills next year, but even if he beats him his worries won't be over. George Godfrey was called “shy'’ for many years, but he lost his shyness one day in Dempsey’s training camp, when he forgot himself and knocked/the champion down! ITe got the ‘sack,” and Dempsey called him “yellow.” Godfrey replied: “Ah admits being black, but no yallow. Just to prove it, git Mistah Dempsey inside them ropes with me, and if Ah don’t slop him Ah don't want a cent —that goes fo’ tomorrow, Saturday, and any time in the future.” Rut so far nothing has happened. Godfrey is another Jack Johnson in build, is twenty-three years old, and weighs ever lost.

Members of the council of the Now Zealand Football Association attended a special meeting last wgek to discuss the proposed tour of New Zealand by a South African team. It was explained that the proposal was that the South African team should tour New Zealand in June and July of next year, and it was estimated that Ihe expenses of seventeen players would amount t<* £5357 for fifty-five days. The team would leave South Africa about MaV 10 and arrive in New Zealand about June 15. Thirteen games vStmld be played in New Zealand. It was decided to approve of the tour, and to communicate with the South African Association to that effect.

Jfrti Corbett, playing in an Eastern ' show house, was asked by an interview- \ er if he thinks Bob Fitzsimmons would have had a chance to whip Jack Dempsey. The question seemed to disgust 1 -5 ped, “had a chance to whip anybody he faced in the ring. You younger 1 fellows don’t know much about the 1 old-timers. A man like I'irpo would ; have had as much chance of hitting Fitzsimmons as a month old baby would have of swimming the English : Channel. Dempsey is a gambler in ’ the ring. Fie knows that, he will drop ’ anvbody he hits and he takes the L chance of landing first. Fitzsimmons ■ knew he could drop anybody he hit, but he didn't gamble, he played . safe, and he usually won a fight the ’ first time he hit his man where he- ! wanted. Dempsey doesn t win fhat way. lie usually has to knock down his man several times. Plunket Shield Dates. December 25, 20 and 28—Otago v. Canterbury, at Christchurch. January 1. 2 and 4 Wellington v. Canterbury, at Wellington. Januarv 1. 2 and 4.—Auckland v. Otago, at Auckland. January S. 9 and 11.—Canterbury v. Auckland, at Auckland. January 22, 23 and 25.—Otago v. Wellington, at Dunedim Battling: Siki. Battling Siki has been practically deported from New York, where he went on a month’s holiday and stayed a year. There was hardly a week that this jungle child of nature did not provide the. city with an unpleasant sensation. If it was not in the stadium, it would be on the street, and it is recorded that his weekly excursions, getting in and out of police patrol waggons, caused him to become roundshouldered. Although Siki dearly loved dress, one night, when feeling more than usually beneficent, he presented his clothes to a friend and went home in his underwear per taxi. To this coloured phenomenon money possessed r o i value. 11 is custom was to tip the waiter ten times the amount of the bill. On one particular hectic occasion he “went through ” £IOOO within three days, when he was ejected from his flat for not paying the rent! A fervid animal lover, it was his habit of about with imggrfcctly tamed leopards, jaguars, etc., that finally put the lid on his ambition to become a United States .citizen. At one stage he was said to be in treaty for a 17-foot alligator.

“Boy" Charlton, Ilenry. and Herald, all in the front rank of Australian swimmers, will probably not be seen racing this year. New South Wales is not concerned, because of the many youths of promise who appear likely to keep Australia’s name well to the fore. F Doyle, who holds both State and Commonwealth titles, is only seventeen, and there arc other promising lads, still younger. SURF BATHERS AND BREAKERS. SYDNEY MAN FIRST

LEARNED “ SHOOTING*’* “Shooting the Breakers" is an art which virtually every surfer endeavours to master, because it represents, no doubt, the most fascinating part of our great summer recreation, surf bathing. It is not so many years since the really expert shooters could be counted on the fingers and toes; but, nowadays, at any popular ocean beach, the heads to be seen riding shorewards on the foaming crests are countless —and j they do not all belong to the male sex. With regard to the origin of “shoot- ! ing,” Mr Fred Williams, of Manb-. was the first man in New South Wales to master the art. about twenty-five years ago, and he learnt it from a South Sea Island native, who was employed in • Manly at that time. | At Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, reputed to be the home of surfing, there is virtually no shooting without the aid of boards or canoes. The waves are really not suitable. They merely feather at the top about a quarter of a mile from the shore, and run right into tbs beach before properly breaking. The popular beaches of England and the Continent are mostly of the * aim water variety, and. on them, such a thing as shooting the breakers is knownAt Durban, South Africa, where a good deal of surfing is done, the bath ing area is enclosed like a huge semicircular bath and, at ordinary times the breakers arc not much larger than those of the harbour beach. Balmoral, At I'onev Island Beach, New Y rk.l the water is generally calm and, many people bathe there, surfing, as we know it, docs not exist. Fan Fran cisco possesses a fine beach about ter miles in length, where there is gooc surf. Little advantage is taken of it by the population, however, who mucr prefer the safer water of the elaborate Flcisshackcr swimming pool, or bath which is a thousand feet long and ad .jacent to the beach. Tt might safely l*c said, that, outside of Australia, New Zealand. and the South Sea Islands, shooting the break ers without the use of boards or canoes is an. unknown sport.