MODERN CROQUET.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1598, 9 December 1920, Page 31

MODERN CROQUET.

A SCIENTIFIC GAME.

(By

“Excelite.”)

A generation back croquet was considered a game for curates, grandmas and flappers. To-day the game has improved out of all knowledge, and with the exception of golf is perhaps the,most scientific and least “flukey” of all outdoor games, always provided its votaries really know the game and are capable of bringing into the game the brains and generalship it requires. Without the aid of these, trueness of eye, accuracy of touch and judgment of strength will not come into their own. Combine all these quali-

ties and the game becomes engrossing to either play or look at. We have been fortunate in New Zealand in having two of the foremost exponents of the modern game residing here, at least for a time. I

ic-fer to Mr. Keith Izard and Dr. X.hitaker, both ex-champions of England and among the foremost players. The latter, owing to his professional duties, has not devoted a great deal of time to the game since taking up his residence in Palmerston North, but has, even without practice, retained sufficient form to secure the honour of New Zealand champion. He has also done a lot towards putting croquet on a proper footing, the recently-formed N.Z. Croquet Council, with which most of the local associations are now affiliated, owing its birth to his initiative. In addition to this, Dr. Whitaker has, purely as a labour of love and without any prospective profit to himself, written a book under the style of “Standard Croquet,” which should go a long way towards improving the game in Australasia. With the aid of the diagrams and explanations so lucidly set forth in this book, any beginner, with the faculty of understanding, as well as the mediocre, or the fairly expert players, should be able to greatly improve their game.

The more good players we have, the more players will take up croquet and the more the general standard of play will be raised.

In Auckland itself very few men have taken up the game, which is to be regretted. In other parts, especially in Canterbury, it has numerous votaries among the men, and perhaps as a consequence more of ..the younger generation and the opposite sex are attracted and find the game an interesting variation from tennis.