an excellent century by Reg Simpson and a quick-fire 50 from Cyril Poole, who always seemed to do well in these matches. In 1960 Notts were caught on a wet wicket which was fully exploited by Tony Lock and there was some more big hitting by Poole. I also remember Poole again and a Barrington hundred in 1961.” Some great names, but what of the average bread-and-butter county cricketers who played in these matches? John Clay was one such, a reliable batsman and slip fieldsman who captained Nottinghamshire in 1961, his last and best year with the club. His matches against Surrey took place from 1949 to 1961, the years of their pomp and his memories, unsurprisingly, tend to centre on Messrs Bedser, Loader, Laker and Lock. “They were all England bowlers, world-class bowlers, in fact. Just imagine being able to put two men on to bowl and then if the pitch wasn’t suiting them, replace them with the other two. What a luxury! “Those holiday games were always special to me. As a youngster I would go to Trent Bridge at Whitsun with my father. Surrey always seemed special even then – chocolate-coloured caps, for instance, when everybody else seemed to be wearing blue. On the field, in the matches I played against them, they were a very hard bunch and a fine team. But they were probably the one side, to a man, that at the end of the day were in the Trent Bridge Inn with us. They were very good socially and always joined us for a drink at the end of the day. “The senior players, such as Joe Hardstaff, Reg Simpson, Alec Bedser, Jim Laker and Laurie Fishlock, would tend to congregate because they had been on overseas tours together but there was a good spirit of friendship between the sides. I enjoyed playing at The Oval. People always talk about Lord’s but I found there was something special about the atmosphere at The Oval, even more so than Lord’s. The approach to the ground and the ground itself – it always seemed to be such a massive place. “We travelled by train to London, then by coach for a time and finally, as the years passed, by car. Over the years we stayed in various hotels, mainly one near Lord’s, and we tended to use the same hotels for the games against Sussex and Middlesex or if we were playing at Blackheath, for instance. “We were usually on the receiving end against Lock and Laker etc., but I recall one day at The Oval in 1953. Reg Simpson and I shared an opening stand of 159 and I remember one or two of the Surrey players getting a bit niggled. They were not used to that sort of thing. It was a memorable game for me. I made 89 and 58 but they won by six runs.” Clay had another good match when he captained Nottinghamshire to a 28-run victory at Trent Bridge in 1961, making 71 and 63 himself. Simpson got a hundred and Clay’s declaration left Surrey 291 at 90 an hour. Edrich and Barrington kept them up with the rate but Carlton Forbes transformed matters with three quick wickets. To their credit, Surrey continued to go for the runs and lost their last wicket three minutes from the end of extra time. “Nobody battled more fiercely than Tony Lock in that game,” said Clay, “but after it was all over he was the first person to come into our dressing room and say ‘well done’. Naturally these games remain the memory. Everything went our way for a while and it was lovely to feel that for a change we were doing so well against one of the best sides in the country. Surrey v Nottinghamshire 146