CRICKET BONUS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18898, 13 January 1927, Page 9

CRICKET BONUS.

* —■ AUSTRALIAN TKA.M. I -MEMBERS NOT SATISFIED. b- ( ,BLr-r S S-5 A=soc;.uios--orvKioHT j asp -••' i- w« assocutm.vJ SYDNEY. January 1The meinbeM of the Australia.; fucker, team which toured England arc (ir.atly dissatisfied with the bonus of £■2so voted bv the Austialian Board tt Cricket Control, Mr Sydney Smi/l'- '" his report, having ixcomniendo. Hint the'amount be £350. At a meelinn. it was decided thai i the Board did nut grant a bonus or l'3oij thev would reluse to piirticip.Uc in anv Sheffield Shield matches The' opinion is now expressed mat none ol' tlio pbivers will now partnipatc in the mil t i-li between Vw Willi's and Victoria. The Board of Control will m> ft "'■' Monday to di'euss the ulna I ton. AUSTRALIAN TEAM'S PROFITS. SOME REMARKABLE rTGUKES. i.Fn'-'M ocn d«s cor.nEsroxi'KK'i. SYDNEY, January 7 Although at the time of writing the official report of the manager of the Australian cricket team which toured Britain last year (.Mr Syd Smith) has not been delivered to the Board of Control, an obviously inspired review of the team's financial result appeared in one of the Sydney newspapers this week. To this paper one of the veteran members of tho team, and a elubmate of Mr Smith, is a regular contributor, and it is taken for granted by those "in the know" that the review in question is as near to the correct thing as it is possible to get. It discloses some remarkable figures, and as a Sow Zealand team is to tour England this year, an idea of what money there is in big cricket will make interesting reading in the Dominion.

The surplus Irani the tuur in 10-1 was £17,000, but the profit from the 192G team's trip is estimated at £20,000. Out of the profit the Board of Control will be asked to grant each of the lfi players a bonus of £1350 each, absorbing £5600. The balance will be divided among the State cricket Associations. That there was a larger amount for distribution than in 1921 was surprising. Many matches were affected by rain, play being impossible on a number of days.' That meant loss of revenue. The expenditure, too, was heavier. An extra man was included in the team, and sickness and hotel charges were heavier than in 1921. (n the latter year, also,, portion of the surplus was contributed by matches in South Africa. The gross receipts from the five test matches amounted to £OO,OOO, of which £15,000 went to the Australians.

After the return ot tho 1021 team, the Board of Control granted the players mid manager a bonus of £3OO each, making the allowance of each of the players £7OO, and of the manager £BOO. Having established a precedent, the Board cannot escape doing tho same thing now. A peculiar position lias arisen in regard to the secretaryship of the Board of Control. Mr Smith occupied that position, being also a delegate, but (luring his absence in England he was defeated for a delegateship. As far as can he learnt none of the present delesates is keen to tackle tho work of the honorary secretary, and consequently the Board may ask Mr Smith again to act as secretary, though ho is not a delegate, (n this case he would be a secretary without a vote, but Australia would not lose the benefit of his experience a.s manager of two Australian cricket teams in England. (Mr Syd Smith has since been rejected for tho position of secretary to the Board of Control.)