Sport and Sportsmen.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18585, 10 October 1928, Page 9

Sport and Sportsmen.

Particular interest was sl:< v n cricket match last week bti\ Melbourne and St Kilda, bccau . number of prominent players en: One of these, Pcnsford, shuw_.. . to be already in first-class form. . was a typical innings, made in i minutes, with seven lours.

Though W. R Patrick had decided to retire definitely from cricket this season, he reversed his decision at the request of a number of the younger members of the Sydenham Club, who were anxious 1 hat he should captain the side. Patrick should have plenty of cricket left in h.m yet, and, being such a stylish bat, should help the youthfu* element of his team with some useful advice. He has been playing many yeais now but appears to be still fit and well, and it is to be hoped that he plays for the full season.

b Roger Blunt likely to turn professional? The following paragraph from the Melbourne “Giobe” of October 3, will be read with interest here: Frank Woolley having cabled his inability to accept the position of coach to the Queensland Cricket Association, either Wufred Rhodes (Yorkshire! or the New Zealander, Blunt will I*. approached when a decision is reached as to whether a praying or aon-piaying coach is preferable. Another Australian player is available, but Queensland is averse to robbing another State.

. « a A tennis writer in London said recently: I have had a line from Prague from V invent Richards, who p.ays Kaiel Kozeiuh in his second exhibition match at Queen s Club on Saturday next, in the course of his letter Richaids says: Here, in Prague, where of course, the interest in tennis is not nea.ny as great as in England, the Staa.um at the First Czgo 'Xennis Club, the exhibition will be held, has been entirely sold out more than twenty-four hours before the time of I’iay, Kozeluh is considered by all the leading experts on tennis as the greatest player the world has ever seen.’ Since that letter was written the Czech has defeated Richards decisively m tnree sets out of lour. His recor . is

certainly impressive, for since w.i.,,,. g the world’s professional champ „,ij at Deauville in 1U25, he has cetera ail the leading European professionals and such lamcus amateurs as purgo, Timmex, Diemer, Kool, i rotzneim and H. G. Mayes, lie hasnotiost a match in three years.”

« tl A Melbourne paper’s report of the All Black match in that city read: The All Blacks overwhelmed Victoria at the Exhibition oval on Saturday to the tune of 58 to 9, and yet it was the most spectacular game yet seen here. The attendance wa a disappointing, only 2500 people paying for admission. The Victorians, though defeated, were by no means disgraced, and fought on doggedly to the last kick. The combination of the winners was the factor in their success. In almost every scoring movement there was a bevy of Blacks in support when the line was reached, forwards and backs always being in attendance. New Zealand’s points came from tries by Rush brook 17), Grenside (3), Hazlett (2), Fimayson, Hadiey, M Williams and Brownlie, five 01 which were converted. Ihe Ail Biacks we.e an good, and all used their super.or weight and sp*_ed to advantage. Fimayson, a six-iooter weighing aimost 16.0, was the best pla>er on the ground. Even in the Closing stages ol the game he was one of ihe nippiest of ah. He is one of the best p.ayers in the world to-aay. Mark Nicholls, who did no. overexert himsed, gave a very finished d.sp.ay every time he got near the ball lie is quite as good as ever. LilLurne, the fuh-baik, impressed very much in what little he had to do. Rushbrook is a g eat scoring winger, but nearly all his tries were presents from the inside men. The whole team, with one exception, piayou a v»iy cu.au gaane. Tins p~ayei was too toicciui on several occaxonG, anu that- he should have lo~t his temp or put him ou of harmornoy wun uie spirit cL the engagement. On ocuusion he sun/md have been oh. 3 Writing on August 25, the “Star’s” London correspondent said: ‘The Olympic Games arc over and b i.a.n and the Empire did exceedingly wcii; better, in fact, than iiad been ant; ipated. America thiougii their sup; cm acy in tl.v held events took first 1 . :, but of tile nineteen races on the lj.o i< they had only eight successes ana he Emp.re claimed six, including perhaps the most important. Fimaud gamed three wins and Sweden a.:u japan one each. The runners made a bigger impression than the Finns in the distance races. They are t u.y wonderful. Nunn, omy took the lh.Otic metres, but the genera: be.iei was that he cou;d also have carried efi the SuOU metres if it had not boon his intention to leave it to his fellow countryman Ritola. indeed his action in the straight was taken as an invitation to Ritola to come through and win. Again in the 1500 metres he fathered Lai va and Purje, only making certain than no runner from any other country beat him. Laiva promises to be one of the greatest runners of all time. As one English authority said he looks as it he can run a mile in world’s record time any day he chooses. The Empire s win in the two miles relay was made easy by the Canadian coloured runner, Edwards, w'ho ran third and gave Douglas Lowe a start of twenty yards. The latter did no more than keep this distance ahead and he w’as slowing down a long way befoie the finish. There were field as well as track events, and in the former the Americans'carried all before them. It is very curious that weight-putting, the jumps, etc., do not make the apsame appeal to the British athlete as racing on the track. In the broad jump, the American E. B. Ham set up a new British .ecord of 25it lin. The contest, as a whoie, comprised fourteen events and the Americans won eight 10 six.”