Lives in Cricket No 14 - Jack Bond

see how he could have tackled anything differently, albeit he would not have had the extra burden of the anti-university feeling and resentment of the amateur that Bob Barber faced. ‘I would have found it a lot more difficult and stressful than when I did take over,’ he says. Determined that he would banish all traces of the cynical and selfish attitudes of the early sixties, Jack vowed that his teammust start enjoying playing the game. Then the crowd would enjoy watching them. A positive team spirit had to be restored with players happy for each others’ successes. It was a far cry from the times when there had been dressing-room chuckles at the failures of Cyril Washbrook or plotting for the young Bob Bennett to fail. ‘If it had gone wrong because I made a wrong decision at the toss, then there were ten people trying to put it right. I honestly believe that was because of the way I’d looked after them and helped them along the road in earlier seasons.’ With David Lloyd and Barry Wood, soon to be joined by Frank Hayes, as batsmen; Peter Lever, as the away swing bowler which Jack always liked to have in a team; and Ken Shuttleworth, held back only by a lack of belief in his own talent – there were five players destined to play for England. And there was one other youngster who Jack feels deserved it just as much, Harry Pilling. Also in the fourteen fromwhom the side was invariably picked was ‘a man who would die for you,’ John Sullivan. ‘It was great to have people like John in the side. When you said, “Unfortunately you’re left out,” and he’d say, “I’m quite happy to leave it up to Jack Bond and Lancashire to pick me to play when they want me to play.” He probably wanted to play in every match but he realised he couldn’t, and when he was picked he was overjoyed. Other lads would sulk and go into their shell and probably wouldn’t talk to you, avoid you if they could.’ For this first summer Brian Statham was still available to lead the attack with Ken Higgs, while there would be two more seasons of Graham Atkinson and one for the veteran John Savage, who was to be a steadying hand in the attack and provide the ideal foil for yet another youngster, 21-year-old David Hughes. ‘John played a big part in the development of David Hughes in that particular year because I was able to bowl the experienced spinner at one end and the young slow left-armer at the other, knowing that John would be economical. And if you’ve got an off-spinner and a slow ‘You’ll have to have all your teeth out’ 64