Lives in Cricket No 14 - Jack Bond

formula, all that was required of the side batting second in a shortened match was to score more than their opponents had managed in the same number of overs. Invariably this made life hard for the team with runs on the board, and it now worked to Kent’s advantage as they maintained that they had only to pass 57 in ten overs, the minimum number required for a valid contest. But no-one had advised Jack of any limit being imposed on the Kent innings. Had he known, he might have come off earlier, while it could also be argued that Kent had not batted the mandatory ten overs. Kent captain Colin Cowdrey claimed that the umpires had confirmed a Kent win, but a call was made to Lord’s and a ruling came back that it was ‘only provisional’. ‘If Lancashire appeal, as they are expected to do,’ wrote John Woodcock in The Times , ‘they will have a case, technical though it may be.’ Next day, back at Dartford, there was a meeting behind the hessian screen that served to create the umpires’ quarters, between the officials and the two captains, with the Kent side strengthened by the presence of their former captain David Clark, now a member of the MCC committee. Jack was assured that there would be a meeting at Lord’s later in the week, at which he would be allowed to put his case. But the promised meeting never took place. Before the team returned to Old Trafford, a letter had been received confirming the Kent win. Whatever the merits of the case, Jack still fulminates at the injustice. ‘Cowdrey and David Clark were both well connected at Lord’s. It was a case of the establishment looking after its own.’ On the field, the Dartford pitch thwarted both sets of bowlers, a draw bringing Lancashire eleven points but also providing a stage for the full majesty of Clive Lloyd’s stroke play as he reached his century from 90 balls on his way to 163. Innings of this kind helped to make Lancashire the fastest-scoring side in the Championship, their runs coming at 54.64 per hundred balls against 43.14 the previous year. The annual sortie to Liverpool brought a second championship win in three matches as Northants were defeated by nine wickets. So the Lancashire players set off in good heart for their meeting with Yorkshire at Headingley. Making the most of a good batting pitch, Barry Wood and David Lloyd added 151 for the first wicket, Wood going on to 105. Clive Lloyd and Engineer then weighed in to 82 ‘They stormed the gates to get in’