A RECORD OF SPORT.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 725, 8 February 1877, Page 2

A RECORD OF SPORT.

[Compiled expressly for the Waikato Times.] :. . Thb English Eleven left this morning (Thursday) for Wellington. Their visit to Auckland is past and gone, and as may be supposed, has left us a fruitful theme for discussion. It has been a success m several ways, and not a succes3 m otheis. The attendance was poor compared with even the small towns of Australia. On the first day there were about 1000 present, on the second about 3000, and on the third about 1200. The Regatta, wliioh the promoters of the cricket match underrated, wa* patronised by the public far better than Eilerslie on Monday, but of course the principal I drawback to the attendance on that day was the weather, wbi.ih was Bimply abominable, r.aia and wind contending for the mastery^all the afternoon. The gue money was thus only a triflj over £400, and Bennett, the agent, declares the promoters lose a lot of money, the why and wherefore of which statement however I fail to see. Still, under the pecuniary aspect, the visit was not a success. _ Then again everyone is greatly disappointed with the personnel of the team. Somehow, m the highest clasa of professionals of any kind, one expects to find at least an approach to respectability. The amount of money which they earn should enable them to take a decent place m middle class society. Cricket, too, is generally thought such a manly, exceptionally b'ameless sport, -so free from the vices which beset the turf and the ring, th.t its professors have hitherto been looked upon as proportionately superior to those of any othei Bport. But I am sadly afraid the demoralising effects of bettiughav 8 largely altered she status of cricket Bince the days of Minn and George Parr. The eleven now traversing New Zealand are not remarkable for much cultivation of any kind, except that of cricket and bodily activity; I am wrong, they can diink like fnhes and swear like troopers. It is a great pity that Lil'y white, who is himself a decent fellow, should not have impressed upon ttiein the necessity for keeping up a show of respectability while they are. so conspicuously exposed to the public gazj. I will tell you what occurred at Ellerslie on the occasion of the. recent match, anl you may judge whether there is not some reas >o for my strictures. As is customary at all cricket matches— (aud it will be a bad day fur cricket when it ceases to be so)— the clergy and the ladies were well represented among the spectators. A prominent divine of the Methodist persuasion was looking on and apparently enj >ying the game, when a demonstrative' specimen of the bookmaker genus, who I may mention is travelling with the eleven, for he came with them and went away with them, approached him', and m » loud tone of voice, m which sheer impudence was plainly apparent, s'iout(>d out •• I'll lay £6 to £4 these Sew Zealand men don't make 150 runs Come, you, sir, you look as if you had lost your last bee j get it back on this. What do you say; shall I put down a fiver?" That reverend gentlemen turned his back on the tempter with a look which I sha'i not forget m a hurry,— it said " Gret thee behind me, Satau," as plainly as if, he had used the words, and I should not wonder if it was not accompanied with the reflection that he had do ie wrong m coming to see the match. On Tuesday and Wednesday the most prominent carnage on the field was one drawn up close to the gate j m it were seated two of the moat notorious prostitutes m the place. From their bonnets and parasols floated the red, white and blue colours of the Eleven, and round the vehicle and m it frequently were to be seen, during the time their side were at the wickets, two or three of the All-England team, car. ying on m a style for .which the ouly excuse that could be offered was that they were m a mere or less advanced s r ate of intoxication. Very edified at the sight must our wives and daughters have been. The visit was not successful m raising the mombers of the team personally high m public estimation, but it was successful m showing us good cribke . I cau tell you it has taken the conceit out of our men pretty considerably. Quite a dozen of the Auckland cricketers, before the lna'ch, thought it quite ridiculous our playing 22 against our visitors, and talked of the approaching struggle (?) m a very confident way. They now Bee. how utterly powerless they are m the hands of these giants. They were beaten by an innings and 22 runs, and yet it was .palpable that half the time the eleven were simply skylarking with them. The mere faeb of Charlwood and Greenwood being put on to bowl, shows this. The former bowled a wide, which the long< stop could not get near, and three were ruu for is, amid general laughter, aud as for the Yorkshireman, he says he hasn't handled the globule fur three years before. If th> Eleven had been on th*ir mettle all through, I do not believe oar men were good for more than fifty each innings. The se'ection committee made rather a mess of their duties all through, and one of them admitted to me, after the match, that, if they had had any organisation 1 m the practices, they Would have got the Eleven out for fifty runs less than they did. As it was, every one was fielding on his own account, and there wos none of that harmonious action which is to be scon ia a wall drilled team. Robinson, as on the Southern tour, made a good captain, but he : laboured under the serious disadvantage** of not having seen half the men play, s© he c uld not be expected to place them m the best possible positions. ■ ■'* The Thames contingent, with the exception of .Robinson, played wretchedly, aud it was the general opinion that if your rrienj--Morrisbn, Soper and Cox had been substituted, they would have been a great improvement. Yates, Robinson, and Dufaur played beauMfully m the first innings, and well deserved all the applause they received ; but, curious to relate, m the Btcond essay, they each made a round ; while Buckland and Lnnkham, who had not shone m the first innings, came out well m the second, with 17 and 13 respectively, though they had some cause to thank the spirit of devilment which had come over the Eleven when, they were m. No less than seven out of the English team had a turn with the ball during the tnacb, but the beat bowlers are unimstakeably Shaw, Hill, Lillywhi-e, Ernmett aud Southerton. Shaw took nearly all the wickets m the first innings, and tbe honors were pretty equally divided between Enimett and Southerton m the second. The Englishmen fielded splendidly. Plenty of co-operation here, if you like. They moved like clockwork, and as for the throwing m, it was a treat to see. Some half-a-dozen of our fellows admired it, to their cost, for they were thrown out slick, when they were flattering themselves on having any quantity of time. Puo'ey's wicket-keeping was the feature of the play while the •eleven were m tie field. It was magnificent. There was an ease and finish about it which was simply wonderful, and his quickness m ■ whipping oft a bail, if there was any doubo of a man being m his ground, was " a caution to snakes." Aa Robinson remarked m his speech at the lunch; on the last day, we want one of these fellows here to, show us a thing or two, if we are to keep place with the rest of the Colony. '1 hough we cannot afford to give Charll

sassssasg JhefSwb by matching Sel>y Ellis, our Am* «an«r, .for £50 wdjT.ie race was run on the roact, biokof ifadr man up for oil they could, vet on, ai»d as BUia and his party were vary confident, the amount of moneywhich ohaqßed lauds approached £3 t> The Regatta was a great sucoess, but, *s it dot b not interest your readers, I shall .not revert to it any further. I notice your handicaps are out tor the Waikato Turf Club Meeting. They have ,given the Don a show at last, und I think •either he or May Moon will »w the: handicap. .[Right you are Vates. ; The Wellington Cup Acceptances are mot vt.ry grand. The race, I think, lies ♦between Guy Fawkes and Fallacy, and 1 jsbouJd take the former for choice. The Nelson. Regatta Committee are, I .hear, heartily ashanud of their conduct »over the "Secrt* " affair, and well they ; may be. They will have to make a very big prize before they get any. other .Auckland vessel to go down to .their ixegatts — "ates.