More Talks On South African Cricket Tour

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32209, 30 January 1970, Page 14

More Talks On South African Cricket Tour

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) / LONDON. English cricket authorities will make a fresh move today on the controversial visit of the South Africans to Britain next summer.

At the request of the cricket council, a deputation will visit the Home Office for talks with the British Home Secretary (Mr James Callaghan).

No-one was prepared to say why the meeting had been requested, but no doubt last week’s vandalism at 12 county grounds has given the cricket authorities further concern.

Heading the deputation will be Mr M. J. C. Allom, the M.C.C. president and chairman of the cricket council. Other delegates were Messrs G. 0. Allen (vice-chairman of the council), C. G. A. Paris (chairmanof the test and

country cricket board), R. Subba Row (council member), F. R. Brown (National Cricket Association), J. Bannister (chairman of the Professional Cricketers’ Association), S. C. Griffith (M.C.C. secretary), and J. Bailey (M.C.C. assistant secretary). . Last month, when the cricket council confirmed that the tour was still on, it was explained that the cost of protecting the inside of grounds would be a cricket responsibility and tht number of police required would have to be agreed with the local organisations. The cost and responsibility for guarding the outside of grounds was purely a police matter. At the December meeting, a

sub-committee was set up to go into all aspects of the tour and its findings will be put before the test and county cricket board and the cricket council on February

By asking for today’s talk with the Home Secretary, the cricket council has something important it wishes to get clear before February 12. It could deal with the question of protection of grounds from the present time to prevent further damage. Another possibility is that there is a wide divergence of opinion in different parts of the country as to how many police will be needed inside the grounds and some measure of uniformity is being sought.

There is little doubt that the Government would prefer to see the cricket tour cancelled but they have stated that they have neither the wish nor the right to interfere with the powers of the governing bodies of sports.