Page:Cricket (Hutchinson, 1903).djvu/493

Rh We have a president, captain, vicecaptain, secretary, treasurer, and a committee of six members, all being elected fresh every season at the annual meeting. However, so far as my five years' experience goes, no change has been made except to fill up vacancies caused by death or removal, and the meeting is a merely formal affair where we're-elect each other en bloc! The president in our case has always been the persona, or parson, of the parish, and where there is a curate, he is the best man, in my opinion, for the secretaryship. The advantages of this arrangement are obvious, for he is probably the only gentleman in the place who is there all day; he knows where all the villagers live, and it is easier for him than any one else to go round and get up the teams. For however much you print on your match-cards that "members wishing to play in any match should send in their names to the captain before Thursday evening," or words to that effect, the fact remains that no villager has ever yet been known to offer to play; and though a man may be thirsting for a place in a certain match, and would be seriously hurt if he were not asked, yet the only reply he will make to your pressing invitation is a half-hearted, "Well, I don't mind if I do"! But, if the curate is not a good player, he should content himself with his secretarial duties, and not appear in the field. However excellent he may be in other ways, if he cannot hold a catch or keep his bat decently straight, he ought not to give the enemy occasion to