CRICKET.

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 335, 7 February 1902, Page 3

CRICKET.

NORTH ISLAND V. SOUTH ISLAND. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, last night. The following team has been selected to represent the North Island against the South Island on February 28th and March Ist and 3rd :—D. Hay, Callender (Auckland), 11. B. Lusk, Dent, A. Trott (Hawke’s Bay), E. Upharn, C. Richardson, Midlane, K. Tucker, A. Williams (Wellington), B. McCarthy (Taranaki). The selection was made by Mr F. J. Ohlson.

A QUESTION OF FINANCE, 0 (Notes by “ Bifler.”) c J When upwards of thirty piayers asy sembled at Victoria Domain yesterday e afternoon with the object oi continu--3 ing the Thursday Competition under f the auspices of tiie Poverty Bay i Cricket Association, they were con- , fronted by rather a difficult problem. , There was but one cricket bat on the ■ ground with which to play two i matches, and a couple of cticket balls, one of which was so mucn the worse for wear as to be quite unfit to play with. Enquiries of the ground man elicited the information that these were all the tools he had been supplied with by the Association. The players gathered round the wicket, and discussed the position with eloquence and animation. The executive of the Association came 'in for some most scathing criticism, and a number of the players declared that the Association had never once during the present season had material on the ground with which to play one senior match, let alone two. After pouring out the vials of their wrath on the heads of the Cricket Association, a number of the players left the ground, while the remainder commaiideered a couple of private bats, and , indulged in a scratch game. , Being anxious to ascertain the true | position of affairs, I interviewed Mr W. Miller, the lion, treasurer of the j Cricket Association, whom I met on his w'ay up to the Domain. Mr Miller was only too willing to place the bal- , ance-sheet of the Association before me, and from it I ascertained that the f

receipts up to date, including members subscriptions and ground fees, amounted to £3O, while the expenditure, including material, ground man’s fees, improvements to ground, etc., totted up to £32, leaving a debit balance for the season’s operations of £2. No less than six new bats, Mr Miller informed me, had been purchased dur-

ing the present season, while the number of balls gone through W'as quite appalling, the asphalt on No. 2 pitch wearing out a ball in a single match. The Treasurer stated that there were upwards of twenty prominent players whose subscriptions were still due, and the Association were anxious to keep on the right side of the ledger. Such a state of affairs 'is certainly

not creditable to a town the size of Gisborne. Many of the players state they have not,been canvassed,for their subscriptions, and would be only too willing to pay the half guinea if they were asked for it ; but this does not excuse them for being over' three months in arrears. Players must surely know that no sport can be carried on without funds, and they should make a point of letting the Treasurer have their small subscription early in the season in order that material may be provided with which to carry on the pastime. Although 'it is most annoying to those players who have paid up promptly that they cannot get tools to play with, everyone must agree that the officers of the Association are perfectly right in keeping within their income, and it is to be hoped that the state of affairs which existed yesterday afternoon will have the effect of making those players who are in arrears pay up. We, however, certainly think that the secretary of the Association might have intimated to the playirs that no games would take place on Thursday owing to the want of naterial to play with. The silly trick that was played those financial members who rolled up in good faith yesterday afternoon expecting to take part in the usual Thursday matches is not calculated to popularise the game here. In past seasons in Gisborne, clubs have generally come out at the end of the season greatly in debt, and some of these liabilities are still unliquidated. The present Association stated with a clean sheet, and .Mr Miller, who is a wizard of finance, says he is determined that the body shall not lollow in the footsteps of its predecessors. It is to be hoped that players will do all in their power to aid the Association in keeping out of deb

ROUND THE GROUNDS. Ti't - decision o£ the County Club to withdraw from the Saturday competition lias caused general disappointment, in cricketing circles. County were the strongest club in the competition, and had a substantial lead for the shield, and their defection will cause interest in the competition to wane. It is to be hoped that the County Club Will see ns way to continue the competition. Although a number or their plavers find a difficulty in getting away regularly, we think County would have no difficulty in finding men to place an eleven in the field which would carry off the shield. Local players were pleased to see Edmund Jardine, last seasons captain of the Ormond Club, present on the Domain on Saturday last to witness the match with H.M.S. Penguin. Mr Jardine is looking fit and well after his trip Home. A. Crawford, the captain of the County Club, was also present at the same match. He has just returned after spending the summer vacatiop in the South. He attended the match be tv ten Otago and Hawke’s Bay, and says the Otago batting is most spirited'this season. He had a knock with Albert Trott on the Recreation Ground at Napier, and says Trott is all that one reads about him with regard to the variety of his deliveries. G. C. Johnstone also had some cricket in Napier on his way up from Wellington last week. He says the Napier men intend sending up an eleven to Gisborne at Easter, so the local men will have to keep fit.