Senior statesman Hadlee upset at incorrect word usage

Walter Hadlee is upset, and with good cause.

No Canterbury Cricket Association annual general meeting would be complete without an offering from the senior statesman of New Zealand cricket, and two matters came within his compass last evening in Christchurch.

The first was the increasing prevalence of the use of the word 'batter' to describe batsmen. Batter had been used twice in the annual report in the award of Batter of the Year.

To Hadlee, 'batter' was something that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig from baseball were entitled to be called, or it was something that was wrapped around fish and chips, but it certainly wasn't the term that should be used to describe cricket's batsmen.

He was concerned that Canterbury Cricket shouldn't condone the use of the word 'batter' because it was not the correct usage and everything should be done to avoid it, even in the case of women's cricket.

He had discussed this usage previously and women cricketers had been quite happy to be described as batsmen because in cricket parlance that was the description of the role they played.

Quoting from a recent newsletter he had received from the MCC, he read some phrases to the meeting of the work being done in England to get the message across about the Spirit of Cricket.

He felt this message should be reinforced in Canterbury because watching one game in Christchurch last year, and he wouldn't mention the names of the clubs concerned, he had been horrified to see fieldsmen at extra cover, cover, deep mid off and long leg all appealing for leg before wicket.

It wasn't on, he said, and he implored captains and clubs to ensure that the Spirit of Cricket was employed in club play at all levels this year.

New Zealand Cricket representative Tim Murdoch told the meeting that initiatives were in place for all clubs in New Zealand to receive stickers to be placed on stumps this year with the words 'Spirit of Cricket' to be applied while all clubs would also receive a laminated sheet of the 'Spirit of Cricket' statement to be hung in all clubrooms in the country.