OLD BOYS CRICKET CLUB

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1934, Page 3

OLD BOYS CRICKET CLUB

MEETING AT NEW PLYMOUTH SUCCESSFUL YEAR REVIEWED. LACK OF PRACTICE EVIDENT. A successful year’s activities was reported at the annual meeting of the New Plymouth Old Boys’ Cricket Club last night. Mr. D. A. Doile presided over an attendance of about twenty. Mr Doile moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet as already published. He congratulated the club on a successful year and its very sound financial position. There was £l2 Is 2d at the club’s credit at the bank, and there was not one outstanding subscription. The amount written off referred to the previous season. This was a record that few clubs could boast. The club cricket had been good from the spectators’ point of view. Old Boys’ senior players gained Taranaki and North Taranaki representative honours.

“I cannot congratulate the players on the way they attended practices,” said Mr. Doile. Unfortunately those enthusiasts who attended the annual meeting were, in most cases, the players who attended practices, and comment on the position did not reach the real offenders. The club was runner-up last year, but had the players put in sufficient practice the team might have won. He felt strongly on the subject, said Mr. Doile. Something should be done. If cricket was worth playing it was worth practising for. In seconding the motion Mr. W. J. Moorhead congratulated the club on a successful year and endorsed the chairman’s remarks about practice. The lack of practice prevented the senior and senior B team from gaining higher positions in the championship, he said. Lack of practice had been a club failing for several years. He thought those who attended practices should attempt to impress upon their team mates the necessity of practice. He was of the opinion that the juniors did not take the game seriously enough. They were not on their toes, they dropped catches and did not anticipate catches as they should. Many umpires had commented on this, said Mr. Moorhead. He suggested the captain should exert a little more control and a greater measure of success would be received. The material was there. . COMPLAINT ABOUT PITCHES. Mr. S. F. Fookes complained the practice pitches were not conducive to practice during the later stages of the season. He thought the association was at fault. The pitches were good at first, but after three or four weeks there was a definite lack of attention and no effort was made to keep them in order. Only the most ardent players would practice on them. If the pitches were kept in decent order he thought the players would turn out to practice. He suggested if necessary a remit should be forwarded to the association asking that proper attention be given the pitches, or alternatively that the fees be reduced. Mr. V. S. Pruden said the committee had drawn the association’s attention to the matter, but as far as he knew nothing had been done. If the meeting did not consider it was receiving its full value the association should be notified. Mr. Doile said what he did not like was to see 20 members of one club at practice and only about two Old Boys. .Mr. H. W. Brown said the association had accepted the committee’s letter and a committee was elected to investigate the matter. It was hardly right to suggest that the letter was ignored. The report was adopted without further discussion.

Mr. Brown moved that there should be one selector for each grade. Mir. Fookes was of the opinion that there should be an additional selector to decide in the case of a dispute. He moved as an amendment that the practice '■ captain should co-operate with a selector for each grade, the selectors to be selected by the management commit-, tee.

Mr. Brown said there had in the past been disputes upon who should come up when a senior team was short. He thought Mr. Fookes’ amendment would overcome the difficulty. The practice captain would act as a chairman and would settle disputes. He withdrew his motion.

Mr. Moorhead said each grade selector should select his own team and then submit it to the practice captain, who under Mr. Fookes’ suggestion would settle any dispute. Mr. Fookes’ amendment was put as a motion and carried. It was decided that at least one representative of each grade should be on the management committee. OFFICERS ELECTED. The election of officers resulted: Patron, Dr. E. F. Fookes; president, Mr. D. A. Doile: vice-presidents, Messrs. J. Palmer, J. S. S. Medley, W. H. Moyes, W. J. Moorhead, H. W. Brown and E. T. Petty; club captain, Mr. V. S. Pruden; secretary, Mr. R. Harris; delegates to North Taranaki Cricket Association, Messrs. J. H. Birch, F. J. Eggleton, S. F. Fookes; delegate to Old Boys’ Associa-. tion, Mr. K. Hamilton; hon. treasurer, Mr. K. Hamilton; practice captain, Mr. R. Harris; practice vice-captain, Mr. C. Lash; executive, Messrs. C. Stevens, G. Saunders. J. -H. Birch, J. Medley, J, Devine, E. Christensen, club captain, secretary and treasurer; hon. auditor, Mr. K. Fookes; official scorer, Mr. W. Mclndoe. It was decided to instruct the club delegates to support the notice of motion to be tabled at the annual meeting of the North Taranaki Cricket Association governing the conditions of matches. Mr. C. Lash urged that a definite method of drawing the rounds should be adopted and strictly adhered to. Last year the draw had not been kept to and on occasions the club had to play two matches with the same team. The competition was disorganised. Mr. Pruden thought the association should adopt the system used in the cities where, if in the case of a twoday match it was wet on both days the teams would be credited with a draw and the original schedule adhered to the following week. Mr. Lash: We should instruct our delegates to ask the association to adopt the method of the major associations. Mr. Doile did not agree with the association’s powers to alter fixtures. Mr. F. J. Eggleton thought the provision was made in respect of Hawke Cup matches. The notice of motion should be supported in its entirety. He moved in this direction and the motion was carried.

It was decided to support the recommendation concerning the regrading of players. Mr. Moorhead said the Umpires’ Association had a representative on the association but did not possess the power to vote. He thought the umpires should have a say in the management. There was a definite opposition to the umpires having a vote. He asked the club to support the Umpires’ Association. Mr. Eggleton thought the position ridiculous. The delegate might just as well not attend.

It was decided to support a recommendation that the umpires’ delegate have the power to vote. A recommendation was also made that the ground fees be fixed at 10s for each team.

New members elected were Messrs. F. J. Somerton, A. Hume, J. Hawkins, Sadler. C. Gilmour, R. Christie, J. Galbraith, McKay, D. Spence, Richardson, B. Berryman and R. Buckenham.