Cricket Witness No 1 - Class Peace

117 Chapter Twelve Towards Classless Cricket? In 1951 Tom Dollery became the first modern professional to lead a county championship winning team when Warwickshire were thus victorious. He did so with some trepidation but was decisive enough to refuse his committee’s instruction to change in isolation from his team-mates. The officers’ mess/headmaster’s study mentality of leadership being separated from followers died hard. Several counties chose the same path. Doug Wright at Kent, Dennis Brookes at Northants, Maurice Tremlett at Somerset, Cyril Washbrook at Lancashire and Vic Wilson at Yorkshire were among those appointed during the next ten years. Elsewhere amateurs continued to rule the roost and travel and accommodation arrangements remained separate, even if different gates had long been banished and dressing rooms were becoming more embracing of both types. The distinction was sustained. Tom Graveney told the anecdote of how he was angrily upbraided by his county captain for calling his friendly England colleague ‘David’ when the Reverend D.S.Sheppard was playing for Sussex. It was as if appointing a professional as captain was a last resort, a sign of despair, with counties reverting to amateur captains when a likely (unpaid) lad presented himself; on Cyril Washbrook’s retirement the Lancashire committee turned, not altogether satisfactorily, to the amateurs Bob Barber and Joe Blackledge. It was only after a weary spell of English failure that in 1952 Len Hutton was invited to captain England. Stressing that he would not turn amateur, he accepted, although he was succeeded as skipper by the amateur, Peter May. It was not a root and branch change. In 1953 MCC honoured 26 former England players, all professionals, by making them honorary members of the prestigious club. It was a kindly way of marking their achievements. There may have been a tint of condescension about it, similar to the gold watch retirement ceremony for the trusty, loyal employee but it was far better than simply forgetting or shunning ex-professionals. Meanwhile, in this last decade of split-class first-class cricket, the amateurs sounded a brave last hurrah. In the 1956 Test at Old Trafford against Australia, ever since titled ‘Laker’s Match’, one interesting fact, alongside the professional off spinner’s amazing cull of nineteen wickets, was the English batting line-up. The first five were all amateurs; Peter Richardson, Colin Cowdrey, David Sheppard, Peter May and Trevor Bailey. Shades of the 1900s – and they scored some 350 or so of England’s 459 in the first innings of a match recalled more for the poor totals posted by Australia.