OAKBOURNE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3906, 24 April 1877, Page 2

OAKBOURNE.

(FROM A COERESrO2\iDE^T.) Talk of southern Italian skies, of sunny Mediterranean weather — cloudless as the one is, calm and bright as the other may be, they cannot surpass, scarcely equal the brightness and glory of a brilliant sunny Now Zealand autumn day ; and such a day was Friday, the 20th, which found a gathering of the cricketers of the Povangah.au Club at Oakbourne, to play out a match between the two sections of the club, that of "Wainui and Porangahau. The attendance was scarcely as numerous as was expected ; but the players, influenced by the spirit of their surroundings, a calm, clear, invigorating atmosphere, as pretty a stretch of field as could be found in the county, a generous host, a gracious and attractive hostess, did their best and worked with zeal, playing until the deepening shades of evening forced them to strike their wickets, making it a drawn match in favor of Wainui. Even at this distant place the score was graced by the presence of the fair, while children romped about, happy in themselves and cheering others with their ringing laughter. As was taken for granted, our liberal host, Mr Canning, gave us an abundance of good and substantial fare, advisedly restricting the tipple to unlimited Dunedin beer. Before separating we sat down in the woolshed, and did our best to restore the inner man, and when beef and ham had satisfied the hungry, Mr Jesse Herbert rose and in an appropriate manner proposed a vote of thanks to the president of the club, Mr Canning. In returning thanks the president, amongst other tilings, said that he couid not thank them as he would have wished to thank them as cricketers, inasmuch as they had lost prestige as a club, having been defeated

on more than one occasion of late. He attributed tliis to some extent to their having rather too good an opinion of their play, and to a greater degree to their having practised but little. He said that cricket like everything else re^ quired sticking to for a man to become a good player ; but he saw before him as good and sound material as co\ud be wished to make expert cricketers of. In this respect a team, he believed, unecjualled in Hawke's Bay, but they lacked a practical and professional hand to get them up to the mark ; this secured, he felt the club would be able to meet their late antagonists and turn the tables upon them. He hoped to see the Napier Club at Oakburne, when he trusted the cricketers he now addressed would come out in a very different form than they did at Waipukurau. Other toasts, backed by speeches, were given, and the evening crowned by the Messrs Morgans singing in their justly appreciated style some of their charming and delightful songs. The next meeting is to come off a t Wainui on the 24th May, when a single wicket match is to be played out by Messrs Jesse and Charles Herbert for Wainui, against Messrs Poole and George Crosse for Porangahau. I cannot conclude •without complimenting Mr George Crosse upon his improved bowling, if he will but practise steadily and earnestly he will become a clever fellow at his work.