Cricketer Has No Regrets

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31378, 25 May 1967, Page 11

Cricketer Has No Regrets

W. E. Merritt often had nostalgic twinges about the carefree days of sport in Christchurch after leaving New Zealand to pursue his cricketing career in England —but he has never regretted his decision. “If I had the choice I think I would do the same again,” he told members and guests at the Commonwealth Day Tattoo of the Christchurch Tin Hat Club this week. One of New Zealand’s noted cricketers, Mr Merritt found that league cricket in England was more a grind than a game: the ordeal of annual meetings with the committee an dthe effort of playing well for as many seasons as possible.

“Looking back, I am surprised that I got through 22 years of professional cricket without getting the boot,” he said.

League cricket, he told the gathering, was a tough assignment.

“The people wanted hard, quick cricket and you had to give it to them or you were out on your neck." In the course of his long sojourn in England, Mr Merritt played with and against many of the famous figures in the game. He unreservedly named G. Headley, the West Indian batsman, as the pretest cricketer he ever saw. “And I have seen Hobbs, Bradman, the lot,” he added.

Mr Merritt recounted how he had always fared well against the bowling of L. N. Constantine through the great West Indian's preoccupation of trying to hit him, and how he had taken the wicket of the Australian, A. Richardson, by giving the ball so much air that Richardson had got rain on his glasses looking for it. But the last laugh went against Mr Merritt. Playing against a side which included E. A. McDonald, the noted Australian fast bowler, then in the autumn of his career, Mr Merritt—at the nonstriker’s end—observed that McDonald was no longer able to make the ball fly wickedly at a batsman’s head.

“No, I cannot do that any more, Bill,” replied McDonald.

But when Mr Merritt reached the other end the Australian hit him on the shoulder, giving him a bruise “as big as a plate.” “That will teach you to talk like that about me,” said McDonald.