Cricket.

Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 221, 24 September 1904, Page 19

Cricket.

The annual meeting of the Wellington Cricket Association will be held next Wednesday night, at 8 o'clock. The business to be placed before the

The lepiesentatives of the various saddlers' and 1 tailors' shops played thenannual match at the Athletic Park on Saturday. These matches weie instituted four years ago, an enthusiast donating a fine cup for competition, to bo held by the winneis of the match for the twelve months following its being played for. For three years in succession the saddleis were the winners of the match, but on Saturday the softgoods men had the better of the deal, winning by 11 points to 4. A beautiful morning made many look foiwaid to a oleasant afternoon on the Park, but as three o'clock drew nigh a bitinsr southeily brought with it a dienching lain, which rendered the playing of good football out of the question. However, everything considered, the game was well worth watchine, and, on the day's play, the better team was successful • * * Mr. F S. Murray, the sole selector of Auckland's lepresentative teams, hn c r'efimte'v stated that on no account will he again accept re-appointment. "Actaeon," of the "Auckland Star," •extends congratulations to the Wellington i epresentatives on being the holders o c the Ranfurly Shield for the present season. I take the opportunity of conveyinsr them to the players named. Commenting on the CanterburyWanganui match, "Quidnunc' says — "It was a bad ending to a season that has been thoroughly disappointing for followers of the game in Canteibury, and not one will regret that the Canterbury men have no more chances of showing how badly they can play." The success attending the tour of the Wanganui repiesentative team has been surprising. After being defeated in their opening game bv Horowhenua, to score wins against Canterbuiv Southland, and Otago, on their own groundls, is indeed a meritorious perfoimance. Wanganui's claim to be considered a first-class Union has been very forcibly demonstrated bv this tour. Mr G. E. Humphries, the builder and contractor, of Adelaide-ioad, can raise a team of footballers among his town and country employees. On Saturday week they tackled the Martinborough football team, and defeated them by 12 points to nil. Most of Mr. Humphries' players are employed on a residence which he is building for Mr. Martin, of Martinborough, and the remainder went up from town to play in the match. "Rugby football is on the decline in Wellington '" I believe I have seen a sentence to that effect printed in one of the daily newspapers lately. Strange/, isn't it, then, that seventeen Rugby football matches were played here on Saturday last every one of which was outside the ordinary competitions of the Rugby Union? The number of "shop" matches played' was unprecedented in the history of Rugby football in Wellington. An Auckland writer, commenting on a paragraph in these notes, says — "Football in Auckland' will have to wane very considerably before it descends to the Wellington standard." Which is a surprising statement considering that both this season and last Wellington defeated! Auckland. As these two wins came after a succession of six losses by Wellington in matches played between Wellington and Auckland, the statement I made that Auckland's star is on the wane is ■justified. In the early part of the football season I made arrangements for the publication of notes on the playing of the Association game of football m Wellington. To that end a gentleman with a thorough knowledge of the game agreed to write a weekly budget, but he appears to have got weary in his work. This will account for the non-appear-ance of tre said notes for some weeks past. As there is room in these columns for notes on all codes of football, I will make other arrangements next season so as not to disappoint my Association friends.