Lives in Cricket No 34 - Frank Mitchell

89 as a secretary to Bailey. By 1909 H.D.G.Leveson Gower had taken over as the representative in London of the South African Cricket Association, and Abe Bailey and Leveson Gower were both present at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference. The First Annual Report of the Transvaal Cricket Association for the year to August 1906 covers eight matches played by MCC in Transvaal, names Abe Bailey as Chairman of the Board for Transvaal and lists the other seven Board members, but makes no mention of Mitchell. There is one entry in that year from Pavilion Gossip, written by J.N.Pentelow in Cricket , which reads ‘Frank Mitchell, the old University and Yorkshire cricketer has been taking high honours at squash racquets in the Transvaal. He was representing the Belgravia Club of Johannesburg v Pretoria at Johannesburg on 21 October, and helped to beat Pretoria by 14 matches to 2.’ So his skills at ball games had not gone, but the current interest was not predominantly cricket. Work and other pastimes had developed. Indeed he had a much more important and significant interest. Cricket told its readers succinctly in early 1907 that ‘Frank Mitchell’s marriage to Miss Theresa Kelly on 26 th December 1906 is announced’. Theresa Kelly was born in South Africa into a Catholic family. Her father was Laughlin Kelly, who had been a friend of Cecil Rhodes. He was a farm owner at Donderbosch and a farm manager at Bellsbank, both near to Kimberley in the diamond fields. It was at Bellsbank that Theresa’s elder sister Maud had met Cecil Mitchell, one of Frank’s brothers. Cecil who had earlier farmed in Australia came to South Africa in 1902, and later became manager of the Bellsbank Estate. Cecil and Maud were married at the Catholic Church in Kimberley on 9 January 1906. Frank was best man. There is a story that when Cecil told his parents that he was going to marry a South African, they immediately asked Frank to go to Kimberley South African residence, 1905 - 1911 Frank Mitchell’s wedding in 1906 at Kimberley would have been an occasion of great splendour in that prosperous mining town.