CRICKET.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1921, Page 3

CRICKET.

" BOOM IN CRICKET. INCREASED INTEREST AT HOME. Australia’s fine achievement in winning three successive- cricket testmatches, and thus regaining possession of the mythical “ashes” has greatly stimulated interest in the visit to England next summer of an Australian XI All lovers of cricket will be eager to see how “the team without a tail” comports itself on the difficult wickets of this country, and naturally there will bo a strong desire to see the home team retrieve the laurels which have just been so decisively lost. Mr. “Plum” Warner—himself one of the most famous of old “All England” captains —in the course of a fine tribute in The Times to Australian prowess, prophesies that the

next cricket seasbn will be a record one. He is confident that the big matches at Lord's and the Oval will ; draw crowds of from thirty to forty i thousand people—a hitherto unheard-ol 1 attendance in this country, where crickefc . has usually only been watched by (in j his words) “small and select” assemblies* If Mr. Warner's prophecy should happen to be realised, the cricket authorities will find themselves faced with a problem of extraordinary difficulty, fof all the ground accomodation is planned upon the “small and select” attendance idea. Seating arrangements are hopelessly inadequate, and the means of Ingress and egress are quite inefficient to cope with an invasion of spectators. But it is not- only in connection with cricket that there is urgent room for reform in this respect. The racecourse accomadotion is hopelessly behind that of the Do. minions, while the way that people are packed together at football matches much room for reform, g