Sportsmen Of England Carried On, Though Strike Caused Disorganisation.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17879, 22 June 1926, Page 12

Sportsmen Of England Carried On, Though Strike Caused Disorganisation.

MANY WELL-KNOWN FOOTBALLERS AND CRICKETERS HELPED TO BRING IN FOOD SUPPLIES. (Special to the “ Star.”) v LONDON, May 13.

r I 'HE great industrial stoppage caused by the general strike naturally A disorganised the sport of the country, yet everyone carried on as far as possible. One,has come across well-known men following all sorts of occupations, rhcy have gone to the docks to unload ships with perishable cargoes, driven trams and buses, or acted as conductors and collected the fares, driven electric trains, or served as stokers on the long-distance steam ones, filled the places of the strikers at the electric power stations, and served as porters at the railway stations. Wherever there was a job to be done, there was a footballer or cricketer ready to undertake it.

The question was raised whethe cricket should be continued, but actinj on the instructions of the Government the M.C.C. announced that countie should do everything possible to fulii their fixtures, even if it meant ii some ..cases reducing the matches fron three to two days. They also pointec out that we owed it to the Australian: to keep the game going, and the hopi was expressed that the counties woulc be able to place their strongest team: in the field against the tourists. So without exception, all the matches tv date have been played. Lawn tennis has, of course, suffered most of the tournaments having beer cancelled. The exception was tht Davis Cup tie with Poland. This tool place at Harrogate, and England wor all five games to nil. The Specia Constabulary absorbed many of thf athletes of the country, Rugby foot ball teams were sworn in as a whole and they have done most responsible work. One of the most active have been the Harlequins. In addition U raids, on Communists’ headquarter? they were called on to assist the regu lar police in several tight corners, and needless to say, they acquitted them selves with distinction. Our American Visitors. Opposite one of the big tram depots is a golf club, and the amateur drivers and conductors were elected temporary members of it. Indeed, they made it their headquarters at all hours oi the day and night, and during their spare time, they readily accepted the opportunity to play golf. In normal circumstances the golf season would now have been at its height. The professionals were due to go to St Andrews to take part in the first of the big money competitions, but has been postponed. The event will, however, take place later. What would have been the position of the American amateurs, if the strike lasted, is doubtful. They have just arrivedbut there is little chance at present of any competitions taking place. Bobbie Jones and Francis Ouimet had promised to oppose Abe Mitchell and George Duncan, in a match oil behalf of the Northern General Ho? pital, at the Mid-Surrey Club, of which the Prince of Wales is captain. But this also has been postponed, and is now hardly likely to take place. After spending one day in London, it was the intention of the Americans to proceed straight to Sandwich, to compete for the Royal St George's Cup at the week-end. When . they were last here, this trophy, which is the most important one offered for scoreplay golf, was won by Francis Ouimet, and it was known that the visiting players were most anxious to capture it again. Following this event there was to be a match between the Americans and the Oxford and Cambridge Society at {Rye. Possibly this will be played, but the Sandwich tournament can hardly take place. Nothing, however, has yet been decided with regard to any of these events. Should all be scratched, the Americans will no doubt proceed at once to Scotland, to prepare for the amateur championship at Muirfield. } Bad Buck for Aussies. The Australian cricketers have had a most unfortunate experience. During their first fortnight in London rain fell almost every day, and in the meantime, though the weather imS roved, they have played in most trylg circumstances. On the whole they have done well, and thus early it can be taken for granted that they are a strong batting side. Whether they have the bowling to force decisionswithin the time limit set for cricket in this country, has yet to be proved. In bowling Gregory appears to have lost some of his pace, but he has hardly had the pitches to suit him. For though the turf is now drying, it has been heavy and lifeless during the past fortnight. Gregory was the

first of the Australians to make a : century, but as a run-getter Woodfull has overshadowed his colleagues. Against Essex he played a great ini' nings of 201, and, going on from Leyton to the Oval, he hit up 118 against L the Surrey bowlers. Bardsley has - done well, but his play has been rather ; laborious, as though he were struggling to find his form. lie has certainly not displayed the fluency which he showed during his last tour. Police Play Strikers at Football. From some points of view it tvould have been well if the football season had not closed, because there is no game which seizes the imagination of the public to the same extent. And i if matches had been in progress, they 1 would have taken the people from the I streets, and provided them with an ] interest when time hung heavily. Realising that football could still i play, a useful part, the authorities gave permission for professionals a? well as amateurs to take part in : matches of a non-competitive charac- ! ter. and without financial reward. In j these circumstances contests between I scratch teams took, place in all parts of the country, and especially in South I Wales, where games were played be- ! tween the strikers and the police. Tt j was not possible for the League clubs to arrange fixtures,' for their men had | all gone to their homes before the stopj page- In some cases, too, they had left for tours on the Continent. The Arsenal went this week to Austria, and other I teams are travelling to Norway and i Sweden. These tours are, of course, reI garded by the men only as an excuse ! for a cheap holiday, and most of the seriousness in the play is on the side of the home clubs. But the standard of play on the Continent is steadily improving under the guidance of British coaches. For instance, a few months ago Jimmy Lawrence, the old Newcastle United goalkeeper, on resigning the post of manager to Preston North End, went to Berlin, where he has had charge of seven teams, all of which competed in Leagues, and it is significant of the improvement that Lawrence has brought about in their play in so short a time that six of them won championships. But the Germans and the Belgians, and, indeed, all the players throughout Europe, are still a long way below the British standard, though their games with touring sides may not suggest this. But as I have said, the English player goes abroad at the end of the season mainly for a holiday, and does not really exert himself. This may be a mistake, because it is liable tor create a false impression. For instance, an Austrian team have just gone to America, and they boast a wonderful record against English clubs. But a correct estimate of the abilities of the Austrians is afforded by their performance in London a year ago They were then invited to play West Ham, who had met them on their own ground a few months earlier, and had played a draw. For this game in London the English League Club placed a reserve team in the field, and they won with the utmost ease. But the Austrians may be successful in America, where Soccer makes slow headway, despite the fact that the poaching of players from this country still goes on. Some men have been offered as much as £2O a week to play in America, but it is significant that they have returned as soon as they have completed their agreements. At the present time American agents are in this country, trying to fix up with professionals who have failed to come to terms with their clubs. They have, however, met with little encouragement. NEXT FOOTBALL SEASON. This is usually a busy recruiting time for the clubs making arrangements for next season, but the strike has, of course, stopped most of the negotiations. Clubs are compelled by rule to declare the full list of men retained, and those not engaged are at liberty to try for new posts. But usually a transfer fee has to be paid, and this is a hind-

ranee to re-engagement. The players can, however, appeal against the sum placed on their head, and the authorities contrive to do justice both to club and man. So far no important transfer has been arranged, though a few notable players are on offer. __ Newcastle United, for instance, are prepared to release Cowen, the Scottish international forward, and Everton will let M’Bain, the centre half, go. Both men desire to return to Scotland, but no club has been willing to pay the fee demanded. Several clubs have adopted what amounts to a system of payment by merit. For example, a senior man with Sheffield Wednesday will receive £8 a week during next playing season, as long as he is a member of the first team. Should he be relegated to the reserves, his pay will fall to £6 a week. This arrangement has caused a good deal of discontent and in the last week of the season there was talk of the Wednesday players going on strike. The greatest liveliness in football since the season ended has been on the managerial side. The Manchester City vacancy has been filled by the appointment of Mr Peter Hodge, who had been in control of the Leicester City Club. At Manchester he will be confronted by the same task that awaited him when he went to Leicester, namely, to lift the club from the Second to the First Division of the League, vlt will not be easy to accomplish, for every season the feat of gaining promotion becomes more difficult, owing to the keener competition. Important changes have also been made in the affairs of the Fulham Club, who, though wonderfully successful in the cup competition, had a melancholy record in the , League, and only just escaped relegation to the Third Division. Little more than a year ago Andrew Ducat, the old Aston Villa captain, accepted the managership, but the club did not prosper under his control, and he has resigned. So, too, has the secretary, and there have been several changes in the playing staff. At the time Ducat took up football management, he was a member of the Surrey County cricket team, and he had to retire from the summer game. It is likely that he will now’ return to it, and he will add to the batting strength of the Surrey eleven. He took part in a few games last season, and scored freely. Ducat is one of the comparatively few men who have played for England at both cricket and football. DEATH OF FAMOUS FOOTBALLER Stanley Shute Harris, one of the best amateur Association footballers who have played for England during the past twenty-five years, has died at the age of forty-four. For some years he had been headmaster at a preparatory school at Worthing, on the Sussex coast. Educated at Westminster School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, Harris played all ball games with marked success. As a boy he was captain of both cricket and football at Westminster, and he also led the Varsity side. Against Oxford at Soccer on that occasion, the Light Blues set up a record by winning by five-goals to nil; and Harris gained the distinction of obtaining three of them. As. inside forward he played in six matches for England. He was contemporary with those great backs, Crompton and Pennington, and he was partner on several occasions with Stephen Bloomer, when that brilliant forward was drawing to the end of his career. Harris was a forward with a superb ball control. In contrast to most of the men of the present era, he could manoeuvre the ball with the outside as well as the inside of his foot, and he was most difficult to stop. The only amateur who has approached him during the past twenty-five years has been Vivian Woodward, who is now a farmer, and is seldom seen at football. Harris did not get his cricket Blue, but he was twelfth man for the match against Oxford in 1904. After leaving the University, he played for Surrey, Sussex, and Gloucestershire, and one of his best innings was 96 not out against the South Africans in 1904.