NO CLUB CRICKET

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 29, 4 February 1936, Page 13

NO CLUB CRICKET

PLUNKET SHIELD DATE

Owing to the fact that there has not been as much club cricket this season as players would like through unfavourable weather and the large number of Saturdays taken up with representative matches, several members of the management committee of the Wellington Cricket Association last night asked that club cricket be played next Saturday, the visit of the Auckland team for the Plunket Shield mgtch notwithstanding. The matter was raised by a letter from the Hutt Club asking that club matches be played. "My view," said the chairman of the committee (Mr. P. B. Broad) "is that we cannot and should not play club games while a Plunket Shield match is being played in Wellington—neither senior games nor any other." Mr. L. Pointon and Mr. I. Nimmo supported the request from the Hutt Club. Players were losing interest in cricket through the repeated interruptions their games had suffered this season. They had had a surfeit of representative cricket, and wanted to play the game themselves. Mr. J. H. Phillipps pointed out that a large number of players would be absent from the senior grade teams in order to play in the Plunket Shield match. The players, however, were insistent and he was certain that if the association did not hold matches the clubs would arrange games themselves, and would not in any case attend the Shield match. The clubs should not be sacrificed to the public. The Kilbimie Club was strongly in favour of playing cricket on Saturday. The junior grade matches at least should be played. The association's first duty was towards the players. Mr. Broad: I think there is no first duty; we have to attempt to reconcile the two. "As an act of courtesy to the visitors," said Mr. W. J. R. Christophersen, "the club games should be postponed." . • ""'''. "' Mr. J. S. Hanna remarked that* if the association refused to take gate money—and if games were played it amounted to that—there would soon be no money, and also no . association. There would be a clear run of club cricket after Saturday, and he saw no objection to postponing club matches. ■ "Only a very few players watch the Plunket Shield games," said Mr. E. J. Aim. If the players had no club cricket they played tennis instead. In his opinion, if the association did not give cricketers cricket, it would fail in its duty.. After further discussion, Mr. Hanna moved that all matches be postponed, and Mr. Aim moved an amendment that all matches below second grade '<■ should be played. 1 The motion was carried by four : votes to three, after the amendment \ had been defeated on the chairman's 1 casting vote. \