Twenty-One Years of the ACS

those that did not.The British Isles guide,he argued,had underlined that match scoreboards were widely diversified and only with difficulty and at great cost could anyone gather them together. It would be logical for the ACS to make them more accessible and he suggested thatscores - especially the early ones - should be typed on small cards and kept in one place. Members could either travel to see them or have a photocopy sent them, with small fees making the scheme cost effective. By the time Wynne-Thomas raised Main's letter in committee a month later, he was already leaning towards a series of booklets and had done the requisite homework on the practicalities. Less than a hundred of the 600 members possessed the time honoured 19th century books and magazines containing scores. Those who did not would have to spend about £2,000 to obtain them even if they could be found,there had been some 4,800 matches throughout the world played before 1900. After liaising with the printers,hesaid 30booklets each with 160 matches could sell for around£3.At least 350guaranteed subscribers would be necessary for the series to be viable. In due course these were quickly secured when the project was trailed in the Journal. The indefatigable Robert Brooke had already started working on the series, which must have been among the most gruelling assignments even he has undertaken. Every detail was cross-checked in newspapers and magazines of the time. Brooke was primarily responsible for the first 29 booklets and ensured that whenever possible they included modern refinements like wicket falls, the toss, venue details, second innings batting order and so on. The outcome was that the ACS's pre-1900scores have been more complete,in fact, t an any previously assembled for the period. Members want the series to be continued to 1914 but the increase in the number of matches involved could bring problems. The 1899 booklet for instance needed 249 pages and was the bigpst publication so far produced by the ACS. Dennis Lambert in his chairman's report to the 1980 AGM correctly described the series as the most ambitious that the ACS had undertaken and this viewpoint still holds good as far as series are concerned. The increased revenue and financial turnover it brought,however,had a hand in an unfortunate episode which reached its nadir w cn the committee expelled one of its number. There was a temptation to exclude any mention of this incident but it was aired openly at the 1981 AGM ^d,on reflection,could not be ignored if these pages were to retain credence. One suspects that the incident had its roots in a straightforward clash of personalities and that it had simmered for a long time prior to the decisive fracas. Without passing any judgements, the story, briefly, was as follows, ichard Miller, a Scottish member from Dundee, brought youthful zeal and a ac ground steeped in accountancy and economics with him when hejoined the committee in April,1978.In spite ofthe distance and cost involved. Miller was a conscienuous attender at meetings where he became increasingly concerned S was not making best use of its growing financial resources. He 18