DISAPPOINTMENTS FOR LOCAL PLAYERS

Evening Post, Issue 52, 2 March 1935, Page 22

DISAPPOINTMENTS FOR LOCAL PLAYERS

SHOULD POSTPONEMENTS BE DEFEKBED ?

Local cricketers have had quite a few upsets this season, not only on account of the weather (sometimes too wet and for a period too dry), but also through being shifted to other grounds when that at headquarters was being used by other bodies. They were left lamenting last Saturday,.a fine afternoon being lost to them through heavy rains, which had fallen prior to 11 a.m. necessitating a postponement. The fact that the weather .cleared well before the usual Saturday afternoon starting time of match play led to some discussion at this week's meeting of the Wellington Cricket Association's management committee as to whether it would not be"advisable to wait and see how the weather is going to turn out before making a general postponement of fixtures, Mr. A. Ronaldson gave it as his opinion that the grounds were fit to play last Saturday afternoon. . Mr. P. B. Broad, (chairman) had informed members that he had been notified by the Director of Parks and Reserves (Mr. J. G. MacKenzie) that no charge for wickets would be made so' far as last Saturday was concerned. . Mr. Ronaldson: I think it is an admission on his part that he should not have done it (declared the grounds unfit for play). I maintain he had no right to say at 11 o'clock in the morning that the grounds were not available. This is a matter, we should take up with him. - Mr. W. Hammond remarked that, as everything else had been put off, the grounds must have been pretty' bad. The sports meeting was. put off, as was the Mercantile League and Hutt Valley cricket. AMr. Ronaldson: The league were in the same box as we were. They have wickets on the city reserves, more of them than we have. . With regard to the postponement of the sports meeting, the hon. secretary (Mr. A. Varney) explained that they had held a special meeting and had acted upon a weather forecast similar to that obtained for the cricket postponement committee. To be quite fair to Mr. MacKenzie, he thought he was advised by the weather officials. Mr. W. J. R. Christophersen: Of course, none of the grounds had been marked out. Mr. • Varney: They had not even been rolled. As to the position at the Hutt Recreation Ground, Mr. Aim said that there would have been some play during the afternoon. The cli airman suggested that in order to avoid similar experiences the matter o:l deferring postponements be taken up with the Director o* Parks and Reserves. Mr. Hammond regarded that as an excellent idea, and suggested that a suitable opportunity should be taken to do this. He thought, too, that the introduction of the means of. drying wickets , (with the use of scrim) might be of advantage. Mr. Christophersen: Still, we want some practice on slippery wickets, don't we? . 'Ifwas mentioned that had the rain lasted another half-hour there would have been no possible chance of play taking place.' The pointed out, however, that conditions had been a handicap to the preparation of wickets, and he doubted whether the pitches could have been got ready in time.' Earlier in the week there had been no water, and later on there had been a deluge. At that the discussion dropped.