AUSTRALIAN” 3/4/97 Fmal Stop, in London
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We bussed it down to Warwick for a fixture against a Midlands conference XI where SUCC returned to form with a good win, Hill 70 and Pearson 66no were in the runs and Hill amongst the wickets. We then moved down to the Olympia Hotel, our EXTRACT “AUSTRALIAN” 3/4/97 fmal stop, in London. We lost to the strong Cricket conference XI, Wiles strong pre-lunch fonn and the rest of the tpam “CRICKET CLUB'S HEART AND SOUL” nobbled by the incredible spread at lunch, going from 1 for 100 to all out about 170., there being a corporate day (feast?) being conducted. After the post-match drinks, the fund-raiser movie horse-races drew a few desperates. Luke won big but W.E.P. HARRIS then gave it all back. Dentist, sports broadcaster, cricket administrator A good team effort (with a fire-breathing horse on the pitch at one point) saw a win against Lloyds at Maori ground, another Bom Winton, Queensland, 13 October 1925 versus Alan Chamberlain’s Alexandra Park side followed. Pelly and W ilson got 50’s and Webber quick runs in a good tpatn Died Brisbane, Queensland, 22 March 1997, aged 72 batting performance, then after good bowling by the unlucky Farrow, Bonnell, Hill and Salisbury, former SUCC man Richard Kelly’s batting although top score with 44 was restricted by the extra cover and gully fielding 'walls’ set by Hill and bowling to those fields by McGowan and Wilson respectively. In our final fixture an MCC XI was met at Shenley Park north of The main cricket ground at the University of Queensland is a green carpet set among gum trees, London on a cold, driZZly day. A late start but 50 overs each to be played. Salisbury’s first ball, the pace and bounce overlooking a sleepy reach of the Brisbane River. On the westem boundary there is a clubhouse officially accounted for Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower, to a good catch by Williams at slip. Each of Pearson, Farrow, Bonnell and Hill went named the W.E.P. Harris Pavilion, a tranquil place of Saturday afternoon torpor that converts to evening on to bowl well and the fielding and Luke’s keeping were superb. Wiles took a good catch on the boundary. MCC were all hubbub as university players return to relive the day's events. Grand stories are told over a beer and a out for 135 inside the 50 overs after 300 looked possible early. Unfortunately our batting did not fire against good but not Weppa Burger, a culinary treat that possess powers of rejuvenation. unplayable bowling on a helpful moist pitch. Chris Williams produced the best batting with 25 or so after Nick Ridley got some early. Wilson batting at seven stayed with Williams for a promising partnership, but when Wilson was removed by British Unis squad member James, a left arm orthodox spinner, Williams tried a bit Wt against the same bowler and it was soon One of the most prominent features of the pavilion was Wep Harris himself. He was always there in his over quickly, James taking 4-18. They were interesting opposition with one current test bat, two Irish intemationals, Alun many roles with the University of Queensland Cricket Club, which included honorary secretary, curator, Lewis (who has the most Irish caps) and A R Dunlop, Mark Crawley, brother of John, himself an Oxford Uni and Notts county selector, team manager, provedore and media liaison person. player. A pleasant ground but it felt a bit odd to out amidst farmland in the mist and cold playing such a team. The cold showers after our disappointing batting were not a highlight, but the social chat later over drinks with the opposition, was warm and friendly, the Irishmen and Andy Flower in particular, whose cricket Pearso sorted out (perhaps it was vice versa). It was impossible to miss him. You were most likely to hear him first. When excited, which was often if SUCC Country tour veteran, Richard Montigomery ('M ontie’), joined us at Shenley Park and later that evening before leaving he was near a cricket groimd, his voice was not unlike that of Batman's arch-enemy the Penguin. He early the next morning for a Northants’ fixture in which he was captaining. punctuated his statements with "wah" waves his arms furiously and cackled at the crescendo of his own stories. However, most sentences remained unfinished: he relied on the listener to work out what he was The tour dinner at the Trattoo the following night (following hard and good work by Fairow on finding a suitable - i.e. robust trying to say. The best of us struggled when he made requests such as: "Get the, wah, whattycall out of - venue) saw extreme inebriation for some, speeches and toasts on the way there and topped off by the 6am departure for flights to Greece for the majority. Max was rightly saluted and presented with a gift for the work which went into producing the thingo, willya". the tour which featured excellence of organisation, playing opposition and hospitality. Max also celebrated his retirement with several bottles of Moet. The restauranteur’s concern with flying liquids, food, plates, cutlery etc was probably softened with And he always had his radio. Wep loved radio and was never without one, or even two. They were thoughts of the revenue from the party who were disposing of their remaining pounds along with any pressure build-ups and always unconventional radios, the type that come with a subscription to Baseball in Chinchilla or taking a hang the expense’ attitude otherwise. A1 Chamberlain and Dave Butchart were good enou^ or foolish enough to join us during the night. something similar. Frustratingly apparent to everyone except Wep, they were never quite tuned to the station. All survived the dinner and later escapades aroimd London and apparently caught their respective flights. McGowan, Wiles and McIntosh remain overseas. Eleven of sixteen schedules fixtures were played, and five were won, six lost. Our If somehow you hadn't heard him around the clubhouse, he would appear laden down with all the items performances varied from (just) respectable to impressive. The after match team pint-sculliog salute generally brought necessary to carry out his responsibilities and some designed to keep him entertained. He had a collection entertainment to our hosts and some admiration of the skills of our several top performers and the improvers. Our tour uniform of blaZer, tie and Chinos was of great value in producing a positive reaction, especially at Lords. Thanks to Chris of "things” draped around his neck which, from a distance, looked like a mayoral chain of office. These and others for their work on that. The tour was a great success, those responsible are thanked above and the next and third UK included his glasses and his huge key ring, which included the only known key to a room under the tour will leave in 2001 with planning to start in say 1999. A possible 1999 West Indies tour was under discussion at a recent pavilion - secret vestry filled with cricket gear, balls and boxes of chewing gum and chocolate. It was reunion lunch kindly hosted by Tom Cowan. known as "the Weppary". All the squad contributed good performances at different times. Liam McGowan surprised many who had not played with him, pleasantly with his dashing stroke play, less pleasantly at times with his “dashing” calling and running. Tom Cowan Occasionally he took a break in what became known as Wep's Chair. His little sitdowns usually impressed particularly at Castleford’s Townville club with the cooling towers in the mid-distance contrasting with the elegance coincided with a horse race and his tiny wagers had the capacity to generate squawking excitement. of his stroke play. Matt Webber and Liam were inspirational with committed fielding on the often surprisingly hard outfields. Brendan with his all-round play and Richard led by example and all players in the tour party received equitable playing William Edward Pender Harris was bom in 1925, the eldest of six children. He spent his childhood on the opportunities under tour selectors Hill, Boimell and Farrow. Williams led home the night-time best and fairest competition, family sheep property outside Winton in Westem Queensland, where he took school lessons by with Wiles putting in ' 110 per cent’ chasing him, Pelly and McIntosh also figuring in the discussions of form and technique. correspondence. In the Depression the family moved to Rockhampton to help run grandfather's store. The consensus is that, except for a little too much rain, the tour was a resounding success. This brief report and the results Wep was introduced to sport and was hooked. He became a keen sports enthusiast, playing, watching, and statistics printed on the inside back cover were produced and included to take advantage of a delay in printing this club listening, keeping statistics and remembering stories. A capable sportsman, he became captain of the Annual Report. A fuller report on the tour may be published later. cricket and tennis teams at Rockhampton Grammar School. Mark Wilson Sydney University Cricket Club 60 Sydney University Cricket Club 1996-97 Annual Report 1996-97 Annual Report 61 When he left school Wep volunteered for the RAAF. He served at Madang and Lae, where he was "under constant bombardment from the Rockhampton Ladies Committee of the Australian Comfort Fund". He played cricket on the famous Madang Oval and ran into the punishment of one Ray Lindwall, who fancied OBITUARIES Wep's bowling. The Club extends its sympathy to the friends and relatives of the following former SUCC players who On returning home, he studied dentistry at the University of Queensland and lived at St John's College.