OTAGO CRICKET

Evening Star, Issue 23691, 26 September 1940, Page 5

OTAGO CRICKET

ANNUAL MEETING OF ASSOCIATION FINANCIAL POSITION SOUND HR F. N. BINNEY THE NEW PRESIDENT There was a large attendance of dele- . gates at the sixty-fourth annual meetm2 of the Otago Cricket Association, which was held last night, the president (Mr A. H. Allen) was m the chair. Some slight alteration was made in the hours of play in grade mate-lies, and Mr 'F. N. Binney succeeded hiAllen as president. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS. In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance sheet, the Chairman said that he felt that the adoption ot “ Country Week ” had been of great benefit to the game, both in the coun-. try and in town. Unfortunately, ho said, the time chosen for the playing ot the matches did i not appear to suit all the country men, the result being that there had never been a full representation of the country centres. He hoped that this would be adjusted. In regard to the endowment fund or the association, Mr Allen said that he had noticed from the reports of the annual meetings of the various clubs that it had been suggested that contributions to the fund should be suspended in the meantime. He thought tins wtmld be a retrograde step and would prove one of the hardest knocks Otago cricket had ever had. Five years ago the association had been in debt to the extent of some - hundreds of pounds, with no assets. Then the endowment fund had been created, with the result that they were now £619 in credit with the fund, and also had made a profit of £7l on the year’s workings. In addition then, was £l5O due from clubs for ground rents and other dues. It would be seen, therefore, that they had a reserve of £B-10 and no debts at all. He did not think any- player ■would seriously wish to go back to the old order of things. Mr Allen paid a tribute to the support given to the association by followers of the game, and mentioned that ground members had contributed something like £1,500 since the scheme had been inaugurated.

WAR-TIME CRICKET. The speaker stressed the need for keeping the game alive for the duration of the Avar, so that when their soldiers returned home they would find tfat those at home had held the fort, so far as the game of cricket ivas_ concerned. The development of cricket amongst the juniors was, to his mind, a matter of importance. They were now doing without paid coaches. They had had local players doing a certain amount of coaching, but last year these coaehes had done the work gratuitously. A great service would be rendered to the game if they paid all the attention they could to junior nlnyers, and also boys at school. Their home-corain-5- soldiers would, as a consequence, find the game thriving on their return. Mr P. Binney seconded the motion. Mr A. G. Valentine mentioned that the excellent: record of the North-east Valley Club, which had won the-inter-mediate competition three years in succession. had unfortunately been omitted from the annual report. He thought that the North-east Valley Club had a praiseworthy record to its credit. The motion was carried. OFFICE-BEARERS. The following office-bearers were elected ;—President,- Mr F. N. Binney; immediate past president, Mr A. H. Allen; vice-presidents—Messrs W. R. Brinsley (senior), D. A. Solomon, W. A. Rowland, and. Dr A. A. Reid; secretary and treasurer, Mr E. S. Wilson; committee—Messrs A. Holden, J. A. Hobson., H. Harvey, E. 'T. ,Downes, A. <5. Valentine, G. G. Austin, L. J. Groves, T. Hughes. W. G. M'Clymont, and E, Hayes, with Messrs C. it. Gavlor, H. D. Kerr, J. M'Mullan, W. S. Armitage, and J. M. Kennedy as representatives of the ground members; hon. auditors, Messrs A. Rayner and W. 6. Pickard. THE RETIRING PRESIDENT, Mr -Rinuey made eulogistic reference to the services rendered by the (retiring jjresident during his four years of office, and he moved:—That this meeting of delegates express and place on record their appreciation to Mr A. H. Allen for the valuable and energetic services which he has rendered to the Otago Cricket Association during his term of office, particularly in connection with financial matters. The delegates also trust that although Mr Alien has retired from the presidency, he will be loyig spared and will continue his interest in the affairs of Otago cricket.” Mr G. A. Wycherley seconded the motion, which was supported by Messrs E. S. Wilson, D. A. Solomon, and carried by acclamation. Mr Allen thanked the members for their expression of goodwill, stating that he had relinquished the office, first because he _ considered that others should be given the opportunity of stepping up into the chair, and secondly because his civic and other public duties had, on account of war conditions, become increasingly more pressing. ENDOWMENT FUND. Mr O. G. Stevens, on behalf of the Grange Club, moved that contributions by clubs to the endowment fund be suspended foa- the coming year. The Chairman said that he could not accept the motion, which really meant an alteration in the rules of the association, and so required notice. The scheme, said Mr Binney, Lad been ap-

proved at a general meeting of the association. NOTICES OF MOTION. On the motion of Mr W. S. Armitagc, il was resolved “ that life members should be entitled to the same privileges as members of the General Committee, other .than attending and voting at meetings of the committee.” Air D. A. Solomon's motion;—“ That there he created an office to be known as immediate past president, carrying the same privileges as that of a vicepresident.” was also carried, an amendment by Mr O. G. Stevens that the number of vice-presidents be reduced to throe in order not to increase the size of the committee, which the mover considered to bo already too unwieldy, being unsupported. GRADE MATCHES. There was a lengthy discussion on the' question of the duration of grade matches and the hours of play, and after a series of motions and amendments had been disposed of, it was decided that senior, intermediate, and second grade A matches be two-day ma tches, as in the past, all other grades being of one-day duration. Further, that, play in two-dav matches cease at 0 p.m.. and in one-day matches at 6.30 p.m OPENING OF SEASON. The matter of fixing the date of the opening of the season was referred to the incoming committee.