INTER PROVINCIAL CRICKET

Otago Witness, Issue 846, 15 February 1868, Page 9

INTER PROVINCIAL CRICKET

*" THE' DINNER. ,'i h v . i * «.;■_! On each occasion of a match between the cricketers of Canterbury and Otago, it has been the custom of the' drickjeters in the Province in which the match lias

been played, to give a' complimentary dinner to their visitors. This was done on Wednesday, ifco,the Canterbury, Eleven who .Jsfay t ed in, jihe InW-Provinciai Match oil Tuesday. The dinner was, given the Imperial Hotel, and it was a dinner worthyof the host and the house. The Otago Eleven, of course, were present, and a number of members of the Dunedin Cricket Club, but the number might have "been, and ought to have been, larger. Mr A. Carrick was in the chair, and Mr G. K. Turton acted as Vice -Chairman. By the Chairman and Vice- Chairman, toasts* appropriate to the occasion were proposed, and, in the presence of many good singers, -and the accompaniment of a piano, there were two of the elements of a pleasant social meeting, and the meeting was very social, and, consequently, very " pleasant.

The Chairman, after the usual loyal toasts,, proposed "His Excellency, the Governor." Seeing that the'occasion was probably the first on which the health of ■the new Governor had been proposed in Dunedin, he asked that the toast should be received with special honors.

The Chairman, in proposing " The Canterbury Eleven," said it was the second occasion on which it had fallen to his lot to propose the toast. The President of the Dunedin Cricket Club, Mr Harris, he regretted, was" unable to be present-, as he intended, having been called to proceed to Wellington on the following day. , The present was the third time they had welcomed a Canterbury Eleven in Dunedin, and he , felt certain that the oftener they saw them, the mqre they liked them.- — (Hear, hear.) On this occasion, it had been the lot of the Canterbury players once more to be beaten ; but he knew that that did not, on either side, detract from the pleasure of meeting. The fortunes of cricket, they knew, were ■uncertain, and he thought that every one who witnessed the match this year must confess that to a great extent luck was against our visitors, and that, from the beginning, they had an uphill game to play. He felt almost inclined to express regret that they had not won ; but lie felt satisfied that, this time next year, when our Eleven went to Canterbury, they would do their best to give them a suitable return. Many of the Canterbury Eleven had been visitors to Dunedin on the occasions of previous matches, and they ■would be gladly welcomed again. These matches were the only opportunities which we had in Dunedin of seeing a really good game of cricket, and he hoped that, for many years, the annual match between Canterbury and Otago would continue to be held. Mr Powys, as Captain of the Canterbury Eleven, responded. The Chairman had said, with regard to the match which had just been played, that the Canterbury Eleven had not been favoured with good luck, but he could hardly admit that. It was his opinion that their" Eleven were very decidedly inferior to the Eleven of Otago. — (No, no.) They had not -got- such good bowling as he could wish to see, and in that respect Otago had the best of them. Otago had also the advantage of an influx of new blood, while they got no new men. He could say, however, that their Eleven had done their best. They had practised assiduously, for four months, in order to make a close match, and in that respect were entitled to some praise. — (Hear, hear.) He only hoped that the unfortunate result of this match would not cause another match to be played against odds, or anything of that sort, He hoped that, next year, they would be able to get together another Eleven, and that they would get a professional player to put them in better form. When their Eleven were not habituated to good bowling, it was difficult to improve in batting and in fielding. In that respect, the Otago men had much better facilities than they had. He thought, however, that in this match, the Otago Eleven had exceedingly bad luck in their innings, and that had it been otherwise, they would have made a much greater number of runs 'than they had done.

Mr Powys afterwards proposed, " The Ofcago Eleven." For three years, he had proposed the same toast, and he was glad to see that the Eleven was composed of so many old members and old friends as players. He- hoped they "would again have the pleasure of meeting next year, and playing 5 off the game; and he confessed that he' would like very much to realise the sensation of winning a match. He

•<^gle&«4&4he4oaei4he'Bame«f Mr iha* Fulton, the Captain, qfshe Eleven. - ! . ..,._Mr- Extltok responded". - It-was the third time he, . ha^, had. the , .honor. • , of reapdndirig to the same toast', arid! he had also the further honor bf being the only, gentleman, in Otago. who Jiad played in every match" with the ' Canterbury Eleven. He hoped they wonldc live to meet them again, and many times. The Vice-chairman proposed the health of the Umpires, Mr Britton and Mr Boak, who responded. Other toasts were' proposed, and-, in speeches and songs many of the' party contributed to the harmony, and. .hilarity of the evening. . . .. „r >; .