Empire Cricket Booklet

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DEAN ALLEN

to £1 000 towards the cost of the ill-fated tour 'in the interests of cricket'. 29 Ash allegedly offered to repay Logan 30 per cent of the tour's profits, to which Logan replied that 'he did not make money out of sport, but only wanted his money back with reasonable interest' before the team left for England . Fearing that he would not be repaid, Logan had both Read and Ash arrested moments before their return to England on 23 March 1892. They were released on giving security pending an action. 30 If ever evidence was needed of the financial motives behind these early tours in the supposedly 'golden age' of amateurism, then this case provided it. The essence of Logan's complaint was that the money he lent had been spent dishonourably on the tour's 'so called amateurs', while Read and Ash accused him of profiteering. In their contention Logan had taken over the full financial responsibility of the tour from their associate, Mr. Bridgette, who had returned to England unexpectedly. 31 'Logan came forward because he thought it was worth going into as a speculation,' Ash claimed, 'I am sure Logan hoped and expected that the tour would be a financial success.' 32 There was little proof to support this, however, and in a unanimous decision on 7 June 1893 the case was awarded to Logan with full costs. 33 The South African Sportsman delivered the verdict in the form of a sardonic cricket scorecard under the title of 'Single W icket Match': 34 Played at the Supreme Court, Cape Town, on Tuesday, June 7 th , 1893. GENTLEMEN OF ENGLAND W.W. Read, c Sir H. de Villiers, b J. D. Logan 0 W.L. Murdoch, run out 0 'Daddy' Ash, retired hurt O Mr. Bridgette, absent Q

'The thanks of a dull colony,' declared the Cape Register, 'are due to the man of Matjiesfontein for providing subjects of conversation to those who delight in "the idle chatter of irresponsible frivolity" .. . We should imagine he can look back with considerable satisfaction on the past fourteen days' work.' 35 Thecaseraised the'much-vexed' professional-amateur distinction within cricket. At a time when cricket was establishing itself within the colonies, colonials themselves were concerned that the amateur ethos of the game should be transferred in a pure, untainted state. Not only had Logan used a moral repugnance of 'shamateurism' to his advantage in court, but Read, W. L. Murdoch and the other 'Gentleman Players' suspected of receiving payment were pilloried in the press. 36 'Everyone knows that the curse of sport at the present day . . . is the group of evils spoken of familiarly as professionalism,' declared the Cape Argus a day after Logan's victory. 37 In future, 'the Colony will at least be wary of men calling themselves "amateur" cricketers', added the Cape Times; '[men] who bargain for payment of up to £850 over and above all first-class touring expenses before they consent to come out to a young and comparatively poor sporting country like South Africa for a few months tour, while the acknowledged "professionals" are only paid a hundred or so a piece'. 3 8 In its stance against the professional amateurs, the South African Sportsman declared how '[profiteering] is the worm which gnaws the core of every branch of sporting concerns, it converts the sportsman into a sham, and sinks the noblest recreation into the slough of pecuniary grabbing. Mr. Logan will have rendered few services to the cause he has at heart more valuable than this last exposure of duplicity.' 39 In the British press, by contrast, Logan's involvement in the funding controversy was viewed with some suspicion. 'It is difficult ... to understand the verdicts given against Messrs. Ash and Read [when] their proceedings seem to have been, to say the least, far from transparently simple,' alleged the Cricket Field. 'If Mr. Logan advanced the money for which he sued them as a mere loan, his way of doing it was effectually calculated to disguise his intentions.' 40

0

Total

SOUTH AFRICA

J.D. Logan, not out

750 107 857

Extras

Total

Innings declared closed