THE CHAMPAGNE WIELCOME 



players were seen keeping it up pretty late at night the 

 odds used to be affected somewhat, but I can say this : 

 although there were hints of " inducements " there was 

 not a single player, either amateur or professional, who 

 ever considered the betting side of it at all. 



A decent cricketer was always sure of a good job in 

 either a bank or insurance company ; so long as they 

 could keep him in a colony they were always ready to 

 look round and see what could be found for him. 

 Not only that, but surely in no other country would 

 cricketers have the latitude to go away for many 

 months on one of the great tours. The surprise in 

 Australia was the keen appreciation shown by women 

 in the game. In the enormous crowd at the Association 

 Ground in Sydney ninety per cent, of the girls and 

 women could follow every point of the game most 

 critically. In considering the recent rebuff alleged to 

 have been given by the English cricketers in South 

 Africa to a deputation, headed by a Mayor, who 

 went to greet them, I can well appreciate the feelings 

 of the local men. Whenever an intercolonial football 

 or cricket team came to play in Queensland, it was 

 customary to meet them at the wharf or station in 

 carriages, whatever time of the day they arrived, and 

 escort them to the leading hotel, where champagne was 

 opened and short speeches made. 



In Brisbane, after exploiting first the picture-on-the- 

 wall business and bringing a good crowd round to see 

 it every night, I revived the threepenny monthly 

 pocket diary and time-table. It went pretty well, but 

 at last, through getting in pretty heavily with the 

 printer, I had to turn it over to him for a considera- 

 I tion, and then looked about for something at which a 

 living could be made. We used to go into a place 

 called the Australian, kept by Jordan. This was one 



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