Lives in Cricket No 21 - Walter Read

59 colour by referring to the collision of the Peshawar, on which the team travelled, with a sailing ship after leaving Colombo. In his Annals of Cricket , the account is more detailed and personalised… our ship, the P. and O. SS Peshawar , came into collision with the Glen Roy barque, about 600 miles from Colombo. It was in that collision that Morley, the professional, had the misfortune to get one of his ribs broken, and which incapacitated him from playing regularly during the trip. It was altogether a terrible affair, and it is a wonder we were not all drowned. Two well- known players, whose faces generally carry the appearance of tanned leather, went as white as milk. One of them with a life-belt on was about to make for the water, when he saw sharks and stayed aboard. Two other popular professionals, who had not been on the best of terms, and as the prevailing idea was that we were “going down”, one of them thought it would be as well that they should at least, “die friends” and approaching his brother professional, with a sigh, asked: “Don’t you wish we were back at the old home?”. “No, I don’t, any more than you do, I’m done with you!” was the unexpected rejoinder. He evidently thinking their last moments had come. Beyond this unfortunate affair we had a very fine trip… 108 He also comments on a visit to a goldmine, being entertained by the Mayor of Eaglehawk, banqueting with the previous summer’s Australian tourists and, more significantly for the captain’s future and cricket folklore, visiting Sir William Clarke at Sunbury on the outskirts of Melbourne. On Christmas Eve there may have more significance for the future of Anglo-Australian Test matches, but Cricket suggests there had been a previous visit there by the amateurs before the Victoria match in Melbourne. The amateur members of the team then proceeded to Sunbury to spend the Sunday with Sir W J Clarke of Rupertswood, who was one of the passengers on board the Peshawar with them. Leaving there on the following afternoon, they journeyed to Melbourne, where they were present at the banquet given to the Australian team who had just returned from England. 109 Between the two trips to Sunbury, Read’s form had begun to improve, 46 against New South Wales (‘a good innings’) being followed by 64 against Eighteen of Newcastle and District (‘the 108 Annals of Cricket p 169-170 109 Cricket 16 February 1883 Australia 1882/83 and 1887/88