“Fair play, fair pay and friendliness!”: The resolution of the Players’ Strike of 1896
30 September 2020 sarastro771890s cricket, Amateur cricket, Bobby Abel, Cricket, Cricket and class, England, George Lohmann, Professional cricket, Shamateurism, Strike, Surrey, Test match strike of 1896, Test selection, Test selectors, The Ashes, The Ashes 1896, Tom Hayward, Tom Richardson, Victorian cricket, wages, WG Grace, William GunnAE Stoddart, Amateur cricket, Andrew Stoddart, Bobby Abel, Charles Alcock, George Lohmann, Harry Trott, Lord Hawke, Punch, Selectors, Shamateurism, Strike, Surrey, Sydney Pardon, Test Match Strike, Test match strike of 1896, The Ashes 1896, The Oval, The Oval Strike, Tom Hayward, Tom Richardson, wages, Walter Read, WG Grace, William Gunn, Wisden
Embed from Getty Images

A photograph of the Oval in 1896, taken during Surrey’s match against the touring Australian team

Before the deciding Test of the 1896 series between England and Australia, played at the Oval on 10 August, five professional cricketers from the England team sent a “demand” to the Surrey Committee asking for their fee for the match to be doubled to £20. The five men — William Gunn, George Lohmann, Bobby Abel, Tom Richardson and Tom Hayward — were unhappy that wages for Test matches had not risen in line with the increased popularity of cricket over the previous twenty years. Additionally, it emerged that they were also dissatisfied with both the profits being made by the touring Australian team and the amount of expenses claimed by the amateurs on their team which meant that several were surreptitiously being better paid than any professional — a practice known as “shamateurism”. At the time, the teams and playing conditions for Test matches in England were under the control of the individual county committees on whose grounds the games were played. Therefore, the five professionals wrote directly to the Surrey authorities; to further complicate matters, all the rebels except Gunn were Surrey players.

Read more at https://oldebor.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/fair-play-fair-pay-and-friendliness-the-resolution-of-the-players-strike-of-1896/

RH

On Friday, January 13, 2023 at 11:58:44 AM UTC, Robert Henderson wrote:
> “Fair play, fair pay and friendliness!”: The resolution of the Players’ Strike of 1896
> 30 September 2020 sarastro771890s cricket, Amateur cricket, Bobby Abel, Cricket, Cricket and class, England, George Lohmann, Professional cricket, Shamateurism, Strike, Surrey, Test match strike of 1896, Test selection, Test selectors, The Ashes, The Ashes 1896, Tom Hayward, Tom Richardson, Victorian cricket, wages, WG Grace, William GunnAE Stoddart, Amateur cricket, Andrew Stoddart, Bobby Abel, Charles Alcock, George Lohmann, Harry Trott, Lord Hawke, Punch, Selectors, Shamateurism, Strike, Surrey, Sydney Pardon, Test Match Strike, Test match strike of 1896, The Ashes 1896, The Oval, The Oval Strike, Tom Hayward, Tom Richardson, wages, Walter Read, WG Grace, William Gunn, Wisden
> Embed from Getty Images
>
> A photograph of the Oval in 1896, taken during Surrey’s match against the touring Australian team
>
> Before the deciding Test of the 1896 series between England and Australia, played at the Oval on 10 August, five professional cricketers from the England team sent a “demand” to the Surrey Committee asking for their fee for the match to be doubled to £20. The five men — William Gunn, George Lohmann, Bobby Abel, Tom Richardson and Tom Hayward — were unhappy that wages for Test matches had not risen in line with the increased popularity of cricket over the previous twenty years. Additionally, it emerged that they were also dissatisfied with both the profits being made by the touring Australian team and the amount of expenses claimed by the amateurs on their team which meant that several were surreptitiously being better paid than any professional — a practice known as “shamateurism”. At the time, the teams and playing conditions for Test matches in England were under the control of the individual county committees on whose grounds the games were played. Therefore, the five professionals wrote directly to the Surrey authorities; to further complicate matters, all the rebels except Gunn were Surrey players.
>
> Read more at https://oldebor.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/fair-play-fair-pay-and-friendliness-the-resolution-of-the-players-strike-of-1896/
>
> RH

£20 in 1896 was worth £2,109

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator

RH

In message <d3cd843f-fb67-401f-b63a-c48b08d4838fn@googlegroups.com>,
Robert Henderson <anywhere156@gmail.com> writes
<snip>
>Read more at
>https://oldebor.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/fair-play-fair-pay-and-friendli
>ness-the-resolution-of-the-players-strike-of-1896/

Thanks for the link. It's a good article. I see that it was written by
Sarastro, whom I know from his good work on cricket articles on
Wikipedia.
--
John Hall "Do you have cornflakes in America?"
"Well, actually, they're American."
"So what brings you to Britain then if you have cornflakes already?"
Bill Bryson: "Notes from a Small Island"

On Friday, January 13, 2023 at 2:04:26 PM UTC, John Hall wrote:
> In message <d3cd843f-fb67-401f...@googlegroups.com>,
> Robert Henderson <anywh...@gmail.com> writes
> <snip>
> >Read more at
> >https://oldebor.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/fair-play-fair-pay-and-friendli
> >ness-the-resolution-of-the-players-strike-of-1896/
>
> Thanks for the link. It's a good article. I see that it was written by
> Sarastro, whom I know from his good work on cricket articles on
> Wikipedia.
> --
> John Hall "Do you have cornflakes in America?"
> "Well, actually, they're American."
> "So what brings you to Britain then if you have cornflakes already?"
> Bill Bryson: "Notes from a Small Island"

The really shocking thing about English pros Test remuneration is that in the 1960s England players got less than £200 a Test.

RH