Lives in Cricket No 14 - Jack Bond

Meanwhile, knowing that the committee felt unsure about him, Jack had left for South Africa with a firm offer of a coaching job at a school in Norfolk to chew over. He had taken the opportunity to write a personal note to the Secretary, Geoffrey Howard, himself in his last months before moving to The Oval, warning of his impending resignation and taking the opportunity to express his feelings about what was wrong with Lancashire, notably the salary structure and length of contract. ‘The basic should have been increased and a lower match fee paid. They were working to a structure that made the rest of the players the poor relations to those in the first team, and it had an effect on team spirit.’ ‘I’d be most upset if you chose to leave,’ the widely respected Geoffrey Howard replied. There was a positive response to Jack’s observations, with players being given more security through longer contracts. Deciding to soldier on, Jack spent most of the next two years as he had for so much of his time – on the fringe of the first team, often watching on while others, mostly players he had guided in his successful second team, were given their chance. In 1965 he played 15 first-team matches, while Mike Beddow, Harry Pilling and John Sullivan each played 21, Gerry Knox 19, and debutants David Lloyd and Ken Snellgrove 13 and 14 respectively. Most of these players struggled and, in another low-scoring season, each Lancashire wicket in the Championship averaged no more than 18.72, making Jack’s modest 19.82 good enough to give him fifth spot in the championship list. Holding a place in the team until mid-June but then playing only twice more, his best scores were an undefeated 112 in a losing cause at Leicester and 95 in the defeat of Sussex at Liverpool. When not on first-team duty Jack captained the Second Eleven, but he and his charges were less successful than in 1964, and in 1966 the second team captaincy was handed to Bob Bennett, under whom Jack played a handful of matches. A century against Yorkshire Second Eleven showed that he was in good form and by early June he was back in the first team, where he held his place for the rest of the season. ‘A Methodist coaching the Catholics’ 53