SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10434, 27 September 1911, Page 6

SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

CRICKET NOTES.

[By "Leg-Break."]

In view of the fact that a great number of players are changing from one club to another this season, I would point out that unless a member is financial to his club he cannot play for another club. That is, if a member is in arrears with his subscriptions, he may still play for that club, but he cannot change to another club without first paying what is due by him to the club. In the case of a financial j member, however, it is necessary for him to forward 'his written resignation to the club. Unless he does so, he can be called upon by that club for his subscription for this season. A slight mistake occurred in the report of tlhe annual meeting of the Carlton Club, The resolution .which was passed ait that meeting should have read: "That financial members only be taken into consideration when teams are being selected, and such members only have the use of the Club's material; if a member in arrears for past subscriptions pays this year's subscription he shall be eligible for selection, and .be treated as if he

had paid up all his liabilities, but the club retains the right to call upon any member coming within its scope to pay up all moneys due by him." I think this resolution is a good one, and should be on the books of every club, tt was stated at the meeting of/ the Carlton Club that only four members had paid their subscriptions last year. The Carlton Club is not alone in this .matter, as I am informed that other local clubs are experiencing the same'difficulty. How it is that some advantage of the play that'tlieir clubs can give them with.out helping to shoulder the financial responsibility of their club, I cannot understand. Next to bad pitches, there is nothing more 'harmful'to the (interests of the game than bad material. And how can a club provide

good material unless members make themselves financial. lam positive that if all cricketers paid their sub-J scriptions they would be surprised at the improvement there would be in tie game. T!he clubs could provide | first-class material, and this,, according to, perhaps, the greatest authority on cricket, W. G. Grace, is the most important part, of the game. At. any rate the position in respect to local clubs is very disheartening, and it is -sincerely to be hoped that players will recognise tlheir position and make themselves financial on the books of the clubs. Tlie subscriptions --- every case are very moderate, and there is ino reason whatever why players should refuse to pay. It.should also be remembered that" unless a member .is financial, he cannot play for another club, and this in view of the resolution passed, at the Carlton meeting, will mean that some good players will have to .drop out this season altogether. But still, in the interests of the game, I think it is the best thing. A firm stand must be taken in this matter, and I am very glad to set> that one club has taken it up. Alex. Downes, who played his last representative match against Canterbury last season, has represented. Otago against Canterbury on twentyfour occasions. He stated at the end of last season's match that he would hot take part in further big matches. Hopkins, the ex-Sydneyside cricketer, who has been Otago's most stylish batsman for the past .two season's, and who left for Sydney six weeks ago, has returned to Dunedin for another twelve months. Hopkins left for his native town (Sydney) with the intenbut. he received orders to remain another 12 months, so Dunedihites welcome him back. : .

There is a (proposal to be brought forward at the annual meeting of the Cricket Association that, I am convinced (says a Wellington writer), is in the best interests of the game. Probably it may not be thought so in other centres. It is to the effect that the'fcew Zealand Cricket Association should endeavour to arrange so that the larger associations in the Dominion will periodically visit one another, the same as is done by the Rugby Union. Taking a line through the experiences of the Aucklanders, there is no doubt that many inter-provincial teams will vfrvit Christehurch as long as the Plunket Shield remains there. But it is claimed that all the principal matches being played' in the one centre in the one year, does not make for the good of the whole of the cricketers of the Dominion. If Wellington and Auckland, and Wellington and Canterbury, and Otago and, Canterbury, were to have annual matches in each other's cities alternately, and.Wellington and Auckland were to have biennial matches with Otago andiCariterbury respectively, it would make for the ultimate improvement of t>he; game in the Dojni'hionv The fidncative value of .these representative matches on the younger cricketers cannot be overestimated, and. this is the real idea of the, promoter of the scheme, Mr Anders Wiren, one of the best friend's cricket has in these parts. I have outlined the proposal, concludes the writer, but although it may want a

bit of knocking into shape, lam convinced it has a lot to recommend it. j In any case it is worthy of discussion, and I am giving it a fair start. Owing to presure of business ,Mr C. E. Steven-, who has done excellent , work as secretary and treasurer of the Wellington Association, does not intern! to seek re-election at the annual meeting This is a pity for the sport's sake, as Charlie Stevens is one of the best men connected with cricket in the Empire City. There is a likelirxyd of E. B. Vance being prevailed upon to take up the duties of seer ;c----ary once again. The Albion Club (Dunedin) held its forty-ninth annual meeting last week, when, amongst other things, it was decided to fittingly celebrate the club's jubilee next year, and in this connection it was proposed that every old member of the club who could be I traced should be presented with some, tangible token of his connection with' the Albion Cricke Club. Mr Arthur Fenton, caretaker of the Napier Recreation Ground, and a professional cricketer wlho has done yeoman service for the Hawke's Bay Association as batsman, bowler and coach for some years past, lias been appointed custodian of the Athletic Park, Wellington. The appointment I caries £135 a year, with a free house.

Fenton is well-known to Masterton cricketers. Since K. S. Ranjitsinhji, the master of the art of batting, has ceased to play first-class cricket, he has become a ruler in India, and is now known as H. H. Maharajah, Jaim Sahib of Nawanagar. The British public, however, will always remember him as "Ranji," who brought batmanship to a fine art, and who played the game not only for his own glorification, but first of all for his side —Sussex. It was by watching Arthur Shrewsbury espec-■iallys-ifc s is'saidy that Ranji perfected his back play, and learned to make judicious use of the four ifeet of ground between the creases, which is every batsman's inheritance. Bj judging the. ball in the air and stepping back towards the wicket, the batsiman is able to imake the good length ball into a bad length one —just as by jumping out he can make thf , ball appear to be over-pitched. As the batsman is standing at the popping crease when the ball is bowled, the bowler can only ibowl him a gooc

length ball taking that as the fixec point. The quick judgment - r (the bal in the air and quick footwork, and th« length of ball bowled is altered eithej by jumping out or moving back to wards the bowling crease. The righl foot should be placed in a line wit! the direction of the ball. Whei Ranjitsinhji was in form no ibowlei could bowl him a good length ball and he had no "blind" spot. Undoubtedly to B. J. T. Bosanque;

(Middlesex) belongs the credit of in venting the kind of ball with the mos' deceptive delivery—the "googlie," 01 the off-break with the leg4>reak ac tion. He first discevered it by toy ing with billiard balls on the greet cloth,' then he went to a tennis ball and Avas finally able to work it ou with a cricket ball. There is no doub

about the deception of the delivery says an English writer. The action i apparently an excessive leg-break one but the (ball, when properly delivered has a very quiek break from the off and.when mixed in with leg-breaks i is most difficvult to know which .wa; the ball is going to break. Bosanque has had many imitators, and some o them 'having more time to devote t< practise than the inventor, hav< brought, it to a perfection and bow the ball more often with a bettei length; Nearly all the South African: seem able to bowl it, some with grea success. The difficulty lies in getting a good length. Bosanquet practica'll; won tih© rubber when ifche ashes. wer< recovered from Australia by his bowl ling. And until batsmen get used : b it, this kind of bowling will conduce low scores on good wickets than any thing else. J. W. Hearne bowls th< "googlie" with great success, and i remains to be seen how he will fare'oi Australian wickets this season. R. 0 Schwarz has practised the googlie | ii South Africa a great deal; but it wa in a match at Oxford, when the Sout] Africans were flaying tfiere durinj their tourbefore Vs the last, that be sud denly discovered the secret wihile prac tising at the nets. From that time|h has never looked back. He cannot however, bowl the leg break, and n consequence keeps a much more ac curate length with his off-breaks Though batsmen know he does no break the other way, tihey find hi bowling difficult to deal with on ac count of the peculiar angle of breal and flight after leaving the pitch. Vog ler is also quite adept at bowling thi googlie; and, as he bowls the leg-breal exceedingly ,well and varies bis pace many consider him the finest bowler ii the .world. However, he did not di much on Australian wickets last sea son. Besides these two South Afri cans, there is also Falkner, wh< South Africans; think, is ifche best «x ponent' of the ball when lie isi'ii form Falkiner, at leasts did very well ii Australia. This ball has revolutionis ed bowing, and now plays an import ant part in Imperial cricket.