How Tom Lowry Made Insulting Barracker Run for His Life!

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 571, 25 January 1929, Page 7

How Tom Lowry Made Insulting Barracker Run for His Life!

I'cnse Moments in Plunket Shield Contest at Eden Park —Was Member of Cricket Council Called in to Settle Row Between Captain and Umpire ?■ —Lowry Puts “Fear of Death ” Into Irresponsible Barracker —Players and Umpires at Loggerheads Over l.b.w. Decisions —Crowd Barracks ” Wellington for Persistent Appealing.

TT was in the violent heat of an electrical atmosphere at Eden Park when Auckland was fighting a grim, uphill battle against Wellington. The nerves of the Wellington men were on a raw ed<*e as a result of the heckling ,hey were receiving from a section of the crowd on the “hill.” Wellington had been appealing, and their appeals took the form of a perfect roar from half a dozen exasperated voices. Smarting under several decisions, to which they did not take kindly, and firmly of the opinion that the Auckland wicket-keeper had been indulging in the gentle art of “pointing,” and getting away with it, they took no pains to hide their feeltngs. The day was hot, and a feeling of irritation was in the air. It was not confined to the Wellington fieldsmen. The slow rate of scoring and the tenseness of the situation was getting ou the crowd’s nerves. Dozens of irresponsible urchins, ou school holidays, were mimmicking Wellington's fiery” “How-sat!” and a section of the crowd, equally irresponsible, started to cast offensive epithets at the Wellington players. It was in the heat of a particularly lively verbal barrage that a most objectionable expression was hurled at the Wellington captain. Tom Lowry is si rather easygoing chap as a rule. But insult brought a dangerous glint to his eye. Waiting till the crowd’s attention was focussed elsewhere, he walked over toward the vicious interjector, and spoke a few brief and earnest words. Lowry looks to be somewhere about It stone in weight. He has a couple of massive fists which wicket-keeping and hard work on a sheep run have helped to develop. A scared-looking • gentleman,” all his loquacity gone and his face growing white, suddenly decided that he had urgent business in the city. He left the ground hurriedly. Apart from the nature of the language. used, there was a touch of the ludicrous in the final denouement which helped to ease the tension. But the underlying feeling developed during a grim four-day battle remained to the end. ... . . There was the notorious incident of Saturday involving Henderson. Mctlirr and Umpire Turl.on. It created a tremendous sensation, and the yells of “put him off!” from a section of the crowd when the umpire and the

ellington captain walked over to the bowler did not help to soothe matters. There is always an irresponsible element in a crowd. It is generally the most noisy, and the least representative of public opinion. As an illustration of the sporting spirit of the many true cricket-lovers at Eden Park mention may be made of the frequent recognition given to James’s fine performance on Tuesday. All Auckland was hoping against hope that Weir and his comrades would pull the game out of the fire. At one stage the crowd was cheering every run, and in the midst of it all were cheers

; for James and his brilliant work . behind the stumps. And remember j I that Rountree is ail imperishable tra- : | dition in Auckland cricket! There will always he some bad - decisions in cricket. No umpire is ; perfect, and it can even bo admitted t that the luck of the game in this t respect seemed to be right against ■ Wellington in the early stages. But l already one decision, which roused * so much heated controversy, has been : given a reasonable explanation. The luck of the game generally evens itself up at the finish, if not in one game, then in the next —perhaps in a whole

I series of games. Old Aucklanders | who heard Wellington supporters complaining at Eden Park were moved to | retort: “What about that match in Wellington when three of our men were given out l.b.w. one after another?” Wellington had a splendid win, and Auckland ungrudgingly hands them the palm as the better team, but how much better had they taken the good with the bad, and left their comment and obvious resentment to be expressed when the heat of battle was past? An Aucklander might very easily have retorted that all their bad

luck did not equal the tragic irony of a Wellington victory, brought about largely by the huge tally of runs compiled by an old Auckland boy, born and bred to representative cricket in this city, and not even a resident of Wellington! Even the Wellington captain was j most indiscreet in remarks he made about the umpires in the hearing of j members of the public in the members’ | stand. As might be expected, these I remarks spread like wildfire, and they I have been freely discussed in places where cricket followers congregate. \

It has even been stated that at one stage of the match a most critical state of tension developed between one of the umpires and the Wellington captain, and that a member of the New zrsaiaoa Cricket Council was asked to try and smooth matters out. Whatever happened has not been made public, but it is common knowledge that all was not as it should be during the match. It is all the more to be regretted that the Wellington captain should have i come in for criticism in well-informed

circles, because his handling of his team on the field of play was really magnificent, and paved the way in no small degree for Wellington’s triumph. Other captains in other days have felt equally resentful a umpires’ decisions, and as long as there is an l.b.w. rule in cricket, there l will be arguments. As the tumult and the shouting dies, a grimly contested match is seen in its true perspective. Unpleasant ! memories fade away when it is ro--1 viewed |n all its thrilling playing j features —the triumph’s of WellingI ton’s Old Guard; the magnificent fight

against odds by Am kluud s colts, where the veterans failed; and the splendid qualities of leadership displayed by both captains. These outstanding features alone were sufficient to make the game live long in the memory of all who saw it. Let the rest be henceforth forgotten. CAN AUCKLAND STILL WIN THE PLUNKET SHIELD ? If the ruling broadcast from | Christchurch this week in respect to the Plunket Shield is correct, then every province in the competition has a chance of winning ! the Shield—except Wellington, , which has easily the best match I record so far! 1 fJ’HIS apparent absurdity is broufiht about in this wise. The message from Christchurch, where the headquarters of the New Zealand Cricket Council are located, says that the award of the Shield is decided on wins. If there are an equal number of wins, then it is decided on averages. Losses and draws do not count. In the present instance, Wellington and Auckland each have a win, and either Canterbury or Otago have a chance of getting a win out of the remaining Shield match between the two southern provinces. Certainly, both are such a long way behind on averages that is is most unlikely that either province can get a win by a sufficiently overwhelming margin in a four day match to give it a chance to win the Shield. In this event, and under the Christchurch ruling. Auckland would win the I Plunket Shield, because it has a higher net average than Wellington, which, however, has beaten Auckland, and has not been beaten by any other province. The commonsense reading of a rule of this nature would be that it refers to matches which are played to a finish. But this seai son, the Piunket Shield rules have been altered. AM matches were confined to four days, and what with wet weather, only two so far have been played to a finish. The other view is that Auckland and Canterbury, by virtue of both provinces having suffered a defeat, aro out of the running, averages or no averages. This would leave Wellington with a win and two draws in the most favourable position to win the Shield, although if Otago, which already has two draws, beats Canterbury, it will have the same match record as Wellington. Then the final award would be decided on averages between Wellington and As matters stand at present, Wellington has such a big lead that Otago Mould have to heat Canterbury by an average of over 20 runs a wicket in a four day match.