Some news of more problems for the Wetherby League reached me via twitter over the weekend namely that Scarcroft CC have requested that they should field only one team this season and that this should be the second team. This request has been granted and this team will compete in the third division. Scarcroft will be replaced in Division 1 by Kippax, Walton Park will replace Kippax in Division 2 and Scholes A will replace Walton Park. Behind this particular cumulonimbus there does lurk some brighter light however, for the loss of one Scarcroft team now means there will be an even number of teams in the league with ten in each of the first three divisions and twelve in Div 4.
Alas that is not the end of it for changes in the York and District League have impacted on both the Wetherby and Nidderdale Leagues. In the YDCL the merger of Hull and Hull Zingari has left the Premier League a club short and the manoeuvres necessary to compensate for this may affect Bilton and Wetherby, two clubs with teams in both the York and Wetherby Leagues. The Wetherby Secretary has now torn up the 2018 fixtures and is waiting upon the York League before publishing a fresh list. The same problem has delayed the publication of the Nidderdale League fixtures for here Thirsk, Studley and Ripon have teams in two leagues. Who would be a league secretary?.
Following from Tony's posting yesterday in which he referred to the death of Clive van Ryneveld I was reminded that I have an autographed copy of his autobiography, 20th Century All-rounder, on my shelves.This formed the basis of a posting I made more than six years ago under the title 'A remarkable life' for not only was van Ryneveld an outstanding sportsman he was also a politician who had the courage to oppose the South African government's apartheid policies, a stance which got him banned from the commentary box. The passage that sticks most in my mind from the book is his description of England's preparations for their Calcutta Cup match against Scotland at Twickenham in 1949. This consisted of a 'runabout' on the previous afternoon and in the letter informing him of his selection is this sentence
'A jersey will be supplied to you, and must be returned to me in the Dressing Room directly after the game. WHITE shorts should be worn.'
The letter is signed by F D Prentice, Secretary of the RFU, and the italics are his.
This photo is of The Gentlemen's XI v The Players at Lord's in 1949. It includes CvR, answers next time.
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