THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1880. THE AUSTRALIAN ELEVEN.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2044, 11 September 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1880. THE AUSTRALIAN ELEVEN.

The progress and successes of the Australian cricketers through England and Ireland are naturally watched with great interest by all colonists. A taste for the good old English sports and pastimes is thoroughly diffused through all our classes. The old Saxon love of thews and sinews survives and flourishes as strongly now as it did when a preeminence in strength and activity was a real passport to solid advantages. The wear and tear of the intellectual and scientific life that form the basis of modern civilisation has been powerless to destroy this peculiarity of the race that made England what it is. The restlessness of the Britisher and his love of athletic sports and adventure is the marvel of the Continental nations. A section admire his untiring spirit and a section consider him a lunatic. But through good report and evil the English athlete plays his national games, races through Europe on a bicycle, climbs impossible mountains, explores impossible caves and acts in every way as if his passport to heaven consisted in the measurement of his biceps. The value of this energy has been recognized not only by fellow athletes but by statesmen and philosophers. The old remark that the battles of the Peninsula were first won in the playing grounds of England is true enough. The man who can stand up against a fast bowler on an unsafe ground will be the better capable for the feat of facing a hot fire or a bayonet charge on the battle field. And, whatever may be said to the contrary, personal bravery in war is even more necessary in these days than it was at the time of Crecy and Agincourt. A coward in those old times was borne along by the mass of his fellow fighters. Now, when the loose formation of soldiers, owing to the weapons of precision used, is absolutely necessary, the brave soldier alone advances in the general skirmish, the coward skulks behind and hides behind any convenient cover, that he may be able to find. And besides the mens Sana incorpore sano has always been the beau ideal of the man who is destined to push his way through life. That the formation of muscle and a general hardihood of spirit hinder the development of brain power, is a fallacy that has long exploded. Some of our most eminent judges and statesmen have been celebrated in their day for their athletic accomplishments. A fast twenty minutes with a favorite pack has long been considered a good preliminary for an important debate. Such being the spirit in which the loading lights look upon athletic sports, the Australasian public are well justified in viewing the achievements of the Australian eleven with pride and pleasure. They show that the old pluck and muscle of the race that peopled the desert have not deteriorated in the process, and that the offspring is well worthy of the mother. This second expedition of the Australian cricketers has been even more brilliant than the first. Until within the last few matches an uninterrupted career of victory was their fate. Never before in the annals of the game had victory clung to any eleven with such pertinacity. The sporting world in England was surprised above measure. The why and the wherefore was hardly apparent. The population of the Australias was comparatively small, and, although their cricket season extended over a greater part of the year than it does in England, yet that difference hardly accounted for the skill in the game which their cricketers had acquired. Some laid it down to the “ fastness ” of the Australian grounds, which rendered play on slower grounds comparatively easy; others laid it to other causes; but all were astonished. But without trying to analyse the causes which have given the Australian players their skill, wo may fairly accept the fact as true that it is somewhat abnormal in comparison with the material from which it is drawn, and wo cannot feel surprised that English sportsmen are hardly able to understand the phenomenon. The late match against the All-England Eleven has given us one of the keys of the success of the Australians. That match is probably a greater feather in their cap than all their other victories put together. Hopelessly distanced in their first innings, they fought an uphill game with consummate pluck and skill, and succeeded in so far pulling the match out of the fire, that it may be doubted whether, if their best bowler had not been disabled, they might not have pulled off the game after all. It is the indomitable belief in their own capacities which has been one of the secrets of their career. Such a belief is at all times most

useful in all walks of life, provided that it is kept within moderate bounds. Its possession in combination with a modesty of demeanor and an absence of “ tall talk ” is invaluable. 1 That the two latter items are not included in the Australian programme is unfortunate. The inevitable Australian “ blow,” which is a standing joke with travellers and novelists, has, without any doubt, alienated much public sympathy from the cricketers, and in many quarters the feeling has gone so far as to view with a description of shudder the probability of the eleven returning without getting beaten a few times. The possibility in such a contingency of having to retreat hurriedly to the other side of tho street when a patriotic Victorian was seen in the distance, has weighed somewhat heavily on the minds of many. A more intimate connection with the world at large may indeed soften this national Australian feature, but at present the cricketers have suffered considerably from it. Says a celebrated writer, “ Lot men of all ranks, whether they are successful or unsuccessful, whether they triumph or not, let them do their duty and bo satisfied.” The blowing of trumpets is not included in that programme at all events.