Page:Jubilee Book of Cricket (Second edition, 1897).djvu/398

376 Mr J. J. Read was the first treasurer of the club, and held office, till 1893, when on his resignation Mr C. M. Tebbut kindly consented to fill the office, and has remained treasurer ever since.

Mr T. Ratcliff was the first paid secretary of the club in 1886, but in 1888 Mr M. P. Betts succeeded him, and remained as secretary till 1890. In October 1890 Mr O. R. Borradaile, the present secretary, was appointed, and he has been with the club through all its financial difficulties, and has had many an anxious hour as to whether the club would be able to "weather the storm" or not; but the tide seems now to have turned in its favour, and the prospects are brighter than they have ever been. When he was appointed secretary the roll of members was less than 700, but at the present time there are over 1600 paying subscribers, and the numbers are daily increasing.

The first captain of the County Club was Mr C. E. Green, who was the originator of the County Club, and but for his liberality and enthusiasm the County Club would probably never have existed. The amount of time and money he has spent on the club is only known to himself. He was a great cricketer, having been in the Uppingham Eleven, captain of Cambridge University, and having played for several years for the Gentlemen v. the Players. Mr C. D. Buxton, another captain of Cambridge University, captained the team till his death in 1892. His death was a great loss to the county, as he was an invaluable cricketer, as well as a great supporter from a financial point of view. Mr A. P. Lucas succeeded Mr C. D. Buxton, and his doings on the cricket-field are so well known that it is needless to mention them here. Could he have played regularly for the team, it would have been a great boon to the county, but finding he could not, owing to business, he resigned in favour of Mr H. G. Owen.

The present captain of the eleven is Mr H. G. Owen, and it is not too much to say that to his splendid generalship and his immense popularity with his team the present high position now held by Essex is due. Himself a very fine cricketer, he always has an encouraging word for the young members of the team, and it is hoped he will be captain for many years.

Essex is now very fortunate in having a young lot of players who should be of service to the county for many years to come. It has really good batsmen (in addition to those I have already mentioned) in P. Perrin, C. M'Gahey, F. L. Fane, Carpenter, and Russell. In bowling it is particularly strong, having besides