Famous Cricketers No 56 - Laurence Barnard Fishlock

LAURENCE BARNARD FISHLOCK Laurence Barnard Fishlock, the Surrey and England left-handed batsman, was born on 2nd January 1907 at 9 Cupar Road, Battersea, S.W. London. Generally known as Laurie, he was the second of the three children of Albert Edward Fishlock and Mary Ann Barnard, who was his second wife. The name Fishlock, which means ‘dweller by the fish stream’, is an ancient one and can be traced back under various different spellings of the word to the early 13th century in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The cricketer’s branch of the family came from the Hampton district of Middlesex. George Fishlock, a groomsman, married Susanna Spong, a widow. They had a son, also called George, who was born on 31st August 1837 at Teddington, Middlesex. He married Sophia Shorter at St James’s Church, Hampton on 23rd November 1868. Their son Albert Edward, Laurie’s father, was born on 7th July 1870 in Hampton. He married first Louisa Worland on 14th April 1895 at St James’s Church, Westminster. After bearing her husband three children, she died in 1900 in Whitechapel. Albert married Mary Barnard on 12th June 1904 at All Saints Church, Battersea, the local church to his home in Cupar Road. Laurie showed an early aptitude for all forms of games, and played cricket for the All Saints Church choir and also in League cricket in the London parks in the local area. He also represented his elementary school. After leaving technical school, he took employment as an engineer and joined the well-known amateur football club, Dulwich Hamlet. He played at outside left, where he gained a reputation as a very speedy winger. His prowess was enough to gain him an amateur international cap for England against Wales at Brighton in February 1929. In the meantime, he played cricket for The Crusaders, a wandering club, and also for Dulwich Hamlet Cricket Club. He decided that a career as a professional sportsman was more secure than his chosen one of engineering. He first joined the staff of Crystal Palace FC in the close season of 1929. He soon became a familiar figure on the left wing and played for no less than five separate Football League clubs – the others were Aldershot, Millwall, Southampton and Gillingham. He appeared in each season from 1929/30 to 1937/38, with the exception of 1936/37 when he was touring Australia and New Zealand with the M.C.C. In all, he made 179 Football League appearances and scored 37 goals. It was cricket, however, that became his first love and he took the initiative in writing to the Oval authorities for a trial in 1930. This proved successful and he was taken on the professional staff as a medium-pace left-arm bowler. He became a regular member of the Surrey 2nd XI in the four seasons from 1930 to 1933, during which period he scored over 1200 runs in the Minor Counties Championship. This was interspersed with five first-class matches in 1931 and 1933, all at Kennington Oval. His big chance came in 1934 when he was given an extended run in the Surrey first team in early June. Although he did not hold his place for the entire season, as he was required for football duties in late August, he made some good scores, including 65 and 58 against Hampshire in late July and a top score of 99 in mid August against Somerset at Weston-super-Mare. In the meantime, he had married Doris Fletcher at St Winifred’s Catholic Church, Wimbledon on 3rd October 1932. There were no children of the marriage. Fishlock made an immediate impact at the beginning of the 1935 season and began to make a name for himself through his batting. He played in 27 consecutive games for Surrey, scored three centuries and finished his first full season with 1466 runs. His season ended a little prematurely when he was injured in a car accident at Bournemouth on the intervening Sunday of the match at Yeovil. 1936 saw Laurie Fishlock progress to greater heights as an attractive, attacking, fast-scoring batsman. His good form brought him to the attention of the Test Selectors and he played in two of the three Test matches against the Indian tourists. He only contributed 6 runs in the 2nd Test at Old Trafford to an England total of 571 for 8 declared. In the 3rd and final Test at his home ground he batted at number six in the 4