10 JULY 1947, Page 5

Some time in July the festival of English sport reaches

its zenith. Tennis at Wimbledon, rowing at Henley, cricket at Lord's and else- where, all denote climax in that particular field, particularly when, as this year, a Dominion cricket team is matching itself against the best Britain can muster. The marks the war has left have begun by this time to wear off, though it is arguable that the austerity of British diet as compared, for example, with American, is a handi- cap for which allowance must be made. It needs some explanation of that sort to cover the British eclipse at Wimbledon, where out of fifteen finalists seven were American, four Australian, one South African, one Polish and two British ; but tennis is not the British national game. Cricket is, and thanks largely to Compton and Edrich, once more England secured a decisive and creditable victory in the third test against South Africa. Oxford failed to avenge at Lord's what happened in the spring between Putney and Mortlake, Cambridge's fine recovery in the second innings saving what looked like a lost match. At Henley, the two finalists in both the Thames and the Diamonds were foreigners, but Jesus (Cambridge) saved the national name by its fine victory over the best Dutch club. Altogether

a notable week-end, which the weather refrained from spoiling.