THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 207, 31 August 1880, Page 4

THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS.

Much interest is being taken in the Australian cricketers owing to the numerous successes they have hitherto achieved in their English tour, and as the question is frequently asked why they are always playing inferior clubs and never meeting any first class Elevens, we publish the following from tho Auckland Star which will b 6 found to give a good, of information on the

subject. It must bo remombered that since !the' article was written arrangements have been made for a match with an All England Eleven to be played next week : —

Late Australian papers contain several interesting letters written by members of the colonial cricket team now in England, and from these it is apparent that, despite an unchecked career of victory, the eleven are experiencing anything but a good time. Boyle in a letter dated Dewsbury, June 11th, says, "Wo havo just beaten Yorkshire by five wickets. Ulyett did not play for tho simple reason that he was engaged to play at Lords against the unfortunate Canadians. We have it on very good authority that it was done purposely, because Ulyett is said to be the biggest draw in England for a professional. The team have tried to get the Surrey Oval, so that Aye might play the Gentlemen or olse the Players, but we have received an answer stating all the Gentlemen's and Players' engagements are full, and that it would bo of no use playing a second-rate team against us. This, of course, is not tho propor reason The feeling here is very bitter, but it is only nursed up by Lord Harris, Hornby, Hadow, and some more of that kidney. . . .

We could not be treated -worse if we were a set of blacklegs. We have been assured that if tho Marylebone . Club had met us then all the counties and the Gentlemen too would have played, but Harris, I-lornlry, and Perm being !on the committee of the club spoiled ,'all show for us." From this it would appear that cricliet society in England is very much like other society, and that when one leading club lights shy of a team the others, without enquiry, do so too. That the position of affairs should be as Boyle details is, of course, greatly to be regretted, and speaks poorly for England's often vaunted "spirit of fair play." The chief onus, however, undoubtedly lies with Lord Harris. Directly his lordship heard the Australian Eleven were coming to England he seems to have meanly set to work to injure their prospects to tbe best of his ability. The affair must have rankled in his mind, though why we cannot, conceive. At the time, he accepted the apologies tendered, and expressed himself fully aware of the fortuitous nature of the occurrence ; yet now, more than twelvemonths afterwards 1 it is raked up again, and made out as an unforgivable offence. That a very strong feeling has been raised by Lord Harris seems evident from the fact that when Boyle tried to form an English eleven to come out to the Colony during the Melbourne Exhibition he failed . utterly. Neither amateurs nor. professionals would hear of the idea, and he subsequently advised that the project should be abandoned. Besides tho Harris emcute four other reasons have been assigned for refusing to meet the Australians. They are : — first, that Gregory's team wrangled about umpire's decisions ; second, that whilst coming • as amateurs they took gate money; third that the present team will not style themselves professionals, though they play for gate money ; fourth, that they did not give noiice of their coming in time, and that all the dates were filled up with matches. The first of these reasons is palpably ridiculous. T^e "Age" answering it says : "What the wrangling of Gregory's team with umpires has to do with the present team is about as difficult to discover as the connection between the Goodwin Sands and Tenterden steeple. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the previous team did unwarrantably. lake exception to the ruling or conduct of certain umpires, we know of no warrant, scriptural or otherwise, for visiting their sins on their, successors. . When W. C Grace was put here he was continually objecting to umpires' decisions — as ho is, or rather, when in his prime, ,was, always doing in England ; ' and even Lord Harris, that paragon of all that is gentlemanly in cricket, — except when flinging his bat from one end of the pavilion to the other in his rage at being bowled out — in his published report of the. last tour has charged an umpire with acting unfairly. Y,et ellould "wje ; think- of these matters in with another team, unless ,'that other ; team were itself to act improperly in . that respect ? Such an objection may be disposed of in the same way. . What on earth has it got to do with4he,, present team, even if there were anything iri it, on its merits?" . The third objection would be comprehensible if the Australians desired to meet the Englishmen socially, for thdn it might fairly be said, "No ; we regard you as professionals, and as such you are in a lower class and we cannot consort with you" — and to such an expression of feeling no reasonable objection could be urged.' But all the visitors ask is that . they, may be met on the cricket ..field,, where it has always been the boast of the English cricketer that class; distinctions are obliterated to a great extent, and that he is the aristocrat who is the best player. The last objection has no "'foundation whatever^ as Boyle declares there are' even now plenty dates open on which. a match, could be arranged. The fact of the matter is the Englishmen don't want to meet, the Colonists, and their objections are merely excuses. The real reason may be -that they fear defeat, and disliking th(e team do not feel inclined to accept it at their hands. Colour is given to this by a cable message recently received- from Boyle which states that the match with All England will probably fall through.