SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10425, 16 September 1911, Page 6

SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

CRICKET NOTES.

[By "Leg-Break."]

Quite an umber of enthusiasts availed themselves of the opportunity of opening the season in Masterton on | Saturday last, and keen interest was I displayed at the practice nets. On j many afternoons since a number of j players have put in an hour or two's i practice a day. The thanks of cricketers are due to the caretaker of the Park (Mr D. Jackson) for having the oval in readiness (and in such good < condition,-too) for an early start this season. While watching play at the nets this week, I was very pleased to see that a number of schoolboys were allowed to avail themselves of the opportunity of facing good bowling. Cricketers must, if they have any interest in the game at all, look after these younger <players, or else, when the present players : retire, who will take their places? Senior players at the nets are, as a rule, too selfish. They expect boys to irun after the ball all the time for them, but they never tiling of letting them have five minutes with the bat. However, quite a number of lads were allowed this week to have tSieir five or ten minutes with the .hat, and some of these same boys showed unmistakable isigns of making good all-round players later on. As the season advances and more seniors go down to the nets, I hope they will continue to find time for the younger boys to have practice. If this idea had been taken up years back, there would have ibeen considerably more clubs in the Wairaratpa to-day. Arthur Hoar. a. prominent member of the Carlton Club, -who recently met with a:rather seriooiis accident to one of his legs, is slowly recovering, and is now able to get about a little. It is to be hoped (that he will be fully recovered by the time the championship fixtures commence.

By th'e departure to Palmerston North of Frank Madsen, junior cricket in Masterton has suffered a distinct loss. During Hs connection with local cricket, .this young player has proved himself a, good all-round man, and a thorough sport. As tho captain of the runners-up for the championship last season,-he proved the.right man in the right place (and the captaincy of a junior (team is not an enviable position), and his untiring efforts in connection with the Club helped to place •the team in the position it occupied at the close of last season. It was his .intention of throwing in his lot with the Carlton Club this year.

In conversation with a, member of the Maurieeville Club on.Saturday, I was informed that the Maurieeville team had decided to enter the Wairarapa< championship as formerly. The Club, he said, would have a hard job to get a good team together this season, >&> they had suffered the loss of a number of good players. The removal of Blackmore from Maurieeville was their greatest loss, and it would be a difficult task to find a player as good to fill his place. However, it will "be very pleasdnt news to the Masterton Clubs to know that Maurieeville are entering the championship, and the Bush team will probably put up a good fight for first place, As. they have done in the past.

i The New Zealand Cricket tion is >at present in communieatio'v with the Tasmania n Association with a view to arranging, if possible, for a team from Tasmania to visit New Zealand during the coming season. It has been pointed out, however, that it would cost as much to get -a. Tasmania n team to visit the Dominion as a -New South Wales or- Victorian team, whilst it was possible, that the gates at the matches against the Tasmanian rtsam Avould not beas. good ias those at matches 'against an Australian team. Apparently, the Association considers that a first-class Tasmanian team would ibe better than a second-class team,either from New South Wales or Victoria. The Canterbury Association is objecting to tlhe action of the New Zealand Association on the grounds that Tasmanian cricket is no better than New Zealand 'cricket. It is about twenty years ago since a Tasmanian team visited New Zealand. Should the New Zealand Association be successful in arranging for the visit, it is quite probable that a match will be allotted to the Wairarapa. 6. A. Faulkner, who bowled so successfully for Lord Londesborougb's eleven in the trial, match against the M.C.C. team for Australia, is the famous South African cricketer, who was the bright shining light of their visit to Australia last season. He ?s probably tho the most successful—ibatsman the v world over. He is making his home in England, and he hopes to qualify .for one of the leading Southern county teams. A cable message received this week, started -that the Imperial Cricket Con-' ference, which met at Kensington Ovai on Monday last, had approved of tho Board of Control's arrangements in regard to the Triangular Tests' and county matches with colonials next season, with one exception.- The date of the concluding' match of the Triangular Tests, between England and Australia, at Kensington Oval, has been altered to August 19th—three days earlier. (The full fixtures for the Testa have already appeared in my notes.) The Conference has decided also, that it'was inexpedient'to grant Warwickshire's claim for a- Test m&teh at Birmingham. The English County Championship games have been conclude},, and the positions of all the counties taking part are as follows,; last year's position being given in parenthesis:—Warwickshire, 74 per cent, 1, (14); Kent,

73.84, 2, (1); Middlesex, 71.81, 8, (3); Lancashire, 62, 4, (4); Surrey, 60.66, 5, (2); Essex, 6, (11); Yorkshire, 7, (8); Notts, 8, (5); Worcestershire, 9, (13); Northants, 10, (9); Hampshire. 11,(6); Gloucestershire, 12, (12); Sussex, 13, (7); Derbyshire, 14, (15); Leicestershire, 15, (10); Somerset, 16, < l6 >-

Playing for Gloucestershire against the champion county (Warwickshire). J. H. Board, the professional wicketkeeper who has again accepted the position as coach to the Hawke's Bay Assochtion, made 113 in the first innings.

A Johannesburg paper states that R. 0. Schwarz, the famous South African "googly" bowler, who did so well against the Australians in the recent tour, has made up his mind to settle down in England, and South Africa will not know him again except as an occasional visitor. His settling down in England, of course, •deprives South Africa.of the benefit, of his services during the present season, and it 'appears doabtful whether he will be able to assist the country of his adoption in the Triangular Tests during the 1912 season, for he will have some difficulty in finding time to practice. The opinion is general among the London newspapers that Mr P. F. Warner, who will captain the English eleven that will visit Australia, has"a better dhance of recovering the ashes than had his two predecessors. There is, however, some regret at the weakness of the outfield. Warner, who .is captain of Middlesex, has probably Bad more experience in captaining touring teams than any living cricketer. He has visited the West Indies (tinder the captaincy of Lord Hawke), America, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia in charge of cricket teams, and is considered a lucky skipper. In 1903-4 he succeeded in "recovering the ashes" for England on Australian wickets.. In 1907-8, Australia., led by M. A. Noble, regained 'them, and it remains to be seen if history will be repeated diiring the forthcoming campaign. The M.C.C; ashes winners in 1903-4 were a good i lot—P. F. Warner, R, E. Foster, B. T. Bosanquet. T. Hayward, J. T. Tyldesley, A. E. Knight, E. Arnold, A. "A. Lilley, H. Strudwick, A. E. Relf, and A. Fielder. Relf and Fielder were thf only disappointment-.. Four members of this team will accompany the present team for Australia: Warner, Rhodes, Stnrdwick, and Foster.