CRICKET.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1245, 2 December 1882, Page 2

CRICKET.

! / , TO THE EDITOR. | j3iß.~\Has cricketing died out in Mas;tef|jn antinherefat weakneis in 'tli&bld gainer hai give place to a weakerhufcmore-fashionable rival? I ihould be sorry to believe the former ii the cause, and must • therefore-incline to the latter alternative. Doubtless the lethargy manifested in cricket is largely caused by the fact that no * available ground ia af the disposal of those jvho love the old sport,: 1 ,The Park Trustees undertook to put "the oval: in order with, monies promised for that purpose, but it is to be regretted that they have left, it worse than they found it. The Trustees oanhot be too strongly demned for tho manifest failure which has attended their efforts. This objection has certainly some force, but I fail to see that it can be taken as* sufficient excuse or the'deliberate indolence of the.

yoorig men in this town.

I am iaformed that' any amount of interest ia manifested in, and any amount of money is forthcoming towards, the establishment of a lawn tennis club. It appears that the youth of this; town lias deoidedto pin its faith to petticoats, and to abandon the immortal willow for the tinsel of an apron. The time wss when men . were brave enough to competo with men. in: manly,: vigorous contest; but alas for us,',.that, time is gone, and. we now prefer to limp and hop with a bit of straw in oar,' hand and a feminine rival in the field. Our courage is gone: we suffer from defeneration of the muscle, and our men' have women grown. Tho time is rapidly drawing on when the lover of the old game, liko MacaulayY- New. Zealander on London Bridge, will look back and mourn over the fallen greatness of our national sport. To say that lawn tennis is a suitable game for both sexes, goes to prove cimclusively that it iii utierly unsuitable as a national game for the, vigorous and mas? culine portion of th» community, Let those who have no heart for stronger work by all means air their graces on a tennis lawn, but if we want to win tho fame of men, and to emulate the deeds of our hardy ancestors,-then, let us not forsake tho good old game. • Yours, &0,, Cbicket..