SCENE AT NEWLANDS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 1, 2 January 1936, Page 9

SCENE AT NEWLANDS

NO PLAY IN CRICKET TEST

"JREFUXD DEMANDED j

UDilcd Press Asfocia'lun —By Elrel-rlc Tele- i graph—Copyright. (Received January 2, 10 a.m.) CAPE TOWN, January 1. Through rain .there was no play on | the first day of the third cricket Test j between South Africa and Australia ( at Cape Town. The wicket is covered, , though the outfield is sodden. ; It was still raining at lunch, and play , was abandoned for the day at 3.30 p.m. } A shower prevented the captains from , inspecting the wicket again at 2.45 ( p.m. < Several thousand spectators block- . aded the entrance to the pavilion, pass- , ing the time with community singing. They called for Richardson and Wade at intervals, and eventually the captains, under police escort, struggled through the crowd to make a final in- : spection of the wicket. When it was decided to abandon play a large section of the crowd demanded the return of the gate money, and • assumed a truculent attitude. The cricket union officials were adamant, ; refusing to refund the money, and a hostile section lingered on. Meanwhile the sun was quickly drying the . outfield and rendering the wicket suit- ; able for play within an hour. WICKET THREATENED. Threatening to tear up the pitch the rowdy clement approached the wicket, and even the police could not retard their progress, some of them actually walking on the wicket. Others deliberately dug their heels into the turf close to the wicket until the police eventually succeeded in roping off the ' wicket. The crowd then adopted a : passive resistance attitude, refusing to : leave the ground. They announced their intention to sleep in the Newlands ground, thus obviating the necessity of having to pay again tomorrow. Arthur Mailey attempted to humour the crowd by drawing sketches of , famous cricketers, pacifying the more hostile section. Reinforcements of police later succeeded in shepherding the mob out of the ground, but in view of the threats an armed police guard is watching the ground and wicket tonight. ONLY ONE CHANGE IN TEAMS. The Australian team is the same as for the first two Tests, Richardson, McCabe, Fingleton, Brown, Chipperfield, Darling, Oldfield, Fleetwood-Smith, Grimmett, McCormick, and O'Reilly, with O'Brien twelfth man. The South African team is Wade (captain), Mitchell, Siedle, Rowan, Nourse, Viljoen, Langton, Nicholson, Crisp, Robertson, and Balaskas, with Briscoe twelfth man.