All-round Sport

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume III, Issue 141, 6 April 1893, Page 8

All-round Sport

By

“Milo.”

The Auckland Kennel Club (which is affiliated to the New Zealand Kennel Association) held its first annual meeting on Wednesday of last week. The balance-sheet submitted in connection with the recent show showed a credit balance of £5 14s lOd. His Excellency the Governor was re-elected patron of the club, and Captain Hunter Blair and Messrs. H. N. Watson and F. W. D. Holgate were elected vice-patrons. The other officers chosen were : —President, Mr Chatfield-; vice-presidents, Messrs. A. A. White and W. C. Walker; treasurer, Mr C. J. Phillips (re-elected) ; secretary, Mr C. Grosvenor (re-elected). The old committee were all re-elected, and Mr Phillips was appointed to the chairmanship. With reference to the proposed South African cricket team for England, the Cape Times says:—“The hon. secretary of the South African Cricket Association has received from Mr C. W. Alcock, secretary to the Surrey County Cricket Club, who arranges the Australian team tours, a reply to the letter he wrote relative to the projected visit of a South African team to England. Mr Alcock writes appreciating the compliment paid him in asking him to represent the matter in England, and promises to do his best to secure the good offices of English cricketers towards the project. He feels sure that they will all combine to give a hearty welcome to a South African team. He will confer with some of the leading amateurs, and especially those cricketers who have been to South Africa, and, personally, has formed the opinion that a South African team, if anything like representative, should be well able to cope with any counties not in the very front rank. Information is added to the letter respecting probabilities of gate shares, and more definite particulars are promised.” Next Tuesday lovers of the noble art are promised a treat in the meeting for a boxing match of Campbell and Nicholson, who will fight to a finish for a purse of 50 sovs. The locale is the Zealandia Rink, and the prices of admission 4s and zs. The ability of both the competitors is so well recognised in local circles that they should be greeted by a bumper house. Concerning probable individual performances with bat and ball respectively by members of the Eighth Australian Eleven ‘ Mid-on ’ in the Leader says:— ‘ Much of course will depend upon the nature of the forthcoming English summer, but accepting the chances of weather I am disposed to believe that both the batting and bowling averages for the tour will be won by left handers, and by way of a new departure I will venture the following tip for first place in each department of the game :—Batting Average —Bruce or Lyons ; Bowling Average— Coningham.’ In the early part of February English football circles were excited to no small extent over a novelty in the shape from a visit of a French team of players at the Rugby game. For a year or two past football has been gradually taking a strong hold on the athletic youth of France, and it was with a view of testing their progress in the knowledge of the game that the present invasion of “ perfidious” Albion’s football grounds was undertaken. Two matches against English teams of moderate class were accordingly arranged, the visitors first meeting the Civil Service team, and in the second instance the Work House Club. A big attendance witnessed the opening fixture at the Richmond Athletic Association’s grounds, and it came as a general

surprise when the Frenchmen were seen, to hold their own during the first spell. In the second spell the Englishmen managed to secure a cry, and a penalty goal was also credited to them, but this was secured about ten minutes after time was up—the referee’s watch having somehow gone wrong—and should not have been registered against the visitors. Of the Frenchmen’s play it may be said that they excelled in running and in tackling, but were weak in kicking aud also in the play of their forwards; the Englishmen invariably carried the scrums with little difficulty. In the second match, which was played at Blackheath, too strong a team altogether was got together to meet the foreigners who suffered defeat by 45 points. About the biggest billiard match on record, as far as money is concerned, came off at the Victoria Club, London, on Feb. 9th, between two of its members —Mr R. H. Fry and MrT. G. Wilson. Thestakes amounted to and the side betting was to the extent of at least 0,000 more. , The conditions which the amateur cueists met were peculiar, the game being of the ‘ cramp ’ description. Mr Wilson, who laid ten ‘ monkeys ’ to one ‘ monkey ’ that he won, restricted Mr Fry to cannons and the left-hand pocket at the ‘ spot ’ end of the table, while the layer of the big odds took the five other pockets, and conceded 300 points out of 1000. An intensely exciting game resulted, but Mr Wilson gradually drew up to and passed his opponent, and won by 85 points. Writing from New York to the London Sportsman, under date February 2, Tom Williams, the Australian light-weight champion, says;—‘Yesterday I arranged with Judge Newton to fight Billy Smith, of Boston, at the Coney Island Club, in April, for a purse of 5,000d01, and as much backing as Smith can find up to 20,000d01. We fight at lost, and I think there will be a lot of betting on it, as Smith is considered to be a very good man. Jack M‘Auliffe had a great show here the other night. He is a wonderfully clever man. Barrows and I have been down spending a couple of days with Jem Hall at Lakewood. He looks in tip-top trim, and I shall train from the same place. In a billiard match against Diggle (receives 9,000) 24.000 up, Roberts, the champion, was in great form, on February 16. He credited his account with I, while Diggle was making 422. The net result of the day’s play —which extended over barely four hours —was that the champion compiled 2,430 against his antagonist’s 788. The principal breaks during the evening were 207, 393 (in successive innings). 114, 126, 40, 118, 105, and 74 by Roberts; 162 by Diggle. In his first ten attempts Roberts compiled 967. Particulars to hand of the fight at the Coney Island Athletic Club, New York, on Feb. 6, between Billy Murphy and Johnny Griffin show that it was a onesided affair. Murphy fought at Bst 81b and Griffin at Bst 91b. Griffin had all the best of the contest, and had Murphy pretty well beaten in the sixth round. In the seventh round the New Zealander opened desperately, and nearly felled Griffin with a swinging blow. This was his expiring effort, as he was fought to a standstill before the end of the round. Griffin showed no sign of punishment after the fight, and was quite fresh, but Murphy limped away in a very weak state. Murphy did not commence training until two weeks before the fight, which was for a purse of £lOOO. Charlie Mitchell was released from prison on Jan. 31. Speaking of the circumstance the Sporting Life says:—There was a pallor on his cheeks, the result of excessive confinement, but otherwise his condition was good. Mitchell, it appears, is 221 b lighter than when he volunteered to undergo his incarceration, but as hard as nails. His abdominal rotundity, which was once so marked and of no earthly use to the owner, being a most useless burden and an eyesore, has disappeared. His face is ‘ fined ’ down, and he looks the very image of the Mitchell who, when budding into manhood, won Billy Madden’s Championship some years ago at St. George’s Hall, Langham place. Truth to tell, his ‘ trouble ’ has served a good purpose, and made Mitchell think more seriously of his professional future. Treatment at Bentonville is not of course the best way to rid oneself of the superfluous, but with some constitutions the effect is in a degree beneficial. It has improved Charley in more senses than one. Dr J. E. Barrett, who was passed over in the selection of the Australian Eleven, has left Melbourne on a pleasure trip, to England.

While the sculling match between Bubear and Hosmer was pending Hanlan cabled from America to row the winner for a-side on the Thames if £s° was allowed him for expenses. Bubear, after defeating Hosmer, cabled to Hanlan his willingneas to accept his challenge, and England lovers of aquatics were looking forward to seeing the once-brilliant Canadian rower again displaying his skill on the Thames. Hanlan, however, subsequently wired backing out of the offer, but expressing his willingness to row Bubear in America and allow The probability now is that there wtll be no match. Bubear states that he will not go to America, but repeats his offer to row Hanlan at any time on the Thames and allow 10 per cent, expenses. Hanlan’s wire says that he is now matched to row Gaudeur, and so cannot leave, and doubtless there will be a series of sculling “ hippodromes” during the World’s Fair at Chicago. Lord Hawke’s cricket team that are now visiting India, commenced a match on February 6 against an eleven of Agra, but the visitors made but a very poor display on the first day. The Agra men, having won the toss, were the first to go to the wickets, and although runs did not come very freely they managed to put together 108. This total it was thought that the visitors would have no difficulty in at least eo ualling, but from the very outset of their innings the English batsmen completely collapsed, and it was not until the sixth wicket was down that double figures appeared on the telegraph board. Four of the men failed to score at all, and it was only towards the end of the innings that anything like a stand was made. The bowling and fielding of the home eleven were excellent. In the short space of an hour and a half the entire English team was disposed of, and the innings closed for the disappointing total of 61. The Agra men then went to the wicket for a second time, and when play ended for the day had scored 28 for one wicket. The match was continued on February 7. The home team, which had scored 28 for the loss of one wicket overnight, resumed play in their second innings, but only succeeded in adding 39 to the score, and the innings closed for 67. The Englishmen went to the wicket a second time with 115 to make, and were in much better form. Messrs. C. W. Wright and F. S. Jackson made a capital stand, contributing 37 and 47 respectively, and the requisite number of runs was obtained for the loss of six batsmen, the visitors thus winning the match by four wickets. More century cricket scores I Playing in Sydney fo .* the Electric Telegrah Department against the Registrar General’s Department on March 23rd, J. Gould scored 105 not out. On the same day A. McCredie scored 121 for the Australian Mutual Provident Society in a match against the representatives of the office of Stephen, Jaques, and Stephen, the Sydney solicitors.