Lives in Cricket No 14 - Jack Bond

performers in one-day cricket, would be pitted against the side that had been the first to learn how to adjust to the challenge of the limited-overs game. But before the two teams could lock horns at Lord’s there were nine championship matches to be played and no time for rest on Sundays as the three-pronged challenge moved closer to its climax. With rain affecting the results of most of the next Sunday’s John Player League matches, Lancashire were again among the victims of the competition rules after Surrey had won an important toss and chosen to field. Lancashire’s 162 for six owed much to a stand of 51 between Jack and Hayes in the last nine of their 34 overs. But, coming at the end of the innings, their runs became academic once further rain had restricted the Surrey innings to 25 overs. Eventually requiring 106, the home batsmen reached their reduced target with two balls and two wickets to spare. Lancashire remained top of the Sunday league table, but they now led by only four points from Derbyshire and Kent. Meanwhile rain continued to play its part in the Championship. There were only four points from a draw with Glamorgan at Blackpool, the match coming to a premature end with Lancashire in the ascendancy. Seven points were earned from an exciting draw at Hove where Sussex, with eight wickets down, ended only 16 short of their target. Back at Old Trafford, Manchester weather remained true to its reputation with only 20 minutes’ play after the first day of the return match with Derbyshire, allowing Lancashire time to gather just two bowling points. With other counties also suffering from the weather, Lancashire remained handily placed with a game or more in hand of most other contenders in a title race where the leaders were unusually tightly bunched: Played Won Lost Drawn Points Surrey 18 5 1 12 166 Derbyshire 18 6 4 8 159 Sussex 20 4 5 11 158 Lancashire 17 5 1 11 157 Warwickshire 19 5 4 10 157 Glamorgan 18 6 6 6 155 Yorkshire 16 6 4 6 153 There was no game for Lancashire in the next round of championship matches – they had a three-day match against ‘They stormed the gates to get in’ 87