Old Boys club to celebrate fifty years of cricket

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33669, 19 October 1974, Page 4

Old Boys club to celebrate fifty years of cricket

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

When Canterbury beat Wellington in a Plunket Shield match at Lancaster Park in 1948-49, seven of the 11 home players were former pupils of Christchurch Bovs’ High School — W. A. Hadlee, J. G. Leggat, E. B. Smith, W. McD. Anderson, P. A. Small, C. G, Snook, and A. E. L. Britton.

This was a high peak in the fortunes of the High School Old Boys’ Club, but when it holds its fiftieth anniversary celebrations soon, there will be a great gathering of outstanding cricketers: 22 old boys of the school have played for New Zealand, about 70 have appeared in first-class cricket, and in each instance more than half of the players have been members of the High School Old Boys’ Club. The club has an excellent record, too. in the senior championship. It has not won it since 1966-67: but since it joined the C.C.A. senior grade in 1926-27, it has won the championship 13 times, a better record, in that period, than that of any other club. the club was formed on September 11. 1924, and Old Boys went to Elmwood Park with the newlyformed Old Collegians club. Members of both clubs dug trenches for the laying of pipes, and the clubs shared the costs of motors, pumps, roller, mower — and no doubt teacups. Fund raising demanded an energetic resoonse, but within three years the club was free of debt.

Old Boys’ application for affiliation to the C.C.A. was declined, and in 1924 it played with the City and Suburban Association, winning the senior title. In that team were L. D. Page (brother of the New Zealand representative M. L. Page), J. T. Burrows, R. E. Hastie, I. B. Cromb, R. C. Bums and M. Graham, all to be representative players.

Old Boys joined the C.C.A. in their second year, winning the senior B competition. The following season senior status was granted and Old Boys finished second, winning their first championship a year later. In 1926-27 the club left Elmwood Park, and took over a pavilion on the south-west side of Hagley Oval, vacated by Boys’

High School when the school moved to Straven Road. The pavilion had been there since 1898. It measured 32 feet by 15 feet. It cost £lO5. After the war, the pavilion had to be replaced. It was not big enough, by far. and it was almost beyond repair. The present fine pavilion, opened for the 1957-58 season, was made

possible by a remarkable team effort. Many fundraising efforts were staged, but most of the money came from farming projects. Land was made available, and members fanned 20 acres of barley and six of potatoes. Few clubs could challenge Old Boys for the production of top players. The club’s New Zealand representatives are: W. McD. Anderson, B. A. Boltpn, I. B. Cromb, J. W. D’Arcy, B. G. Hadlee, D. R. Hadlee, W. A. Hadlee, J. G. Leggat, R. E. J. Menzies, W. E. Merritt, M. L. Page, M. L. Ryan and F. B. Smith.