Lives in Cricket No 51 - Rev ES Carter

Peate, Hawke, Committee 89 He does seem to have all too easily satisfied – but it is wonderful that a meeting of this sort should be so well reported. “They had to consider about the sending of representatives to the committee. He thought five was a very small proportion; they should have at least a third of the representation. Sheffield had done so much that they could not ask for a half, but seeing the very wide area which Yorkshire cricket covered ….. he would accept seven out of twenty one. More discussion took place and other interventions were made about the finances controlled by the Sheffield committee. Again Carter intervened: “Rev CARTER expressed regret that the money question had been raised. He might say however that the Sheffield Committee were very liberal last year to the Yorkshire Gentlemen. The committee gave them a match and paid the whole of the expenses of the professionals.” This must have been a reference to game between a Yorkshire Gentlemen’s 16 and a Yorkshire Players Eleven. “It was then decided, on the proposition of the Rev CARTER seconded by Mr GILBERTSON “That this meeting requests the Yorkshire County Cricket Committee to admit seven members representing the following Clubs: Bradford, Hull, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds, Middlesbrough, and Yorkshire Gentlemen”. It was further resolved that in case the committee would only receive five members Keighley and Middlesbrough should be the towns omitted from the list. What is clear from the report is that Carter was both tenacious and courteous. He firmly pitched his plea, but accompanied it by gracious words towards Sheffield knowing that his words were likely to be read and commented upon by Sheffield men. However his expressions of goodwill were not to be wholly fulfilled. The Sheffield committee stuck to their offer of five