5. Finally let it be said that no success is won without hard work and preparationc Having been in the "hot seat" it has become most apparent to me that the success of the Club is most dependent upon the efforts of the Committee. On behalf of a ll players, I now e}<press thanks to our President» Gveg Soahittf who has been an inspiration to the Club; his presence at the matches and his communication of scores between the various gt'>unds has meant much to the players. to our Treasurer, Geoff Pike, who for the last four seasons has always managed to balance the books most favourably (.') and whose dedication to the Club as a whole has been invaluable. to the Committee who have contributed much collectively. Special mention, however, is made of James Rodgers for his efforts, recorded above, and in the publication of "Between the Covers" and organisation of numerous functions. to our team captains Peter James, Ian Foulsham, Rob Thomas, C liv e Smoker/ Bruae Druery, John Malioki, James Holgate and John Spence/ Andrew MacDonald, Few realise the responsibilities and quantity of work th»»se players have to devote to the Club; the successes of our teams have depended greatly on them. t o Steve Ward and Colonel Phil Pike and to Mick O'Sullivan and Jock B aird for their organisation of the Poidevin Gray and Intervarsity matches respectively, t o Jack Smith and Jenny Butler for their efforts as scorers, to Jack and his Staff (particularly C liff Gatfield) for their assistance in producing our many publications and this Report, to the Ladies Auxiliary, to the Staff of the Sports Union and to our ever present supporters (notably Laurie) who h ave assisted much this season. To end with, a word to Captain John Morris, our Patron= For a ll you have done for the Club: THANKS, s k i p : Damon R id le y , Hon. Secretary, SUCC. 6. PRESIDENT'S REPORT 1974-5 w ill be remembered as a happy and exciting season. The 3rds, 4ths and 5A's reached their semi-finals and the 3rds their final, vrtiich they lost after an exhilarating battle with Manly. The 2nds, SB's and 7ths finished within reach of the first four and only the Ists, though a formidable enough side, were out of range of the semis for most of the season. The warning about an inibalance of graduates in the teams must s till be sounded, but the short term effects of the new qualification rules have been undeniably beneficial. A nucleus of older players in most grades has provided the experience hitherto deficient below captain level and has also significantly countered the eternal problem of vacation unavailability. Again, despite the increase in the average age, the quality of fielding has clearly progressed throughout the grades; perhaps this is a by-product of the working of the success on club morale. Peter James is settling nicely into the 1st Grade captaincy and its attendant social duties; he w ill overcome the tendency to \mder-bowl himself. Ian Foulsham, out of touch with the bat after a high-scoring previous season, compensated with his sound leadership; Rob Thomas was a splendid influence on the 3rds with a calm authority probably at odds with his private thoughts during the tense climb to the Finals; Clive Smoker and then Bruce Druery welded the 4ths into the roost aggressive conibination of a ll the teams; John Malicki and Jim Holgate kept the two 5th Grade sides near the top of the table a ll season, fighting an entertaining battle at St. Pauls towards the end, which yielded 6 points each; John Spence, urbane as ever, remains unperturbed through recurring 7th Grade crises and manages to accumulate conpetition points in a fashion a ll his own. There is s till, it seems to me, too much diffidence on the part of senior players about advising their juniors during practice. Immense benefit w ill accrue if higher graders accept these responsibilities. In any case, practice attendance is s till unsatisfactory and punctuality, if improving, is s till the S.U.C.C. Achilles heel. If we are going to progress from sem i-finalists to finalists and finalists to premiers, this is where we start. "Between the Covers" gets steadily better. To James Rodgers and his several guest columnists, to Damon Ridley and Jack Smith, we are grateful for this competent piece of journalism which ranges pleasantly over a ll teams, promoting mutual interest if not admiration. Captain John Morris' retirement as Patron closes an epoch. He w ill continue, of course, as a Vice-President and we hope that the regularity of his support w ill be undiminished. Much more w ill be said and written about Skipper's incalculable contribution to the Club. It is pleasant to recall that he and Syd Webb were joined as Life Members this season by Jim Mackie for whom the honour is some small repayment for a ll he has given to the S.U.C.C. Alan Manzie and Rick Hunter leave us for overseas study - Alan to Canada and Rick (arrived now as an after-dinner orator) to Cambridge. We look forward to their eventual return. 7. President's Report (continued) I should like to make some grateful acknowledgements: to Geoff Pike who retires a£^.er an extended and capable term as Treasurer, Bob Radford of the N.S.W .C.A., Ron Sharpe of the S.U.S.U ., the Chancellor and Vice-Chemcellor (whose presence at matches and the Annual Dinner is a source of great pleasure to us), Phil Pike for his valuable work with the Poidevin-Gray side, Clive Lee for his honorary audit, Alan Crompton and Peter James for their demanding work as N.S.W.C.A. d e le g a te s . A 3 1 shall be overseas at the time of the Annual General Meeting, this is my only opportunity to record my debt to Damon Ridley for the healthy condition in which we find the Cltib after his first tour as Secretary« Even after a yeeur of exasperated minute-taking, Damon has not lost his naive hope that some day, perhaps under a different President, a committee meeting w ill be consuinnated in thirty minutes. We are most fortunate to have his drive, imagination and efficiency operating on the Club in so memy directions. My congratulations go to the following winning Cliibs: Gordon - Club Champions, 4th Grade, Poidevin-Gray Petersham-Marrickville - 1st Grade Bankstown-Cnaterbury - 2nd Grade Manly-Warringah - 3rd Grade North Sydney - 5th Grade Best wishes for a successful A.G.M. emd a committee as good as the last one, Greg Scahill P r e s id e n t . 8. CAPTAIN J .C . MORRIS Since Captain John Morris retires as Patron of the Club at the end of this season, it seems approriate to record in this report a small biography of the man who has been part of the Club for the past 66 years and to whom the Club is indebted for the service and inspiration he has given. Captain Morris was born in Dunedin, N.Z., and was the second son of a sheep farmer. He was educated at Pt. Chalmers High School and firs t came to Sydney in 1909 to "see the world". Having travelled extensively throughout Central Queensland and Northern NSW, he ret\irned to Sydney. In these early days, by his own admission he "wasn't much of a cricketer" but took an active interest in the game at the University. For instance the 1909-10 Annual Report of the SUCC at present held in the Archives bears his signature, and he recalls at this time seeing Eric McElhone score his maiden century for the Club at the S.C.G. When World War 1 broke out, he enlisted in the army and was attached to the 1st A .I.F ., his regiment being the first enlisted and one of the first to serve overseas, landing in Egypt in November, 1914. He later received a commission in the Indian army (and thus followed the footsteps of his grandfather who sim ilarly was a C.O. in the Indian army prior to his emigration to N .Z.). He went to England in 1923 whence he began his life-long profession in Real Estate. He returned to Sydney in 1926 and established his office in the City, retiring only last year. He succeeded Ossie Stenmark as President of the Cricket Club in 1956, an office he held until 1962 when he became Patron of the Club following the death of Dr. Tom Clouston. During his association with the Cltib he watched innumerable hours of University cricket. His most treasured memories are of Keith Sheffield's team who reached the sem i-finals in 1957 (whilst he was Club President), of Johnny Taylor ("best Uni batsman early 20's which included H.O.Rock and Judge Asprey, ofj^Frank Stening and Dave Hanlin who were his picks as the out­ standing bowlers the Club has produced, and of Alan Crompton ("the Club has not had a better 'keeper"). These notes on Captain Morris have been brief - at his own request. I leave you then with his words: "I have enjoyed immensely doing my job." Damon Ridley. 4th Grade Semi-Final J.Watts & T.Buddin leaving field for lunch. Their 6th wicket partnership of 83 revived the innings. Watts eventually top-scored with 64 3rd Grade F in a l ■ »» \\ jf'-* Tension, as the 3rd Graders prepare to take the field in the Final at Manly 9.