THE SYDNEY CRICKET FRACAS

Evening Star, Issue 5073, 9 June 1879, Page 4

THE SYDNEY CRICKET FRACAS

r, ~~ • The following is Lord Harris's letter in reference to the disturbance at the Sydney match, which excited considerable attention at Home : . f

TO THB EDITOR OV ' BELL'S LIFE ' IN LONDON. Sir,—l have received the enclosed letter from Lord Harris,.which he requests me to forward to you for publication. I do bo without further comment than to remark

that all cricketers will read with great regret the account which Lord Harris giv< s. He tells me the eleven they beat was admittedly the strongest in New South Wales, if not in Australia.—l am, etc., . , _, V. Edward Walker. Arno s Grove, Southgaic, April 2.

My Dear E.,—l am not certain whether you will be astonished or not at what I have to tell you, hut I know you will be distressed that your friends, a party of gentlemen travelling through these Colonies for the purpose of playing a few friendly games of cricket, should have been insulted and subjected to indignities it distresses us to look back upon. We began the return match with the New South Wales Eleven on Friday February 7, scored 267, and got our opponents out for 177 by 3.30 on the Saturday afternoon. Murdoch, who had carried his bat in the first, and A. Bannerman went to the wickets to commence the second innings. At 19 on the telegraph the former was run out. Before he got back to the pavilion I heard shouts of " Not out," " Go back," etc., arise from that quarter, and saw the occupants of it rise almost en masse. I at once saw what was the matter, and instead of waiting for D. Gregory (the captain) to come out to me, perhaps unwisely, walked to the pavilion to meet him at the gate. He, I found, in the name of the N.S.W. Eleven! objected to Coulthard, the umpire. I must here diverge to explain certain facts connected with umpires in these Colonies which are not known or understood at Home. Contrary to our custom, it is here the exception to employ professional umpires. This I was not told until after the disturbance. As you know, we brought no umpire, and on arrival at Adelaide I asked the representatives of the Melbourne C. C. if they could recommend anyone to us whom we could take about with us throughout our tour. They mentioned this man Coulthard, a professional on their ground, whom they had constantly tried and found competent, and added that if we on trial also considered him competent, the M.C.C. would be very glad to give him leave of absence so long as we wanted his services. I considered him on trial a good and trustworthy umpire, and arranged with the M.C.C. that he should accompany us to New South Wales. Had we known on our arrival that a feeling existed in these Colonies against the employment of professional umpires, it is possible we might have acted differently; but understand, at the same time, that I have seen no reason as yet to change my opinion of Coulthard's qualities, or to regret his engagement, in which opinion I am joined by the whole team. To resume my account of the disturbance on the ground on the Saturday. I asked Gregory on what grounds the objection was raised, and he said at first general incompetence; but afterwards admitted that the objection was raised on account of the decision in Murdoch's case. I implored Gregory, as a friend, and for the sake of the New South Wales Cricket Association, which I warned him would be the sufferer by it, not to raise the objection; but he refused to take my view of the case. Looking back in the midst of this conversation, I found the ground had been rushed by the mob, and our team was beinc* surrounded. lat once returnpd to the wlcke's and in defending Coulthard from being attacked was struck by some "larrikin" with a stick. Hornby immediately seized this fellow, and in taking him to the pavilion was struck in the face by a would-be deliverer of the "larrikin," and had hi 3 shirt nearly torn off his back. He, however, conveyed his prisoner to the pavilion in triumph. For some thirty minutes or so I was surrounded by a howling mob, resisting the entreaties of partisans and friends to return to the pavilion until the field was cleared, on the grounds that if our side left the field the other eleven could claim the match. I don't suppose that they would have done so, but I determined to obey the laws of cricket, and may add that for the hour and a-half I never left the ground, surrounded during the whole time, with two short intervals, by some hundreds of peoule. At about 5 o'clock the crowd was cleared oil' somehow—by whom I don't know, for there were not a dozen policemen about. I then took the opinion of the Eleven as to changing the umpire, and it was decided nem. con that there were no grounds for the objection, and that we should decline to change him. I informed Gregory of this decision, whereupon he said, " Then the game is at an end." On Coulthard appearing from the pavilion groans arose from the crowd, and at the same moment it began to break the ring again. The two batsmen who had been standing at the wickets returned to the pavilion, recalled, I afterwards found, by Gregory, but at the time I thought possibly because of the threatened irruption of the crowd. I turned to MiBarton, the N.S.W. Eleven umpire, and asked if I could not claim the match according to the laws of cricket. His answer was, " I shall give it you in two minutes' time if the batsmen do not return." I said to him, "I won't claim it yet. I'll give the other side every chance of reconsidering a decision arrived at, I believe, unadvisedly and in a moment of passion. Please ask Gregory what he meang to do." On returning Mr Barton informed me that Gregory would send two men to the wickets a curiously sudden change of mind I think you will allow. However, before the batsmen could appear the crowd had covered the ground for the second time. After some twenty minutes it was cleared for the second time also. A. Bannerman and Thomson then took their places at the wickets, but before a ball could be bowled the crowd broke in for the third and last time. I remained on the ground until the time for drawing the stumps, surrounded as before. Beyond slyly kicking me once or twice the mob behaved very well, their one cry being, "Change your umpire." And now for the cause of this disturbance—not unexpected, I may say, by us, for we had heard accounts of former matches xlayed by English teams. It was Btarted and fomented by professional betting men in the pavilion, members of the association ! The disgraceful part of the business iB that other members of the association—one a member of the Legislative Assembly—aided and abetted the bookmakers in raising the cry. I blame the N.S.W. Eleven for not objecting to Coulthard before the match began if they had reason to suppose him incompetent to fulfil his duties ; I blame the members of the association (many, of course, must be excepted) for their discourtesy and uncricketlike behaviour to their guests, and I blame the committee and officers of the association for ever permitting betting; but this tost does not, of course, apply to our match only. I am bound to say they did all in their power to quell the disturbance. I don't think anything would have happened if A. Bannerman had been run out instead of Murdoch, but the latter, besides being a great favorite, deservedly, I think, was the popular idol of the moment through having carried his bat in the first innings. As a contrast to the reception the Australian Eleven met with after beating the M.C.C. at Lord's, I may say that when we won the match on Monday hardly a cheer was given us by the ring. The occupants of the pavilion, however, acknowledged our victory. I argue from this that if we had the worst of the match on the Saturday instead of the best of it, no outry would have been the result of a decision adverse to us They are capital winners out here, but I ani afraid that I can't apply the same adjective to them as losers. To conclude, I cannot describe to you the horror we feel that such an insult should have been passed on us, and that the game we love so well and wish to see honored supported, and played in an honest and manly way everywhere, should have received such desecration. I can use no milder word. The game was finished on Monday without interruption. Coulthard had made two mistakes in our first innings— one favoring us, the other the opposite. Murdoch's decision was considered by cover-point and &"«?**? if, a good one ' and I re P eafc that the N.b.W. Eleven had no grounds whatever for raising an objection. We never expect to see such a scene of disorder again—we can never forget this one.—l remain, yours sincerely, „ , Harris. February 11, 1879.