ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1340, 18 January 1912, Page 7

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

» CRICKET. MR. H. J. CROMBIE'S IMPRESSIONSSECOND TEST. THE PLAY, CROWD, AND GROUNDS Mr. M. -J. Crombie, a member of the Wellington Cricket Association and New' . Zealand Rugby Union, returned from a . trip to Sydney and Melbourne by the . Moana yesterday moruing. In conversation, with a Dominion representative, Mr. Crombie said that ho had had the plea- • sure of witnessing the second Test Match ; in Melbourne at Christmas time—the ' game in which the Australians collapsed. > Why That Collapse? "There was no accounting for the col- ' lapse," said Mr. Crombie, "though simi- ■ lar instances have occurred on the Mel- ■ bourne ground in Tost crickot before. It 1 has been held that, on those occasions, the ground was not in that perfect state i necessary for _ the. highest grade cricket, • that possibly it had not got over an over- : night watering.. , . "But. on. this occasion there did not , seem to bo anything wrong ' with it. Trumper told, mo that the wicket was . quite-all right, and Armstrong agreed L with him, but there was the fact—none . of the Australians seemed, to be comfortable. Hill, for instance, was in for seventeen minutes, but he did not play one ball with confidence. 1 .. "Barnes, who did the damage, bowled ' magnificently. For the first hour he was • simply unplayable, and he rattled them down in great style. He is a fast me- • dium-paoe bowler with a slight swerve in i the air, and breaks as often as not. He ■ was on the spot, too, all tho time, and i tied them up. ... ... "It Was a Great Sight." v "It was a great sight.to see the crowd on the- Melbourne Cricket Club's ground. There, were 30,000 cm tho Saturday "and 31,000 on the Monday, and everyone could see the game!: That's the advantage of having stands nearly all round the ground. There were nearly as many ladies as men at the match. And what interest they, do tako in the game! "They understand every point of cricket and follow it keenly and intelligently. They are just as keen over there on cricket as we are on football—perhaps a little, more so. You heard cricket talked the trams, trains, ferry boats, clubs, and in the street. It is cricket all the time, and everyone who can manage it attends the .matches. Tho Great Melbourne Ground. '"The M.C.C., though they have control of the ground in Melbourne, have no title to it—it is a public ground. But they have spent many, thousands of pounds on buildings and upkeep, and look after it a deal better than a local authority would. Of course they havo the right to charge. The club kindly made me a honorary member while I was there. That .ticket enabled mo to see anything held on tho ground, no matter what U is—cricket, football, sports, etc. The membership is large— it costs £2 2s. to join and £'1 2s. per annum for subscription. "In Sydney all the grounds, save the Sydney Cricket Ground, are public grounds, and quite open: to the public, but tho cricket authorities are allowed to charge for admission to -the grandstands.- | Tho Bitterness with the Board. , _ "The big inattor in dispute at present. . is that between (he Board of Control ■slid the players who are .likely, to go ' Home as members of tho next Australian • team. The real position'is this: The . Board of Control wish to send their own manager -with., the team; but there is o. ' clause in the 1 tfbhstitutf tfii'V "fhFboard" which .specifically pro.-rles for tho play-, ■era . e elejti ig :heir own manager. i "The board arn fully nwarn of this, and to get round the."point hare intimated that they proposo to send a representative as secretary, and at the same timo have suggested that they do hot consider the appointment of a man- ' ■ ager necessary. ' •. "The players arc wildly indignant over -. tho attjtudo of tho board, and great bit. terness has been engendered. Clem. Kill i has gono as far as to say that he will not ~ go unless lb« players arj permitted to select their own manager, • and Trumper' has indicated that he is in sympathy ; with tho 'strike' idea. Hill, Macartney, and Trouble. "Ono of tho latest little 'hreeres' ift,~ connected with the selection of the team,) which was being made by Hill.. Tredalc, i and M'AlisVr by telegraph. Hill inti- . mated to his tellow selectors that, bel would like Macartney included, whereupon M'Alister (who is a Board of Control man) wired bark that if he wanted Macartney;, ho (Hill) had better stand out. "How it will all end is not quite clear, . but the attitude of tho.players in (he matter of- the manager seems to me to bo I tho correct one."