Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

Chapter One Early Days, 1911-1928 ‘Young Joe’ Hardstaff, the only son of ‘Old Joe’ and Elizabeth (Liza) Hardstaff, was born on Monday, 3 July 1911 in Diamond Avenue, East Kirkby, Nottinghamshire. 1 Since 1901 East Kirkby had been a separate ecclesiastical parish. Originally it had been part of the parish of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, but the nineteenth century had seen a small, agricultural village change into an industrial community with an ever-increasing population which rose from 2,032 in 1831 to over 7,000 in 1901. By 1921 the population had risen to 17,236. The Hardstaffs were a local family who had long lived in the Ashfield area, near the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire border, west of Mansfield. Indeed the name Hardstaff is most likely derived from the village of Hardstoft which is just over the Derbyshire border. ‘Old Joe’ had been born in Kirkby-in-Ashfield on 9 November 1882 and, like many another boy in that area, had taken a job in a local coal mine after leaving school. However, his ability at cricket, primarily as a right-handed batsman, had led to a trial at Trent Bridge in 1902, as a result of which he had been given a place on the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club playing staff. Later that year, on 21 August, he made his first-class debut, playing for Notts against Lancashire at Old Trafford. After six appearances the following year, he became a regular member of the team in 1904 and remained so for the next 20 years. In all he scored 15,059 runs in 8 ‘Old Joe’ Hardstaff, who played 340 first-class matches for Notts and five Tests for England. 1 Joe’s birthplace has been variously reported as East Kirkby, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and, most commonly, Nuncargate. His birth certificate makes it quite clear that it was East Kirkby. Nuncargate is a couple of miles south of East Kirkby.