Cricket tour to S. Africa ‘not off’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33917, 9 August 1975, Page 16

Cricket tour to S. Africa ‘not off’

(By

RAY CAIRNS)

If John Guy, a prospective sports promoter and former test cricketer, takes a private cricket team to South Africa, the first that will be heard of it is when the team arrives in the republic.

Mr Guy said this last evening when blaming the news media partly for his plans—to take a team to South Africa just before or just after the coming season—being rejected by the New Zealand Cricket Council’s board of control. He also charged that the (board’s decision “may be a [personality clash” and implied such a clash was between him and the chairman of the board (Mr W. A. Hadlee). Mr Hadlee promptly rejected that suggestion last evening as “utter nonsense” and said that he and Mr Guy had “never had any clash of any sort.” Mr Hadlee also confirmed that the decision by the board, made last week-end, was a unanimous one.

Reiterating his remarks of the previous day, that the proposed tour was “not off as far as I’m concerned,” Mr Guy said he was not happy with what he had heard were some of the reasons for the board’s rejection of his tour. “I think there is only one man on the board of control I am fighting, but as far as I and most of the players are concerned, we don’t want to get off-side with the board.” But Mr Guy said of the two-year contracts signed by the New Zealand team members who competed in the Prudential Cup tournament that “I don’t think they are binding.”

He also said that if he takes a team to South Africa in September-October or March-April it will not necessarily be a New Zealand side.

“I think I will get a good enough side out of the nlayers who did not go to England this year. There are

seven or eight players they didn’t take to the Prudential Cup who are probably better than those who did go, and there are only one or two from Christchurch who would have been in my side.’’ Commenting that he thought New Zealand should be playing sport against South Africa, Mr Guy said any future announcement on a private tour would be “when we get there. It’s getting crazy the way this is being blown round the country, and I won’t disclose any plans I might make.”

Asked if this was because of concern about antiapartheid groups, Mr Guy said he couldn’t care less about H.A.R.T. or anyone else. If the press hadn’t got hold of this, we wouldn’t have had any trouble getting permission” — but Mr Guy knew the board of control feeling and decision before Thursday, when he made his comments on the decision.

“I expected die board to say it was a private tour, that it had nothing to do with it, and to tell any other countries the same,” said Mr Guy. But he also said that afly player contracted to the New Zealand Cricket Council would not be included in his term “unless the board relents.”