February…Cricket…Rain.
The three words often go in the same sentence! And so it was this last weekend. In drier conditions next week, we can convert faltering starts against Sutherland into famous victories.
No more so than in 1st Grade where 6-58 vs 83 looks precarious. OK. Here’s an incentive and a challenge: whoever hits the winning run in the 1st innings, I’ll reimburse his bar tab at the Nags next Saturday night…except if it’s Jonte as I shouldn’t be encouraging under age drinking.
Perhaps free HSC English tutoring as an alternative?
Anyway, back to 1913-14, 100 years ago when we won the 1st Grade Premiership.
Look into the past; look into the black and white photos and let all those players, all born in the 1890s, live once more.
Imagine…
The imperious Eric Barbour, walking down the wicket to hit the opening bowlers over their heads. For University, he scored over 3000 runs at just under 60 in 1st Grade; for NSW, he averaged almost 50. As a schoolboy at Sydney Grammar, he scored 2578 runs at over 70 in the school’s 1st XI and took 155 wickets at 10. He would certainly have played Test cricket had it not been for the First World War.
And, the last survivor of this side was Dr Hugo de Burgh who died in 1977, aged 85. Not realising he was the last, he thought that the others had just lost interest in him when he hadn’t heard from them! Described as ‘an unreliable fieldsman’, his abiding memory of the 13-14 season was dropping 3 catches in an afternoon. When the third went through his fingers, Tom Street, the keeper, reassured him, ‘Don’t worry old chap. It was much harder than the other two!’
In 100 years time, when the Club is 250 years old, who will they remember from 2013-14?