Empire Cricket Booklet

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JONTYWINCH

that because Hendricks had played for the United Services Club in a competition recognised by the Union, he could not see how he could be excluded from the representative match. Thomas Lawton was also in favour of including Hendricks, stating: 'It had always been the boast of cricket that the peer and the ploughman could meet together in the same field.' He conceded, however, that the committee 'could not be blind to the fact that there was strong opposition to Hendricks in certain quarters'. Maynard Nash - the secretary and very much a Milton disciple - reminded the committee that it was 'a wider issue than the mere admittance of Hendricks'. It was therefore agreed that the problem should be deferred until a further meeting four days later. A decision could not be made without consulting Milton. The delay increased interest in the controversy. Cadwallader stressed that the matter should be debated carefully because Hendricks was, in the opinion of leading cricketers, 'one of the finest extra fast bowlers in the world'. He continued: 'It seems to us that there are two "gates" for "coloureds" to the cricket field - the first being exceptionally good cricket, and the next exceptionally good and appropriate behaviour, and the main question is - does Hendricks fulfil these qualifications?' The selectors did not wait for the second meeting before naming the Colonial-born team. They did not include Hendricks. This annoyed Advocate H. W. S. Giddy, who was representing the United Services Club, and he informed delegates when they reassembled that the question of whether Hendricks was eligible for selection should be settled 'once and for all'. Milton's opinion was keenly anticipated, but he was not interested in discussing the matter and moved that the meeting pass on to the next business. He pointed out that he 'had been in the Western Province for seventeen years and many good players had been available under the same conditions as Hendricks and the question had never been brought up'. Louis Smuts immediately seconded him and the motion was carried. The Cricket Field stated euphemistically that Milton had 'disposed of the difficulty for the present'. 51

Platnauer was particularly scathing: 'The Western Province would indeed be stultifying themselves, after their strenuous and successful objection to Hen dricks' inclusionintheSouthAfricanteam to England, where race distinctions are unknown, should they include the coloured bowler in representative cricket at the Cape, where snobocracy reigns.' 52

Hendricks Strives to Play Representative Cricket

Press coverage made Hendricks a household name, but he was not included in his provincial team for the 1895 Currie Cup tournament at Durban. It led to the situation whereby Natal fielded the 'coloured' all-rounder, 'Buck' Llewellyn, whilst Hendricks stayed at home and played as a 'celebrity' in a match organised by white ladies before a sizeable crowd of white holiday-makers. The men fielded and batted left-handed and could only walk after the ball, but it did not prevent the eager Hendricks from making an impression. He accomplished the hat-trick and captured 5 wickets for 8 runs as Mrs Potter's team of thirteen ladies crumbled to 37 all out. 53 At Durban, Transvaal regained the Currie Cup, defeating a Western Province side that was bolstered by three professionals. It meant the administration of the SACA would transfer to the Transvaal. Milton was determined to hold on to the reins as long as possible and worked on the assumption that a transfer of power could only take place at the next meeting of the SACA. He managed to delay the transition until the last possible opportunity - a 31 December 1895 meeting was then postponed to 31 January 1896 - and in the mean time organised the itinerary and handled contentious issues for the next cricket tour to South Africa. 54 When Lord Hawke arranged for his side to visit South Africa during 1895/96, the question of colour was again a prominent issue. The Cape Times noted that 'the Indian prince with the impossible name [Ranjitsinhji]' was being considered for the team. 55 Milton reacted quickly and his efforts would probably have received sympathy from the cricket establishment in England. Brian Dobbs writes of the English overlooking Ranjitsinhji a few months