THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SYDENHAM CRICKET CLUB.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17758, 30 January 1926, Page 27

THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SYDENHAM CRICKET CLUB.

NURSERY OF CRICKET FOR PROVINCE aND COUNTRY [By O. CAYGII.L.] Seated on the Lancaster Park stand ■on Boxing day. 1925, alongside Mr W. Winsor, behind the Hon L. M. Isitt and amidst a coteries of cricket officials, we were all enjoying one of those “days in the sun" of which Neville Cardvts has written so charmingly: we had seen Cuff’s record, which had stood for twenty-nine years, smashed by a lad of eighteen, and had just come away from the welcome-home lunch to the Hon W. P. Reeves, one of the •founders cf Lancaster Park and a noted Canterbury cricketer of the eighties. After having heard a succession of delightful after-dinner speeches we were settling down to the cricket of the day. In such an environment one could not help harking back to the old days. My friend Winsor remarked what a pity it is that the old records of the Sydenham Club have not been preserved. As one of the original members of the club I recalled one or two incidents of its earliest days, and then, pointing to Mr Isitt, I said. “There is the man on whose suggestion the Sydenha*ac Club was formed.” Mr Winsor appealed to me to do what I could to place some of my recollections of the early days on paper. For the sake of the club I will gladly do my best, but wish the work had been given to someone more able to do it justice. The Starling Point.

The very first thing I remember about the club, and what I believe to be the starting point, was a conversation between Mr L. M. Isitt. Mr J. A. Cay gill and myself, in my brother's office, in the winter of 1895. Mr Isitt had been a sort of foster-father of a club run by the young men of the Sydenham Wesleyan Church, and my brother and I were connected with the. Addington Club, which played on Hagley Parle. When talking on cricket matters, Mr Isitt remarked, “Why don’t fellows come down to Sydenham Park ? There is a ground there right in the centre of a fine district, and if your club would come and join up with the Sydenham people, a good strong club could be formed." At the time of writing there are four members of the Sydenham Club representing New Zealand in Australia, a proof of the correctness of our new M.L.C.’s prediction and a source of gratification to those old members who carried on for many years until the club was well established. An Amalgamation.

Propaganda work followed the suggestion; both Addington and Sydenham players saw advantages, players of other clubs who lived near the ground promised assistance, and an informal meeting was held, at which it was decided to form a new club. The Addington players agreed to amalgamate on the following conditions:— The club's colours w’ere to oe retained, its name was to be embodied in the name of the new club, its finances were to be taken over and its honcrarv life members were- to be accepted as life members of the new club. All of these terms were agreed to, although some of them were afterwards modified, but always with the consent of the remaining members of the Old Addington Club. For instance, the new. club was named "Sydenham and Addington United Cricket Club." When district cricket, came into force, the club was the only one which retained its complete organisation, and was then called the Sydenham Cricket Club. The colours (cardiqal and old gold) have been altered several times and now are royal blue. There were only three life members at the time, and they were Messrs J. Hopper. W. B. Clarkson and W. T. Burley. The two former have passed away, but I am afraid that the name of the third gentleman has been dropped from the records of the club. This is a pity, because he did a lot of work as. secretary and umpire in the seventies and eighties. I have no doubt that this will be remedied now that attention has been drawn to it. Strenuous Early Work.

Then came some strenuous work, such as does not fall to town cricketers nowadays; but we gloried in it and were proud indeed when we found that we were permanently settled and had nothing to do but learn how to play cricket. The right to play on the ground was secured from the Borough Council; the ground was laid down in grass, and all hands got to work" on the art union which provided us with the funds for a pavilion, roller, mower and ether expensive items for a young club and how they did work. The snow came and spoilt all the young grass. Cocoanut matting had to be laid down for three pitches, and these were used for practice, and matches, for the greater part of the first season. There .was a small building close to the gate at the entrance to the ground in Colombo Street, and there we kept .our matting and other cricket material. The three lots of matting had to be carried to the playing area, about 150 yards, every evening, and earned back and stowed away again when practice was over. But hard work only made us keener. Notices of teams chosen and other information for members had to be posted on the roller. Committee meetings were held every Tuesday evening after practice, and woe to the man who failed to turn up. These meetings were held in a hail at’ the back of Wally Mann’s tobaconnist’s shop in Colombo Street until our treasurer (Mr T. Jacobs) was too unwell to attend, when we held them in his house. Two practice captains were appointed weekly, and the other members of the general committee saw to it that these men took their work seriously.

The First Officers. The first annual meeting of the dub was held on August 31, 1895, when the following officers were elected:— Patron—Mr J. Brown, Mayor of Svdenham. President—Mr J. Hopper. Club Captain—Mr J. A. Caygill. Secretary—Mr R. Halley. Assistant-Secretary— Mr J. L. Free-Treasurer-—Mr T. Jacobs. Auditors—Messrs J. T. Hadfieid and O. Caygill. Delegates to the Canterbury Cricket Association—Messrs 7. A. Caygill and R Halley. Delegate to Junior Cup Committee —Mr H. Goodman. Committee—Messrs T. M’Gallan C Lafferty, J. Wright, S. M’Murray, O. Caygill, G. Robinson, A J. Lawrence J. Rowe, W. B. Stephens, J. H. Jones and H. Goodman. The opening match of the club was played on September 28 and October o and was fifteen against the club. Thirty-four members batted for the club, and the scores were: Club 65 (A J. Yawrance 16J and 98 (C. 'baylor 15) .

First Fifteen 61 (E. Turner 12, H. Barker 10 and H. Grammer 11) and 86 for eight wickets (J. T. Hadfieid 17). For the fifteen, the bowlers who took, wickets were E. Turner, J. T. Hadfieid, J. Wright, J. A. Caygill and 11. Grammer. For the club, the following divided the bowling honours: A. Smith, Young, A. Joll, E. Samuuels, J. L. Freeman, J. Merriman and W. B. Stephens. Match Against Midland.

The first cup match in which the club took part was played at Hagley Park on October 12 and 19, and the club’s fifteen (we were allowed a handicap of four men) was: E. Turner, T. Malone, J. A. Caygill, C. Lafferty, W. Treloar, A. J. Lawrence, W. H. Day, R. Hailey, C. Lawrence, T. T. Iladtield. A. Mai lock, W. J. Walmsley, C. Taylor, S. M’Murray and A. Joll. This match was against the Midland Eleven, who were: T. Wheatley, W. Richards, H. De Maus, J. D. La’ nee, T. W. Reese, W. Pearce, E. Stephenson, C. Treweek. A. E. White, D. Reese and H. J. Ogier. Midland batted first and made ninety; then our team followed with eighty-one, after which Midland made 133 and dismissed Sydenham for thirty-five. It will be seen that the Midland team contained some names that are still well known in connection with cricket matters. Tt is interesting to record that other senior players at that time included: Lancaster Park:L. A. Cuff, H. C. Ridley, A. M. Labatt. F. Wilding, A. Ridley. J. N. Fowke and W. Brook (now the well-known umpire) ; United—C. R. Clark, W. J. Cotterill and F. S. Frankish. Only One Win. Thus the club was fully launched, and, although its teams met with many defeats in the next few years, they were always taken with a smile and a determination that we would get our own back some of these days. By the end of the season the following players had secured peaces in the fifteen: The Hon PL C. J. Stevens and W. B. Stephens. The club succeeded in winning only one match and, therefore, took last place in the competition. The principal averages for the season were: Batting—W. Treloar 15.5, T. Malone 11.7, A. Mallock 11.5, and W. B. Stephens 10: bowling—R. Halley seventeen wickets at 10.5, S. M’Murray twenty-six wickets at 115 and T. Malone twenty-one wickets at 16.7. 1896F'or the second season, the officers of the club were: Patron, The Mayor of Sydenham (Mr J. Brown); president, Mr J. Hopper; vice-presidents, The Revs E. A. Scott, W. G. Parsonson and T. A. Williams, Drs Diamond and R. W. Anderson, Messrs G. J. Smith, G. T. Booth, W. B. Clarkson, H. D. Carter, J. Forrester and W. E. Mundaj'; secretarj’, Mr W. B. Stephens;, treasurer, Mr T. Jacobs; committee, Messrs J. Wright. O. Caygill, J. A. Caygill, A. J. Lawrence, C. Lafferty, J. Rowe, J. Merriman, J. Davis, W. West, W. J. Walmsley and T. Wiltshire. This year the association reduced the club’s first-grade team to thirteen and also accepted entries from thirteens from the United and Lancaster Park Clubs. With six teams in the competition, we finished third equal with Midland Eleven. The batsmen this season were R. Halley 26.6, G. Ayrey 13.4; S. M’Murray 11.8, C. Lafferty 11.4, A. Mallock 10.3 and J. Lafferty 10; and the bowlers were again S. M’Murray with fifty wickets at 8.8, T. Malone thirty-six wickets at 125 and R. Halley eight wickets at 29. 1897Still playing with thirteen men. There were again six teams in the competition, but the Midland thirteen was replaced by ■ one from Lancaster Parle. We occupied fifth place, being above the United thirteen. The batting overages this season were: R. Halley 16.69, W. J. Walmsley 16.33, J. Wright 14.75, J. A. Caygill 14.53, L. Paterson 12.93, S. Love 11.66, G. Ritchie 10.66 and W- Robson 10.25. The bowlers were: S. M’Murray forty-one wickets at 15.48, T. Malone eight at 15.62, G. Ritchie eight at 16.62, PL Turner twenty at 19, J. Wright seven at 19.14, R. Halley seventeen at 20.94 and A. Mallock eight at 25.37. 1898For the first time the club played without a handicap. The number of senior teams was also reduced to four, viz.: Midland, United, Lancaster Park and Sydenham. We finished fourth, having won only one game. Messrs T. W. Reese and J. X. Fowke joined the club this season. Averages were—Batting: W. J. Walmsley 30.42. T. W. Reese 29, J. X. Fowke 26.6, R. Halley 255, J. Phillips 15.75, S. Walls 15, A. E. Love 14.3, T. Malone 13.27, G. Ritchie 12 and S. M’Murray 10. Bowling: J. Phillips eight wickets at 18.04, T. Malone twen-ty-nine at 22.41, S. Walls twelve at 32.85, R. Halle}’ - eight at 39.25 and S. M’Murray nine at 40.22. The name of J. Phillips will be seen above, lie was the old English and Australian professional who had been engaged by the Cricket Association as coach, and whose playing services had been allotted to our club. 1899Again at the bottom, this, time without any wins. After having done valiant service for the Club R. Plalley was transferred to Wellington in the early part of the season and proved to be a great loss. Up to this time he was our best allround player. The averages were—Batting, R. Halley 42.38 (four innings only), T. W. Reese 38.33. J. N. Fowke 14.7, T. Collins 12.5, A. E. Love 11.5 and W. J. Walmsley 11.25; bowling, T. Malone 28 wickets at 16.14 and W. Robertson 30 at 18.6. 1900Finished last once more, without having won a match. Whether due to bad wickets or a short and interrupted season, I cannot say, but no batsman secured an aggregate of 100 runs during this season. The best averages were: T. W. Reese 9.5, J. Fowke 8.8, and A. PI. Love 8.1. whilst the bowlers were W. Robertson 38 wickets at 11.84 and T. Malone 26 at 15.7. 1901Although strengthened for part of this season by A. Kinvig from Dunedin and J. H. Bennett from the Lancaster Park Club, the eleven again acted as whipper-in to the other three clubs. W. Patrick first appeared in the Sydenham senior team at the end of this season. The best batting averages were: T. W. Reese 26.42 and C. Gasson 16.33, whilst T. Malone took 27 wickets at 20.22 and T. W. Reese 7 at 22.86. 1902In this season the team drew one game but finished tip in its accustomed place. J. Gray played his first senior match during this season. The batting was done by A. Kinvig 30.08, A. Norris 18.25, T. W. Reese 14.74, W. J. Ashby 13.8, S. Hunsley 12.6, S. | M’Murray 12.25, J. Young 11.33: and the I Lowlixur by S. M’Murray 32 wickets ax

22.18, Young 18 at 23.10, and T. W. pP Reese 10 at 31. 1# 1903- " This is the season in which the club took its first step up. Three prominent members of the United Club (Messrs W, C. H. Wigley, H. A. Boddington and F. S. Frankish) decided that it would be in the interests of cricket if they came along and gave a hand. F. A. Macdonald, of the Midland Club, also threw in his lot with us. As J. H. Bennett had returned from Dunedin, where he had been for a season, and with W. Patrick now developing that form which he still retains, the first eleven was a very strong one. They won the Senior Cup with 15 points, representing 7 wins, 2 losses and one draw. Lancaster Park, Midland and United followed in that order. The batting averages were: W. C: 11. Wigley 40.14, W. Patrick 34.66, A. Kinvig 33.44. F. S. Frankish 29.83. T. W. Reese 27.81, J. H. Bennett 24.76 and F. A. Macdonald 18. The bowlers were: F. S. Frankish 65 wickets at 13.32. J. H. Bennett 42 at 14.34, and S. M’Murray 22 at 20.09. I 1904For this season the association reverted to the system of six teams, allowing the Lancaster Park and Midland Clubs to enter extra teams of thirteen each. F. S. Frankish, who had been such a help to us the previous season, was laid aside by an illness from which he did net recover, consequently our team was considerably weakened and had to be satisfied with fourth place. The principal batting averages were: W. C. H. Wigley 27.9, J. H. Bennett 20, W. Patrick 19 and A. Kinvig 16.5; whilst the bowling was as follows: J. H. Bennett 47 wickets at 13.5, W. Patrick 25 at 13.5, and S. M’Murray .28 at 18.8. j 1905- ! With this season came district cricket and my task is done. Before laying down my pen I must ask. to be allowed - to place on record the work of a few of those stalwarts of the old days whose best work is not measured by runs made nor by wickets taken, but by the fine feeling which pervaded the club during the whole of my correction with it as a playing member. The club was fortunate in having the services of A. J. Lawrence, T. Jacobs, W. Robson, G. W. Dewe and J. Young, whose work as officers of the club was generous and' untiring. Since the advent of district cricket the club has prospered wonderfully, and has had no difficulty in producing its own colts. W. Patrick and J. Gray had played senior cricket prior to this season, and when one looks back on the performances of G. Wilson, 'W. i Hayes, H. Watson, J. L. Paterson, F. Woods, J. M’Ewin and C. Oliver one cannot doubt that the district was destined from the first to be one of those nurseries of cricket which will continue to supply the province and the Dominion with many of its best players.