Lives in Cricket No 7 - Richard Daft

Chapter Fifteen Eighteen Seventy Nine In November, 1878, the Committee of MCC resolved: ‘That no gentleman ought to make a profit by his services in the cricket field, and that for the future, no cricketer who takes more than his expenses in any match shall be qualified to play for the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord’s.’ The description of the Australian tourists of 1878 on scorecards and in the newspapers as amateurs by the designation of ‘Mr’ or ‘Esq’ aggravated the grievances of the English professionals, which focused, of course, on W.G. Lillywhite’s Companion for 1879 commented: ‘The Note issued by MCC should have been published four or five seasons ago, but cricketers must be thankful that the leading club has, however late in the day, recognised an evil which has been injuring the best interests of the game for some years past.’ It added: ‘One well-known cricketer in particular has not been an absentee from the GENTLEMEN’S Eleven at Lord’s for many years past, and that he has made larger profits by playing cricket than any professional ever made is an acknowledged fact.’ In fact, all three Graces were responsible for claiming unusually high match expenses. On 4 January, 1879 the journal Bell’s Life published a letter from a member of the Gloucestershire County Cricket Committee. The topic? A claim for expenses submitted by E.M.Grace, as Hon. Secretary of the Gloucestershire Club, to the Surrey Club after the two sides met at The Oval. The total of £102 10s 0d was rejected by the Surrey authorities as being exorbitant. Each member of the Gloucester team claimed £4.10s 0d expenses, but in addition, W.G. claimed £15, Fred Grace £11, W.R.Gilbert £8, and E.M.Grace £20. Surrey cut the claim down to £80. The Sportsman paper commented that the amounts would have been excessive even for an exclusively professional team. W.G. expressed his deep regret and observed that he meant in future only to ask for his personal expenses. But as W.G. was involved, nobody cared to take any action. There would never be anyone like him. 87