Twenty-One Years of the ACS

a cameo innings from Hutton; a magnificent fighting century from Compton, with Miller being booed for short-pitched bowling in indifferent light. What a price!' Ledbetter's academic future clearly did not suffer as he went on to Durham University and eventually lectured in modern history at Trent Polytechnic before early retirementenabled him to divert his professional skills into cricket research. Ledbetter was a calm and efficient mentor for the committee over many anxious months as the ACS negotiated the purchase of its headquarters. In completing the story of the ACS's financial recovery, several other important events were by-passed and chiefamong these was the resignation of Robert Brooke from the editorship of the Journal. Brooke was never going to come to terms with the prospect of working alongside a five-man editorial board set up by the committee in April, 1985, after it was decided that the Journal should be given a face-lift. Brooke remained on the board and the committee but nine months later he also resigned from these.Brooke edited the first52issues ofThe CricketStatistician and admitted to the author that he was prouder and had drawn more satisfaction from this job than from any other aspect of his extensive work in cricket. He was also unstinting in his praise for the assistance and guidance he received for several years from Gordon Tratalos, who for a time, was recognised as assistant editor before failing health intervened. Brooke insisted on the highest standards from his contributors in terms of original thinking, readability and variety. His own idiosyncratic writing and thoughts at times - notably in some trenchant book reviews worthy ofRowland Bowen - were an additional asset to pages which wereseldom dull. Somesamples oCRobertBrooke Sayings',culled at random,confirm the point. Oct.1974: T would like to make a few comments on the make-up of the MCC team to Australia. But words fail me.' Oct.1978: Tn ourexperience no ACS member has written a bad cricket book.' Dec.1980: Tt is as far removed from cricket as Lawn Tennis is from Royal Tennis - a fresh game should mean a fresh title.'(A comment on floodlit fixtures). Jun.1981: 'This appears year by year so somebody must buy it. Why?'(A review of aTCCB booklet). 26