PUNTS AND PASSES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19197, 10 October 1930, Page 9

PUNTS AND PASSES.

- The West Indians promise to furnish Australian cricket followers with something attractive in the way of all-round play. Constantine is the star allrounder, a sterling fast bowler, a hurricane hitter and a fieldsman of quite exceptional capacity, while he is at the same time a public entertainer of a type now almost vanished from big cricket. A batsman from whom much is expected is G. Headley, of Trinidad, who scored 703 in four tests in the West Indies last 3-ear against a strong Marylebope side, the tally including two centuries in the third test against the bowling of Stevens, Voce, Wyatt, Haig and Rhodes. The visitors play on turf or turf covered with matting, so fast wickets should have few terrors for them. Duckworth was England’s scapegoat in the final cricket test. The wicketkeeper dropped Woodfull at 0, Ponsford at 45, and Bradman at 82. 111 one period of twenty minutes he also conceded 13 byes. One critic calculated that Duckworth gave away 400 runs. London “Punch” in a recent issue mentioned that no batsman ever achieved four figures in one day till Don Bradman got his £IOOO. After Australia had won the Ashes unfair English critics, such as Lord Harris and others, complained . that Woodfull’s men, because; of their ability to stonewall,, were virtually unbeatable at “timeless cricket”. Here, how--1 ever, is a paragraph from a London paper that gives the lie to this taunt: “Australia’s opening, which, in contrast to England's, gave us quick scoring and bright, vigorous batting, and put on IS4 in 156 minutes before a wicket fell.” An application for reinstatement to be by the next meeting of the’ Otago Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association is from H. J. Pearce, the New Zealand Rugby League representative wing threequarter. Pearce is regarded as the fastest play*er in either code of Rugby in Dunedin, and, should he be reinstated, should be a real acquisition to Otago athletics. Don Olliver, the New Zealand Rugby representative wing three-quarter, has been reinstated as an amateur by the council of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association. Olliver’s reinstatement was recommended by the Otago Centre last year, but he was requested to apply again in a year’s time, and on this occasion the application, made through the Wellington Centre, was successful (says the "Star’s” Dunedin correspondent).

Among the matters to be considered at* the annual meeting 1 of the Otago Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic -Association on October 21 is a recommendation from tfie centre to the council concerning the date of the New Zealand track and field championships. The views of members of the centre seem to be that the New Zealand Championships should be held in Dunedin on March 6 and 7, a week after the appearance of the American :athletes. The seeretarof the new Southland Wrestling Association is Mr J. Richardson. who is also secretary* of the Southland Boxing Association and of the Southland Rugby Union. “Jock” Richardson will be remembered best as the famous New Zealand Rugby forward who played against the Springboks in 1921 and went Home as deputy-captain of the Invincible All Blacks in 1924. He played for Otago, and subsequently for Southland, and at one time was more than an average sprinter on the track as well as being an Otago champion in one of the field events. Les 'Murray*, the former New Zealand lightweight boxing champion, was always much impressed ,by Richardson’s capabilities as a boxer, and Les used laughingly' to aver that if he had Richardson’s physique and speed for a big man he would be a contender for the world’s heavy-weight boxing title. “The Canterbury' Rugby Union at present are trying to formulate a scheme to do away with rules and bylaws,” said Mr' W. Britten, responding to a toast at- the .Sydenham Rugby Football Club’s annual smoke concert last evening. “In order to do this,” Mr Britten said, “the players must play' the game.” It was hoped that this . scheme would do away with the ring-ing-in which was going on every Saturday, but which, unfortunately', the union was powerless to stop. The Otago Cricket Association has decided to reply to the New Zealand Council stating that it is not in favour 1 of home-and-away Plunket Shield matches. A foursome at golf is a form of torture in which your partner is continually saying to you, “Oh, well out, The Sheffield Shield cricket season will begin at Brisbane on October 31 with a match between Queensland and , South Australia. Players will receive £1 a day for matches at home, Sundays excepted, and for matches away 25s per day*, with £1 per tour or at home for baggage transport.

Melbourne took a keen interest in the | British Rugby Union players, who wdre j the first of the species to be observed j in the vicinity since Mullineux’s team of 1599, though Springboks and _ All Blacks have been sighted during migration in later years. Melbourne “Age made the interesting comment that the men, as a rule, were much more heavily built about the shoulders than the local Australian Rules players. The journal took them to task, too, for their casual attire when received by the Lord Ma>'or. Some were in plusfours, others in blazers, and some actually without waistcoats! Sloan Morpeth, secretary of the Commonwealth Golf Club, which has its headquarters at Oakleigh, in \ ictoria, has been appointed secretary of the Australian Golf Union in succession to G. M. Anstey, secretary* of the Royal Adelaide. A New Zealander. Morpeth has won the New Zealand open and amateur championships and last year took the Victorian amateur title. This year he annexed the Australian mixed ioursomes with his compatriot, Miss Kay. If it has not established a record—and surely* it must be a record—the Pirates Rugby' Club of Dannevirke has put up a really' exceptional performance in the Dannevirke Sub-Union's competitions this year. It has won every one of thirteen matches played in the Hunter Shield competition, the two games in the “Knock-out” competition, and for a grand finale it defeated a team selected from the four opposing sides in the Dannevirke competitions. On June 3 it also carried off the Fairhurst Shield in the seven-a-side competition. Thus for the season it has played and won thirteen matches and is the holder of three shields and one cup. The inevitable Channel-swimming female has made an early appearance this year, one Peggy* Duncan, described as a nineteen-y’ear-old South African, having crossed from Gris Nez to Dover in 16hr 17min, very close to a record, which would have been hoisted but for a tide shift near Dover. The y r oung person is the seventeenth to have made the trip and the seventh female of the species. Reports add that several other young women are waiting anxiously'* on the beach for a favourable opportunity to make the attempt, including twin flappers from America. The most exciting item of Peggy’s swim was that she was stung by a : jellyfish en route. Dwellers in those part are now praying for a wholesale > invasion of Channel waters by jellyfish, : if sharks or killer-whales are not pro--1 curable.