MR J. WHEATLEY HONOURED

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22913, 9 January 1940, Page 4

MR J. WHEATLEY HONOURED

o CRICKET REPRESENTATIVE IN EARLY DAYS A function to honour Mr J. Whatley on his eightieth birthday was held at the home of Mr D, Reese. Cashmere Hills, yesterday, by mahy prominent Canterbury cricketers of the latter part of last centUMr Wheatley was captain of the Midland Club in 1895. and was a Canterbury representative for several years. He was also a selector of many successful canterbury teams. . The toast of the guest was proposed by Mr P. Wilding, an old member of the Lancaster Park Club. Mr Wilding recounted several interesting events of early

cricket In, Canterbury and recalled many amusing incidents. He referred to the fine spirit in which the games were played and the sporting qualities of their guest. In reply, Mr Wheatley said he had come to Christchurch in 1878. The games in those days were very enjoyable, he said, but the main difficulty was the distance between the playing grounds. Inreferring to present-day cricket, Mr Wheatley said he would like to see more attention paid to fielding. , • In proposing the toast of Mr Reese, Mr H. C. Ridley said that their host had been a cricketer In every sense of the word. He had played cleanly, anfi the game had meant more to' him than the fact of strapping on the pads and going put to bat. He had made a name for himself, and he considered there was not a cricketer to-day who could compare with JVIr Reese Replying. Mr Reese referred to the cricketing abilities of Mr Wheatley. He said that the young cricketer in those days could always rely on. help from Mr Wheatley, who had been an excellent The remainder of the time was spent In recalling incidents of note In early cricket. •