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Wanganui Chronicle, 31 October 1946, Page 8

Technical School Cricketers. | Members of the Wanganui Techni-1 cal College first XI were the main- i stay of the Wanganui junior team ; which played Rangitikei on Monday | last. All "the high scorers of the game I with the exception of Capp (22 not j cut) were boys of this school, and also ; the best of the bowlers—R. Webby—is a member of the Technical eleven.' Of the 164 runs made by the team I 108 were compiled by Technical boys and all but two of the six wickets fell; to Webby. R. Nelson, captain of the School eleven, hit up 10 runs, N. Christensen 40. L. Davies 31, R. Web-1 by 21, and R. Cording made 6. At the : start of the season doubt was cast * about the batting ability of the Technical eleven, but if form against another association’s team can be followed, Technical will be strong in that department. • * • ♦ Rowing Season Opening ; ’ The opening of the 1946-47 rowing > season on the Wanganui River will!; take place on Saturday afternoon next. The Union Boat Club’s shod l will be the scene of the ceremony, and a series of sprint fours will be , rowed. Afternoon tea and refresh- I ments will be served in the Union : shed. The opening was to have been held Saturday fortnight ago, but was postponed because of the Wanganui Trotting Club’s meeting on that date. • • * * Promising Young Player. In his first representative game—and incidently, his first game in senior club cricket G. Russell (Wanganui) acquitted himself well. His bowling was good considering his lack of experience, and with coaching, he should develop into a very good slow left, hand bowler. Four wickets for two runs sounds excellent for representative bowling, but the nature of the wicket on Labour Day * was to the assistance of bowlers. • • Good Scoring. Playing a chancelcss and correct bat in the match agamst Rangitikei on Monday, K. Hunt, Wanganui opening batsman, compiled top score of the match. With very attractive j off drives and also being extremely ; strong to leg, Hunt hit out freely and > made his 83 in about, as many minutes. He will, judging from form shown this early in the season, be one of the : best exponents of the game in Wang- ' anui this year. * ♦ * * Collegiate Cricket Programme. With further matches yet to be arlanged, the Wanganui Collegiate School first eleven has definitely been set down to play two outside Fixturebefore the Christmas vacation. On November 13 the team will travel to Marton, there to play Porewa Club; and a two day inter-school game will be played against Christ’s College on the Collegiate wicket on December 16-17. * ♦ ♦ * T.T. Rudge Racer. The only racing machine of its type in New Zealand—a 350 c.c. radialvalve T.T. Replica racing Rudge—was seen on the Wanganui East Speedway track on Labour Day. Joe Tomlin, of the Ixion Motor Cycle Cluß, Wellington, is the owner of the machine and he rode it with distinction on Saturday and Sunday when he clocked exceptional times in the hill climb and scramble. On the track, however, after winning his heat in the Novice Handicap in the morning in Imin 40 I sec., Tomlin developed trouble with • his spark plug which held him up for later events.

Speedway! That thrilling, death-defying, and most popular sport of all speed and crash fans—“Speedway”—has at last come to Wanganui! The Wanganui Sports Motor-Cycle Club’s initial meeting on Labour Day proved such a remarkable success that it has left an indelible mark on the public of the city. The sport has recently been revived to reach a higher pitch than ever before in the United Kingdom, and the same position is beginning to develop in New Zealand. With the i Wanganui East track, Wanganui is provided with one of the most suited circuits in the Dominion and will, 1 without a doubt, draw the. most experienced riders and the finest machines in the country. * * ♦ ♦ Excellent Opening. H. Cave, Wanganui club cricketer, [who has been one of the association's i top line players for a number of I years now, opened the season very well on Monday. Keeping a better length than he did last season, Cave clean bowled all of his four wickets for only 10 runs. With the bat, Cave I also looked well for the first match | of the season, his 25 being knocked up confidently. ♦ ♦ * ♦ Opening of Athletics. Postponed from last Thursday evening because of inclement weather, the Wanganui Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club will hold their opening meeting on Cook’s Gardens this evening, when the first race of the season is scheduled to commence at 6.15 p.m. The programme of events has been made out as under: Half-mile handi- ' cap cycle race, heats; 50 yards junior men’s and women’s heats; quarterI mile cycle race (boys 12-16 years of age); final half-mile cycle event (if necessary); final of 50 yards races (if necessary); broad jump senior, junior, and women’s); school boys’ and girls’ 50 yards; one mile cycle handicap; 880 yards athletic event; two mile ■ scratch cycle race (if time permits). j * * ♦ ♦ • Brilliant Riding. I A display of brilliant riding on a j difficult track was given by Howard • Tolly, holder of most of New Zeai land’s grass track motor-cycle re- | cords, on Monday. A professional i rider, Tolly thrilled the crowd with his mastership ot his machine in skid turns, straight riding, and on smooth and rough ground. He finished up the afternoon with establishing the record lap of 30 4-ssec., with a 500 c.c. Rudge machine; and also shared the track championship with J. Woods, of Wanganui. His time for the four-lap championship was 2min. 4 l-ssec.—an average of 31.135ec per lap. • « • * Promising Juniors. It appears that Wanganui has a number of most promising junior cricketers this season, which should, in seasons to come, do much to improve the unfortunately fallen standard of the game in the centre. Playing in the B team against Rangitikei on Labour Day were several young players who batted consistently to make some attractive scores. N. Christensen (40), L. Davies (31). Capp (22), and R. Webby (21) were the best of these. On the bowling side Webby again was to the fore with four wickets for 22 runs.

Referee’s Services Recognised The well-known Palmerston North referee, Mr. C. Matson, who has officiated as the third man in the ring at all three boxing tournaments staged by the Marton association this season, was the recipient of a travelling rug from the association at an interval in the boxing tournament held in Marton on Tuesday night. The president of the association, Mr. A. Gracie, who made the presentation, referred to the excellent services rendered by Mr. Matson, and said members felt that such services deserved recognition. Mr. Matson was a referee of outstanding ability. • • • ♦ Good Wet Weather Wickets. The wickeds on Cook’s Gardens, because of the sandy nature of the ground, are good for wet weather cricket. Although soft, following the recent heavy rain experienced in Wanganui, they were in reasonably good condition on Labour Day, and took a spin ball quite well. With constant rolling when soft, they will settle down into excellent condition when the hot summer weather arrives. • * • • Practice Needed. With the exception of Cave and Hunt, the Wanganui batsmen showed undisguisable signs of want of practice. No one went to the wickets with confidence and consequently the scoring was of a very low nature. Four players failed to break their “duck,” two made only one run, and of the rest Russell was the only man to break the dozen which he barely did [with twelve. • « ♦ ♦ ATHLETICS IN MARTON There was definitely a lack of enthusiasm at the annual meeting of : the Marton Athletic and Cycling Club last week. At least that was the opinion of this observer. After being on the recess list over the war years and functioning only half-throttle last season, it was generally expected that the sport would once again flourish in Marton, especially after the amount of money expended in re-constructing the tracks at Marton Park. There were only 14 present, at the meeting, very discouraging, no doubt, to the old stalwarts of the club. According to the minutes there was an attendance of 25 at the previous annual meeting and it was confidently anticipated that at least that, figure would be attained or even surpassed. But no, it was the same old faithful few plus half a dozen competitors. When it came to the election of officers there was a tendency to “pass the buck.” It look just. 80 minutes to elect a few officials which usually takes about. 15 minutes. Nobody was keen to accept positions and it was only after persuasion that some consented to take office. It was hinted at one stage ’ha* an adjojrnment would be better to allow those present to arouse fresh interest in the town. However that course was not taken, but there is apparently a definite lack of interest in athletics in Marton. It’s a pity because it is a great sport and the Marton club in the past has organised some tip-top evening meetings. Perhaps by the time the season opens, a little more public interest will be manifested. It will need to be, if the club is to reach the pinnacle it did, say 10 years ago.