CRICKET.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1716, 5 April 1913, Page 12

CRICKET.

. [By THE ISfIEAKF.R'.I. . '? RETROSPECT & FUTURE PROSPECTS DISTRICT SCHEME: WHAT VERDICT.? Cricket has almost gone to sleep for tho winter. There is ono moro-round of "soiiior matches' still to toe placed, which means,' kindly weather conditions pre- - Tailing, that there will.bo. two.',more playing Saturdays. Some cricketers, •it is.safe'to say, would,-bo glad if they could ; bje'rid of their .responsibility to, turn out. It is this responsibility which constitutes . the main differenco'befweon the District .play and play under tho Outside. .'Association'. The adherents of tho latter, find that the outside games furnish them '.with : much moro agreeable Saturday afternoons, ' and fairly,good cricket as well. They are ■ required, to .find on|y a nominal subscription, sufficient only "to replenish the stock ' inf ■material; and after that only :about"a shilling 'n ■ Satui'diiy'-'for tho';Us"o of . .wicket. Perhaps 1 they.do not-always feel . that they aro "playing.'for keeps,"-: lmt in this, doubtless tho pleasure-lies; for Fome of thq contestants. They go out to play when they please; tho snatches last only one afternoon, they are. not compelled to come out willy-nilly,to,finish a : half-played-game; and they need not practice unless they like. ; It: is undoub- - redly true' that men aro drifting l away from .the;older association,'.and not,only \ . the senior, but the ' junior, teams-are 1 being-'weakened season'after season by the oxedus.' flore is the problem before the District '.'Association next year, . and the problem must bo solved- somehow. . It is agreed that the District scheme- has "not been so- 1 successful as tho promoters of it, . originally' hoped,'and. there aro manyflayers who would be, glad to revert "to! .'■ the old club system. '/Perhaps it would be ■'.worth a trial .again.'.- . ' '■>. A-Dreary Outlook. . 1 Certainly the Cricket Association sim-'. tily cam not go on many more years as-it; liiis been going on.in late seasons,. This- ■■ year it was hoped that the new Act ner- ' mitting a charge to be made for admission on a limited .nuipber of. days would: stiffen up the finance's, but they are in . . . just as-bad a; position as they ever were. At present the association is about : in-debt. : An overdraft is guaranteed up to ,£250, but the tradesmen's debts, are.', inpt guaranteed.-'-There are some subscrip-• tions outstanding,"and the iiio'st tKo "asso-! cja,tion can hope for is to finish the year• with a debt of about .£3OO. It is not ex-' . pected that tho recent carnival will pro-: .'. vide much money for cricket, and in any' case money will not ; bo handed over to : the association to be used to liquidate the * debt. A decreasing Tevenue,-a decreasing, .. interest in senior matches by botlrijlayers ■ ant} public,. and a heavy" expenditure— these are the problems ■ besettintr the new. committee when, it takes offico next \- spring.'. .. •' :- Reduce Expenses? . : T The biggest item of expenditure is on' tho upkeep ,of wickets, and tho main item V in that , is-the. groundsman's salary," ...It. is true that the association, might come' to some arrangement with • the City Coun- . oil ' to have wickets prepared at a less cost than they are now • prepared, but . "they would not get-nearly-such good-wic-, ; kets.;?/Before Saunders' came 'here ".'the ' > Basirt.wickets were always prepared with{j tM;W;iuch water;' they 'wero: smooth and,, i' ,'tritiy but very slowl. Saunders gets a good' surface, shaves the grass, and'the. resultis a.fast, .tnie,wicket. If a change : would mean more' slow wickets, as seems 1 ./• more than possible, .then. theie must.be V' no-change in' this 'resp«CT.'' : ... cricket has-gained very .much since the; - wickets have been improved. It is under-- , ' stood that the association, contemplate.? . some sort of modified- levy* on -senior -antf- ': -junior players during'tho winter mortthsr, '■■'-. Such a move would assuredly not be a i popular one and could only have a.de-. V pressingly inevitable sequel! . Surely'there; •: is much need: for cricketers to put on-' their thinking caps, and, devise somo rieivi" * .and enlivening policy-'for-the control of" .: cricket. A stimulus -is Incotfed, and the" mere passing of "a < ytytp • no-confidence ' .in present governors is-not the-way out. Hutt and Postponements. Respecting a recent statement in The . Dominion; Mr. F. Judd, captain of the , :■ ,Hutt eleven, denies.that his club has, been v responsible for..any inconvenience to cityclubs in' the . carrying out 16f C. fistuV'es." ... ■ Central, Mr. Judd 'Stated, -had'-visited-Ilutt twice, this year and. on both occa^ ■~, pions. the weather. was ■ fine". Ho added that the Hutt" ground'was - able and that on any, occasion when a' . visiting team journeyed, .out the local' eleven .would. bo - on' hand- to-.meet; then;.' - iThoie was no. need: to advise city players.- .■ ; jlf. they, liked'to come out-. Hutt would"; Ijplay. As a. fact, Mr. Judd . remarked,, !the Hutt team wastprepared to.play-both' •on Saturday last and "on tho' rSaturday, bofore Easter and was-disappointed: when' the. expected'visitors did not arrive. Somo! .provision, Mr. Judd remarked, might be' made to warn Hutt players of p'ostpdnb-i ments. Most of thom who worked in' town left for the Hutt at noon on Satur-' , :day . and' they-, thus: had no,, means',of [knowing whether games had been* postnon- •'. jed or'not. . •:. ■. - ;;; ■ ~ ■ • /Tho Junior Championship. . 1 The Junior Championship lies between- ■ St. Mark's and Victoria,. College. St." : , (Mark's are in the lead,-but-if. the resultjof 'the .remaining..match' "betweenT the.' •,+cams is .in favour of Victoria College - i. the students may draw level. ' play should give a good idea of what tho . .fremlt of tho ; contest will be.!mt. Fannlng's Proposal. I It. is periain that a good deal •of dis-] ..feussion will result at the annual meet- " lng of the association in'.Septomber from' '-filr. J. Fanning's motion, which runs, as- : follows:— , ' ; That , Rule 17 be amended by tho addition of the following after the word .-"quorum"'"A general 'meeting 1 of tho association shall-be held on the , third Friday -in alternate months in ' : -each and every year,-beginning with . October, 1913; at such iijeetings the :, vice-presidents in rotation shall be ' asked to preside; and the business '. shall include consideration of matters • dealt-with by-.tho managing committee since tho previous. ' general •meeting, together with tho treasurer's statement. ■'"/•' When Sir. Fanning stated at the last meeting of .the Management Committee of the Association that lie intended to' bring this proposal forward, Mr. M. F.' I/uckie, curtly observed: "You won't get it carried." "Oh, I think so," auietly retorted Mr. Fanning. "They work on ttiOso lines in New South Wales."