The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-06-19 00:00:00

ENGLISH AND AUSTRALIAN
CRICKETERS.

Mes ,rs. Shaw, Shrewsbury, and Lillywhite, of Not-
tingham, write: "We wish, as the promoters of the
English team visiting the Australian Colonies at the
fl.ll of the present year, to make some little allusion
to the fact that the Melbourne Club are endeavouring
to organise a second team, and if successful it would no
doubt be to their and our detriment. We claim, as a
right being first in the field by many months, to complete
aur arrangements, and will endeavour to show that
the Melbourne Club are attempting to perform,
through their secretary, a most unwise and unfair
undertaking. During our last tour in Australia, 1884-5,
we made arrangements in March of the latter
year with one of the committee of the Mel-
bourne Club (Mr. Tennent) to act for us and
to form a programme for the team we in-
tended taking out in 1886. We also wrote autho-
rising him to engage grounds, including, of course,
the Melbourne, and to arrange fixtures, &c. This
communication he would receive about November 25,
1885, which letter was shown to Major Wardill, and
for some reason not yet explained, Mr. Tennent has
not replied. Of course, the absence of a reply does
not at all ignore the fact that the Melbourne Club, by
virtue of the information then in the hands of their
secretary, were cognisant of our intention to take out
a team. Through the non-arrival of any communica-
tion from Mr. Tennent, we immediately instructed a
prominent gentleman in New South Wales to act in
his stead. Now appears the most extraordinary part
of the proceedings. In a letter addressed to Jas.
Lillywhite, dated from Adelaide, March 13, 1886,
Major Wardill informs him that on the 6th instant
the Melbourne Club held a general meeting to grant
the committee the necessary authority to take out an
English team. It can hardly be supposed that the
members present were informed of our arrangements
or knew that Major Wardill was in possession of the
facts stated three months previous to their meeting.
As early as December, 1885, a number of our players
were engaged, and we consider it an utter impossi-
bility to organise a team for Australia with arrange-
ments incomplete at the commencement of a season
at the end of which the tour is to take place, and, ac-
cording to Major Wardill's letter, the 31elbourne Club
are found in this position. Major Wardill arrives in
England early in May, 1886, not having at that time
obtained any players, and even not knowing that he
would be able to get together a representative mixed
team. His letter suggests that we must abandon our
intentions and cancel the work on which we have been
engaged for so many months. What would public
opinion be in Australia if the Marylebone Club ran a
team to the Colonies, and on their arrival informed
the cricket authorities that any arrangement they had
made touching the formation of an Eleven for Eng-
land must be cancelled in consequence of their inten-
tions to take home a Colonial team themselves?
What is it the Melbourne Club desires? Surely, not
to have the control of English as well as Colonial
cricket ?"