IS SNEDDEN TO LEAD AUCKLAND REP. TEAM? APPARENT CHANGE OF FRONT

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 285, 22 February 1928, Page 6

IS SNEDDEN TO LEAD AUCKLAND REP. TEAM? APPARENT CHANGE OF FRONT

It is sincerely to be hoped that the A • '.A. cricket selectors have not got “cold feet’* over their proposal to play N. C. Snedden in the match against Australia as captain of the Auckland side. The Announcement made by Mr. K. O. Beale at last night’s meeting of the A.C.A. is diflicult to reconcile with tlie earlier and definite statement from the selectors that Snedden had been asked, and had consented, to captain the side. The circumstances fully justify the original intention of the selectors. With Dacre away, a strong leader is needed to get the best out of the weak Aucfclund attack. Had Mills been available for the match, he would have been entitled to consideration for the position of captain. Bowley has been suggested, but the strain of captaincy on top of his recent injury is rather much to ask of him, even if he were able to get fit in time for the match. Apart from that, a big question of policy would be Involved. Having decided to give up representative cricket at the start of the season, Snedden has not been taking the game as seriously as usual until quite recently, but if it were definitely understood that he was to captain the side, he should soon be able to work up into his old form. Ills leadership of the Ponsonby side has been a big factor in the team’s success this season, and h*> has conclusively shown that he is still the best skipper in Auckland. If the selectors stick to their original intention of making Snedden captain, and give him a side consisting of a strong leaven of younger players, they will be widely supported. There is no point in bringing back the old brigade en masse. It is only temporising with the position, and the task of