XXXIV 
CRICKET, FOOTBALL, ETC. 
34i 
here as to the merits of run-up or pitch.) It is hoped 
gradually to replace them by grass. Nothing could be 
finer than the situation. A bird’s-eye view of the 
town is obtained on one side and the N’gong forest 
skirts the other, while on a clear day Kilima-njaro to 
the south-west and Kenia to the east reveal their snow- 
clad peaks. It gives an added thrill to the visitor to 
know that both lion and leopard still haunt the N’gong 
forest. Within the last two years an officer in the King’s 
African Rifles came on a party of lions, and was badly 
mauled, if not, as is usually stated, actually on the 
course, little more than a long drive distant. There 
are a few snakes in the long grass and “rough ” bounding 
the course. These form an extra incentive to keeping 
straight ! 
The championship of British East Africa was started 
in 1910, and the first champion was Mr. A. E. Gardner, 
the popular secretary of the Nairobi Club. The winner 
in 1911 was Mr. Figgis, formerly a semi-finalist in the 
Irish Championship, and other notable players include 
Messrs. Anderson, Crawley-Boevey, C. Hirtzell, 
Tanner, and Evans. 
Lawn tennis is the game most generally played 
throughout the Protectorate, as is natural owing to the 
limited amount of space and time that it demands. 
Practically every station in the Protectorate has at 
least one court, and from Mombasa to Port Florence, 
from Kitui to Moyale the native wonders at the mad¬ 
ness of the Englishman and incidentally retrieves his 
balls. And not only the stations but many of the larger 
farms are similarly equipped. 
The courts are all hard, artificial ones, which if not 
so pleasant under foot as good springy turf, un¬ 
doubtedly provide a faster and more scientific game. 
