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Abstract
Risking possible rebuke from the Australian Board of Control, Bert Oldfield and Charlie Macartney organised an extensive cricketing tour to Singapore and Malaya in 1927. Taking a strong team, including three other test players, the tour was an opportunity to enjoy a working holiday near the Equator. Singapore was a thriving trading centre for products such as tin and rubber from its hinterland – Peninsula Malaya. For the hosts the visit was heartily welcomed. It was an opportunity for merchants, planters and administrators to challenge some of the great names in cricket and to reinforce colonial connections through the medium of the game. No payment was anticipated by the tourists, just the assurance of effusive hospitality. The impact of the tour was short-lived. The entertainment value was immediate and substantial, but the opportunity to encourage greater Asian involvement in the game was overlooked. The Australians were full of praise for their hosts and, despite a packed itinerary, took pleasant memories away with them. However, this was to be the last of the ‘unapproved’ tours. In Singapore and Malaya the local cricketers basked briefly in the glow of moderate success achieved on the field, but they were unable to spark any significant interest in the game from an Asian population of predominantly Chinese and Malay origins.
Notes
1 British Malaya, July 1929, 78.
2 It was common to describe the region as British Malaya and people who lived there as ‘Malayan’ even though they might be living in Singapore, one of the Straits Settlements. The colony of the Straits Settlements also included Penang and Malacca. The FMS included Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang.
3 CitationSharp, The Singapore Cricket Club, 75.
4 The tour began on 3 May when the party sailed first to Darwin and then to Singapore arriving on the 23 May. The tour party departed from Singapore on 28 June. The sea voyage brought them back to Sydney on 18 July.
5 Sharp, The Singapore Cricket Club, 75.
6 See CitationJames, The Tour of Oldfield's Australian Cricketers.
7 CitationMinistry of National Development, The Report of the Advisory Council. The Report highlighted nation building through the development of international champions as a key element of its forward-looking policy.
8 See CitationHarte and Whimpress, The History of Australian Cricket.
9 See Macartney, My Cricketing Day, 211; CitationSharpham, Charlie Macartney, 152. Sharpham indicates that a testimonial match was played in February 1927, suggesting that actual retirement was imminent. Macartney himself related that he announced his retirement through the press in October 1927, after the tour to Malaya.
10 Macartney, My Cricketing Days, 202–13.
11 See CitationHaigh and Frith, Inside Story, 55.
12 James, The Tour of Oldfield's Australian Cricketers.
13 M. Noble, W. Armstrong, A. Cotter, A. Hopkins and F. Laver joined members of the Cricket Club to play two exhibition games in Singapore during their return journey to Australia.
14 CitationMacIntyre, The Rise and Fall of the Singapore Naval Base.
15 CitationR. Braddon, The Naked Island.
16 The Straits Times, 8 September 1920, 10.
17 CitationClunies Ross, Australia and the Far East, 217.
18 CitationCampbell, Mills and Portus, Studies in Australian Affairs, 149.
19 CitationD. Walker, Anxious Nation, 197; CitationTweedie, Trading Partners, 82–4.
20 See CitationJ. Cushman, ‘Dazzled by Distant Fields’.
21 See CitationAdler, ‘Looking North’, 140.
22 CitationE. Jarman, Eastern Glimpses, 4.
23 Article by J.B. Condlifee for the Workers Educational Association of Australia journal Australia Way, 1 September 1925, 154, held in the Private Papers of Sir Keith Officer, National Library of Australia, MS2629/6/307.
24 CitationMakepeace, Brooke, and Braddell, One Hundred Years of Singapore, 348.
25 In the 1840s, racing was wholly amateur, with owners training and riding their own ponies. Burmese and Chinese ponies were used before the Australian griffins were brought in for the first time in the 1880s. The sale of Australian horses took place in Commercial Square, now known as Raffles Place until 1886, when the venue was changed to Abrams Horse Repository in Coleman Street (Singapore Turf Club, Tan, Bonny, 1998, National Library Board Singapore).
26 Mercury, 14 January 1921.
27 Brisbane Courier, 24 November 1920; Brisbane Courier, 4 March 1921.
28 CitationCoote, The Malay States, 19.
29 CitationHubback, ‘Sport’, 564.
30 Coote, The Malay States, 19–20.
31 Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 1921.
32 British Malaya, April 1927.
33 British Malaya, July 1927.
34 The Straits Times, 9 December 1876.
35 The Straits Times, 3 May 1877.
36 Plus four matches in Scotland and one match in Ireland. One match was also played in Colombo during the return voyage.
37 Argus, Melbourne, 23 December 1909, An Incident in Perak, Frank Laver.
38 Malayan Saturday Post, 21 August 1926.
39 Penman played in five matches and took 18 wickets.
40 Coote, The Malay States, 14–20. See also CitationAplin and Quek, ‘Celestials in Touch’.
41 Coote, The Malay States, 16–20. Coote's view, over-estimates the depth of sports' engagement with all strata of colonial society. In Singapore, for example, access to suitable playing fields was severely limited. The Straits Times observed in June 1927: ‘For a city of over 300,000 inhabitants, the open air spaces now existing are totally inadequate for their purpose. It may be justly said that in proportion to their numbers Europeans, upper class Chinese and Eurasians are fairly well provided with playing fields, but the great mass of our population have been most improperly neglected’. The Straits Times, 1 June 1927.
42 The Straits Times, Friday, 14 March 1924.
43 CitationTurnbull, A History of Singapore, 150.
44 The Straits Times, Wednesday, 30 March 1927.
45 Harte and Whimpress, The History of Australian Cricket, 304.
46 The Straits Times, Wednesday, 30 March 1927.
47 The Straits Times, Thursday, 14 April 1927. The Singapore press were expecting Macartney, Oldfield, Everett, Bardsley, Collins, Mailey, Gregory and Taylor.
48 Norman E. Bath. R.B.B. Donnell, R.N. Hamilton, Vaughan Jones, R.G.S. Lovett.
49 B.E. Ablitt, A.H. Assiter, R.B.B. Donnell, E.C. Edwards, George Redfearn.
50 Sydney Morning Herald, 28 April 1927.
51 Argus, Melbourne, 22 April 1927.
52 James indicates that Jack Fisher, a fast bowler from Balmain Cricket Club, was invited but could not obtain leave from his employer, The Tour of Oldfield's Australian Cricketers, 5.
53 Oldfield and Woodfull were Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1927. Macartney had averaged 94.60 in the Ashes series in 1926 and had been a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1922. T.J.E. Andrews had experienced a disappointing series in England. W. Bardsley was replaced by his brother Raymond. Everett toured with the Ashes team but did not play in the tests. Mayne had appeared in the Triangular Series in 1912 and against South Africa in 1921.
54 The Singapore Free Press, 5 May 1927.
55 The Singapore Free Press, 5 May 1927
56 The Straits Times, Thursday, 5 May 1927.
57 The Straits Times, Wednesday, 27 April 1927. The final itinerary included nine games: (1) Singapore Cricket Club; (2) All-Singapore; (3) All-Malaya; (4) Southern Malaya (in Seremban in the State of Negri Sembilan); (5) Northern Malaya (in Ipoh in the State of Perak); (6) Dr Rogers' XI (in Ipoh); (7) Northern Malaya (in Penang); (8) The Federated Malay States (in Kuala Lumpur in the State of Selangor); and (9) All-Malaya (in Singapore).
58 The Straits Times, Wednesday, 27 April 1927.
59 The Singapore Free Post, Friday, 6 May 1927.
60 The Straits Times, Monday, 16 May 1927.
61 N.J.A. Foster (Negri Sembilan, Captain); V.E.H. Rhodes (Negri Sembilan); A.J. Bostock-Hill (Selangor); G.M. Brand (Selangor, wicketkeeper); A.P. Penman (Selangor); J.D. Hussey (Selangor); Captain C.H. Congdon (Singapore); W.N. Hansell (Singapore); T. Leijssius (Singapore); Dr P.H. Hennessy (Perak). The final place was ultimately taken by R.L.L. Braddell (Singapore), who played in the first two games.
62 The Malayan Saturday Post, 28 May 1927.
63 The Malayan Saturday Post, 28 May 1927
64 The Straits Times, Thursday, 19 May 1927.
65 The Straits Times, Saturday, 21 May 1927.
66 The Straits Times, Monday, 23 May 1927.
67 The Straits Times, Wednesday, 25 May 1927.
68 The State of Johore immediately north of Singapore is now known as Johor.
69 Macartney, My Cricketing Days, 208.
70 Macartney, My Cricketing Days, 208
71 James, The Tour of Oldfield's Australian Cricketers, 5.
72 See Appendix of this article for match scores.
73 The Straits Times, 30 May 1927.
74 CitationTan, Singapore Swimming Club.
75 The Straits Times, Wednesday, 25 May 1927.
76 The Straits Times, Monday, 30 May 1927.
77 The Malayan Saturday Post, 4 June 1927.
78 The Straits Times, Saturday, 28 May 1927.
79 The Malayan Saturday Post, 4 June 1927.
80 The Straits Times, Thursday, 19 May 1927.
81 Macartney, My Cricketing Days, 204.
82 There is no record to establish who, if anyone from the various Malayan clubs, accompanied the tour party. It seems unlikely that they would have travelled extensively without someone with a knowledge of the country, its customs and the Malay language.
83 One mystery is associated with Clifford's brief stopover at the Selangor Club on the 3 June and his subsequent arrival in Singapore at 6:30 the following morning. A splendid silver trophy resides in the SCC today, with the inscription ‘The Clifford Cricket Challenge Trophy’ and the date ‘3 June 1927’. Was the trophy a special after-thought on the part of Clifford, commemorating the tour of the Australians? Or was it pre-planned before his arrival to signify his continuing affection for cricket?
84 Macartney, My Cricketing Days, 205–6.
85 The Malayan Saturday Post, 11 June 1927.
86 Harte and Whimpress suggested incorrectly that Hennessy was a pace bowler, supporting his argument with the fact that Hennessy opened the bowling. Hennessy was a slow left armer. Harte and Whimpress, A History of Australian Cricket, 304.
87 CitationBrooke, ‘An Account of Malaya's Win’.
88 The Straits Times, Tuesday, 7 June 1927.
89 James, Tour of Oldfield's Australian Cricketers, 22.
90 The Straits Times, 10 June 1927.
91 The Straits Times, 11 June 1927.
92 For a detailed description of ‘menggelunchor’ see CitationSwettenham, Malay Sketches, 31.
93 The Malayan Saturday Post, 18 June 1927. The article first appeared in Athletic News.
94 The Malayan Saturday Post, 18 June 1927.
95 The Malayan Saturday Post, 2 July 1927.
96 Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday, 7 July 1927.
97 The Straits Times, Thursday, 16 June 1927. The team was T.J. Leijssius (Singapore), T.E.K. Retnam (Singapore), F.C.D. La Brooy (Kedah), C. Rodrigo (Penang), Ho Ah Loke, (Penang), H.N. Balhetchet (Penang), C. Lall Singh (Selangor), M.H. Foenander (Selangor), Kwok Ah Keng (Selangor), M.E.T. Chelvan (Perak) and C. Spelderwinde (Perak).
98 The first Chinese cricket player to represent the Straits Settlements was Evan Wong, who played against the FMS in 1928. He was a member of the Straits Chinese Recreation Club in Singapore. The following year he opened the batting and kept wicket in the Triangular Interport tournament against Hong Kong and Shanghai, in Hong Kong.
99 See The Straits Times, 1 September 1921; The Straits Times, 28 September 1927.
100 Port Swettenham is now known as Port Klang.
101 CitationMacartney, My Cricketing Days, 208–9.
102 Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 1927.
103 Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 1927
104 The President of the SCC later spoke of the ‘brilliance of Andrews and the desperate soundness of Woodfull’. Andrews scored 14 boundaries, 3 threes, 9 twos, and 62 singles in a total of 145 runs in 178 minutes. Woodfull scored 8 boundaries, 6 threes, 23 twos, and 61 singles in a total of 157 runs in 208 minutes. No sixes were conceded.
105 Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 1927.
106 Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 1927.
107 Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 1927.
108 The Straits Times, 28 June 1927.
109 Sydney Morning Herald, 19 July 1927.
110 The Malayan Saturday Post, 23 March 1929.
111 The Straits Echo, Penang, 24 December 1926.
112 The Malayan Saturday Post, 11 June 1927.
113 British Malaya, October 1928.
114 The Straits Times, 6 July 1927, 10.
115 British Malaya, July 1929.
116 The Straits Times, 25 March 1929.
117 The Straits Times, 18 April 1929.
118 British Malaya, June 1929.
119 The Straits Times, 4 February 1929.