Should be Played On Village Green

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 23, 28 January 1937, Page 7

Should be Played On Village Green

JARDINE SEES DECAY OF TEST CRICKET DOES NOT LIKE AUSTRALIAN HUMOUR United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Received Wednesday, 9.60 p.m. LONDON, Jan. 27. . The opinion that international cricket has outlived its usefulness was expressed by the M.C.C. excaptain Jardine, addressing the English Speaking Union. “As a money-spinner test cricket is grand. Without the English and Australian tours English county cricket would cease to exist because two-thirds of the counties would be in ‘Queer street.’ Australia has lost the dignity of the game because of the barracking which at first is funny but when one hears the four stock-in-trade cries for five months they are no longer funny. The cries are: ‘Get a bag!’ ‘You’ll never get them out!’ ‘Put the umpire on!’ ‘Put the clock on!’ It would be a tragedy if barracking ever came to English cricket. * * Cricket is the best game to play or talk about, but the place to play it is the village green.” Mr. Hugh de Selincourt, the author, presiding, maintained that the test field was the proper place to dissipate the “hates of man.” It would be a sad day if cricket became “nice and gentle.” The Daily Mail’s cricketing writer says of the Australian team that it has one weakness, namely, an insufficiency of stock bowlers. “O'Reilly alone can be depended upon for long spells. Fleet-wood-Smith is an unusual bowler of uncertain brilliance, and McCormick is too fast for long spells. “Except for Bradman, whose genius can tip the scales of any match, I consider England the stronger because she is richer in bowling resources and more solid in batting consistency.”