Lives in Cricket No 14 - Jack Bond

174 for seven. Only Sullivan, with more than half Lancashire’s runs from his own bat, made much impression as Derek Shackleton and Butch White conceded only 21 runs in the 14 overs they bowled. This was the chance for Lancashire’s rivals to close the gap, but Essex lost to Warwickshire, and Surrey, who were to lose their last three matches, were trounced by Middlesex at Lord’s. So, with Lancashire’s hopes now resting on their match with Warwickshire at Nuneaton, Hampshire had become the side best placed to overtake them. A week later it was Sullivan again. His fourth-wicket partnership of 105 with Clive Lloyd ensured a challenging total of 204 for five, to which Warwickshire could muster only 153 in reply. News that Hampshire had gone down to Essex meant that Lancashire were the first county to lift the John Player trophy and take with it a cheque for £1,000. It wasn’t how Jack had planned the season, but he was carried along with the euphoria. ‘From playing in front of a couple of thousand in a championship match, suddenly the ground became alive. Not just at Old Trafford but wherever we played away from home we got a good following. Mind you, I’ve always believed that any form of cricket should be a spectator sport – you’re not playing the game for the players’ benefit, you’re playing it for the people watching. But it’s surprising – it does bring more out of you. It creates more pressure, but it gets the best out of you as well.’ Lancashire’s final Sunday match of the season took them to Worcester as champions. No longer was there the pressure to win, so the team took the opportunity to pitch for one of the individual prizes on offer. To spice up the competition, prizes had been offered for sixes – 355 were hit altogether, each one worth £2 16s 4d (£2.82) – and for taking four wickets in a match. There was one other prize for the season’s fastest fifty, measured in those days in the old currency of minutes rather than balls. The front runner for this award was Keith Boyce – for his innings against Lancashire in early May – and it was his opponents that day who now planned to deprive him. After Worcestershire had batted first and scored a useful 158, the target for Lancashire’s batsmen was to reach fifty in less than 23 minutes. David Lloyd was designated as the man to bat quietly through while the others threw their bats at the ball. It didn’t work. In the end Lancashire did not even score quickly enough to win the match and Lloyd, whose sacrificial role brought ‘And there was this new competition’ 77