SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 78, 29 November 1884, Page 5

SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

The cricket season of 18S4 has at last como to an end, and athletes are beginning to turn all their energies towards football. The past cricket season has been in every way a successful one. The presence of the Australians in our midst has, of courso, had a great deal to do with this, but county cricket has been of an exceptionally high class. The positions of the counties arc not materially different from last year. Nottinghamshire once more heads the lists with an unbeaten lecord of ton matches played, nine won, and one diavn ; Middlesex tak<_s second place with ten matches played, four yon, three lost, and three drawn; Yorkshire comos next with l(i matches placed, eight won, four 10-l, and four diuwn; while Suney takes fourth place with 16 matches played, 7 yon, 4 lost, and 5 drawn; Lancashire, Sussex, Kent, and Gloucestershire lollow in the order named, while Detbyshhe brings up the ic.u- vith a iceorti of ten matches, all lost. The highest innings of the year ( IS t) was obtained by Gloueostri^hhc in their j return match with Suiro\, while the i smallest total ( 10) was made by Yorkshire in a match with Nottinghamshire. Suney hii- the honour of luwing made more inns than any other county, their ligures being I 4.905 run- scored tor the loss of 245 w ickets, an a\eiage of 205 per wicket ; while, as a set-oft against this, more run- were ©cored off their bowling than that of any other county. As a proof of the excellence of this qimmei's pkiy, it is worth while , noticing that no less than 2> thrce-iiguro innings have been played, as against Hi last year. Hall, the Yorkshiic captain, three times succeeded in scoring over a hundred, while six other batsmen twice reached the coveted three figures. The following aio | all the scores over 100 made in county j matches this season:— Shrewsbury (Notts.), •200 and 127; Gunn (Notts.), 138 and 122 ; Lord Harris (Kent), 112 and 101 ; Mr New!ham (Sussex), 137 and 100; Mr OBrien (Middlesex), 110 and 100 ; Mr Painter (Gloucester), 133 and 116 ; Mr Ulyett (Yorkshire), 1107:1 107: Mr Bates (Yorkshiie), 116: Mr Mac- { kinnon (Kent), ]02 ; Jesse Hide (Sussex), [112; Mr H. B. Steel (Lancashire), 100; 1 Bsiggs (Lancashire), 112; Mr Brain (Gloucestershire), 143; Mr Pullen (Gloucestershire), 161 ; Mr .1. Shuter (Surrey). 101 ; Mr W. \Y. Head (Suney), 13,"> ; and L. Hall (Yoikshire), 135, 128 (not out), and 100. Football this reason promises to be as successful as cricket has been during the summer. Large entries' have been received both for the Association Cup and the London Cup, while a series of keen struggles arc expected to take place before the winner of the Hospital- Cup i- decided. One great e\ il which the Football Association will have ito put down is professionalism, which is more than ever rampant this year. It is a veil-known fact that in the Midland counties good football players have been j given good situations in certain towns on condition that they play for the local club, and leave the team v ith which they were formerly connected. This state of things exist only among Association clubs, and chiefly in towns round about Birmingham. The only way to deal with the evil is for the Association to disqualify for ever all clubs paying their members, and the members, subsidised by them as well. A few days, ago the Amateur Svimming Championship, for 100 yds., was held at the Lambeth Baths. There were five competitors, and the favourite was T. Cairns, the 200 and 500 yds. champion. The race, however, resulted in a win for J. L. Mayger, of the Burton-on Trent S. C, who soon gained the lead, and eventually won somewhat easily. The time is given as hnin. 11 1-5 sees , but several experts declare it to have been at least one second faster. Some surpiise has been shown in English athletic ciieles at Meek, the American walker, vlio was recently over here, having turned professional. Great praise is due to Meek for the straightforwaid action he lias taken, and he has set a good example to a good many so called amateurs, vho are really nothing more nor less than professionals living on the "pots" they win ; or, in the case of bicyclists, on the funds furnished them by the makers of the machines they ride. Aj>roj>o^ of cycling, two more records have just been cut by amateurs. On Saturday, on the Crystal Palace track, 11. English succeeded in doing 20 miles within the hour, his full distance in the time being :0 miles 260 yards, v Inch is 2115 yards more than the famous Cortis (who, by the way, is now in Australia) accomplished. Not only did English beat the hour's record, but from the second mile to the twentieth he established an entirely new set of times. The first mile he completed in 2min3 42sccs., only 2 ssecs. more than the record, and, after this, lie went on and cut every record up to the twentieth mile. lie intends shortly to try the mile alone, and he is almost sure to beat the present time of 2mins. 41 3 ssecs. On the following Saturday another of Cortis's records was beaten, this timo by H. A. Speechley, of the Kanelagh Harriers, who rode 10 miles on grass in 34min. 12 2 ssecs., beating the pievious best time by lOsccs. The event was the Ten Miles Scratch Race at the Surrey Bicycle Club's meeting, which cameofl at Kensington Oval. Eleven men turned out ior the race, and after a good start, all rode hard. After four miles only four men had any chance— Ciipps, Wilson, Speechley, and Mayes. At seven miles the latter was disposed , and then came a splendid race between tho other three; Cripps and Wilson led alternately, w ith Speechley a yard behind. At the commencement of tho last lap tho order was Wilson, Cripps, Speechley; half-way round, Speechley rushed to the front, and, maintaining his lead in spite of all Wilson's spurts, won by six yards, Cripps third, a foot behind Wilson. Time, 34min. 12 2-ssecri. Tho last appearance of any of the Australian cricketers in England took place on September 20th, when Palmer, Blackham, Gil Fen, and Boyle played for Mr Hyslop's clevon against sixteen oi Erithand District,

Giffon hit fieoly for 46, the highest ndividual score of tho day, while Palmor took 10 wickets for 17 runs and scored 22. On the day before Palmer, Boyle, and Alexander played for Captain Patton's eleven against twenty-two of the Theatrical Club. Each of the Australians got into double figures, Palmer making 27, Boylo 43, and Alexander 31, while all three were very successful with the ball.