Gubby Under Pressure

The selectors, Sir Stanley Jackson, Lord Cobham, H.D.G.Leveson Gower, Warner, P.A.Perrin and T.A.Higson, would soon sit back content that they had found the right man to lead England, not only to victory, but redemption as well. Selection difficulties At an emergency MCC Committee meeting at Lord’s on Monday, 20 July, 1936, three days after Allen had captained the Gentlemen against the Players, the President informed him of his appointment as captain of the MCC team to tour Australia and New Zealand that winter. The press was duly notified shortly after, together with the names of the first six players invited to join his squad – R.W.V.Robins, W.R.Hammond, M.Leyland, H.Verity, J.Hardstaff and L.B.Fishlock. Most of the names on that short list came as no surprise. Robins, a friend of Allen and his family, was captain of Middlesex that year and respected as a forceful, middle-order batsman and above average leg-spinner with Test experience. Leyland and Hammond, both world-class batsmen enjoying another good summer in England, would be making their third trip down under. The batting of Hardstaff had impressed against the state sides during the short non-Test series tour of Australia and New Zealand the previous winter and his good form had continued. The top-class bowling of Verity, 97 wickets from 24 Tests including 35 Australian victims, was an obvious choice for a second tour, but the inclusion of Fishlock was unexpected. He was a competent county left-hand batsman, but at the age of 29 with no Test experience, it seemed a little late to bring him in now. The next announcement of more players came at the beginning of August, after the selectors had had time to consider the strengths of more candidates in action in a rain-reduced Test Trial and the Test series against a weak Indian touring team. The four names included the youngest ever to be chosen to tour Australia. A.E.Fagg was only 21 and a very promising opening batsman who would hopefully feature as half the answer to finding a new reliable opening partnership to give a solid start to England’s innings. Two of the other three players came from Derbyshire; the fast bowler W.H.Copson and all-rounder T.S.Worthington. Their team was well on the way to winning the County Championship that summer, having only narrowly been beaten into second place in 1935 by Yorkshire, so they were the men in form. They would also be nominated as two of Wisden’s traditional five ‘Cricketers of the Year’, and Worthington would go on to celebrate his selection with a century in the final Test at the Oval. The other choice was Duckworth as wicket-keeper, although a place was being saved for Ames in the hope that he would recover from back trouble that had kept him from playing for most of the season. Allen registered his protest at this disjointed method of selection, but it was standard procedure. Something of much greater concern was about to be suggested before the last five names could be agreed. He was called to Lord’s to receive disquieting news. The Selection Committee had decided to pick W.Voce, one of the bad boys of the 1932/33 ‘bodyline’ tour, the ill-feeling from which Allen was being sent to Australia to rectify. It had been Allen’s Preparing for the tour 9