Lives in Cricket No 14 - Jack Bond

the first 85 overs of the first innings. A maximum of five were available to the bowlers, but there was no limit for batsmen, who earned a point for every 25 runs above 150. Yet, in another damp summer, there had not been a glut of runs with the championship average at 23.53. Lancashire’s relative strength in bowling had given the county its edge, their average of 18.93 bettered only by Yorkshire; but the batsmen had averaged just 19.56, the lowest return of all the counties. Barely credibly, with 26.60, Jack headed the Lancashire averages. Whatever the figures, his runs had often been made when the chips were down. Moreover, as Wisden noted, he had ‘frequently sacrificed his wicket attempting to speed things up.’ His reputation as a fighter in a tight corner had been reinforced and his powers of leadership were now manifest for all to see. ‘You’ll have to have all your teeth out’ 71