Harewood cricket bid fails

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33673, 24 October 1974, Page 18

Harewood cricket bid fails

Harewood’s bid to play senior A cricket in the Suburban competitions has failed, at least for this season.

At a sometimes heated special general meeting of the Christchurch Suburban Cricket Association last evening, and in which Harewood received little verbal support from delegates, a secret ballot maintained the status quo. Harewood sought to have rescinded the management committee approval of the permits committee’s recommendation on the composition of the senior A grade. This recommendation and subsequent approval was for the same teams as last season to compose the senior A grade. Harewood won the senior B grade, just as it had won the junior A grade the previous season, and considered it warranted promotion. The Harewood case was

put by one of its delegates and captain, Mr J. M. Ruston, who said the club was “completely stunned and bewildered by this decision. I have never before seen such disillusionment in a club,” said Mr Ruston. “The permits committee completely shut the door as far as we were concerned.” PRESSURE Mr Ruston said that “it was almost a forgone conclusion that we wouldn't get senior A status” and that it seemed “pressure had been brought to bear.” Mr Ruston pointed out that Harewood’s senior team had not been beaten for two years and had made notable gains of players since last season. It catered for about 170 players, and 10 boys’ teams; it was one of the strongest clubs (numerically) in Christchurch; and was perhaps the oldest in the Suburban competitions. He also pointed to precedents: “Both Belfast and Merivale-Papanui won senior

B and were promoted; Belfast had also won junior A, and we have done virtually the same. Woolston, incidentally, did not win the senior B grade to get senior A status.” WOOLSTON LAST Woolston was the club most frequently mentioned as likely to be relegated if Harewood was promoted; it was last in the senior A grade last season. Four of the five members of the permits committee replied to Mr Ruston. Mr F. Clements gave a long account of the committee’s function; and Mr D. W. Adams said: “We have to ask not only does Harewood deserve to go up, but does Woolston deserve to go down?” Mr A. J. Cox, the convener, said the decision made was in the best interests of the association, not of any one club. Mr D. Frampton said there was no automatic pro-motion-relegation within the association. Mr J. M. Flynn

replied that “there should be some form of policy; it is time something was fixed.” In his reply, Mr Ruston said there were three questions to be considered:— “Are we strong enough to merit promotion?” — “We think we are.” “Have we done enough to be promoted?” — “Others have been promoted for less than our achievements.” "Was the management committee support to the permits committee recommendation wrong?” —Mr Ruston replied with the rhetorical question: “Did some at the management committee meeting vote against Harewood because they did not want to oppose the permits committee?” When the result of the ballot was announced, Mr Ruston said he was “nature tally disappointed” but his chib would accept the deciision without any animosity. ,