Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

sustained in New Zealand the previous winter put him out of action from 12 August onwards and he did not appear in the last six matches. Before that, however, he had been in good form, making 1,383 runs, hitting five centuries and averaging 53.19, despite suffering the indignity of the second pair of his career against Somerset at Taunton – lbw bowled Buse and caught Stephenson, bowled Lawrence. His overall form was good enough for many to wonder why he was still not playing for England. Indeed in his Wisden report on England’s unsuccessful tour to Australia in the winter of 1950/51, R.J.Hayter says that ‘people in Australia regretted the absence of the stability in batting which might have been provided by such men as Robertson and Edrich of Middlesex, Ikin (Lancashire), Hardstaff (Nottinghamshire), Dollery (Warwickshire), Emmett (Gloucestershire) and Brookes (North- amptonshire).’ It is an interesting speculation and is perhaps indicative of Joe’s standing in the game. If 1950 was bad for Notts then 1951 was even worse. The county sank to the bottom of the table, the first time a ‘big six’ county had been last since Kent had finished fourteenth in 1895. The county’s bowling was weak and the Trent Bridge wicket was even more docile. 68 Despite all this, Joe, now in his fortieth year, continued to make runs in the manner expected of him, but once again injury – this time cartilage trouble necessitating an operation in the autumn – shortened his summer and he missed the last ten matches. Before this, however, he had scored 1,157 runs averaging 42.85. This included 151 off the touring South Africans and his tenth and last double-century – a mammoth 247 made in eight hours in an exceptionally dull, drawn match against North- amptonshire at Trent Bridge. 69 On 19 May, against Somerset at Yeovil, Joe captained Notts for the first time. Reg Simpson had replaced Bill Sime, but in view of his probable Test and other representative commitments, Joe, by now senior professional, was appointed the official vice-captain. In fact the committee had appointed Joe as Sime’s deputy in 1947, but 110 County Cricketer, 1949-1955 68 Notts conceded runs at 40.67 per wicket in 1951, a figure exceeded only twice before in the Championship, by Derbyshire, with 41.87 in 1901, and by Worcestershire, with 40.88 in 1920. 69 Perhaps, though it is unlikely, it was this Hardstaff innings which Mr Charles Wardle, a junior minister at the Home Office, had in mind when trying to disparage a long-winded Nottingham MP in the House of Commons on 21 June 1994. He claimed that his opponent ‘was seeking to emulate Joe Hardstaff; he was here to bat all day, and all night if necessary’. As we have seen, long-winded Hardstaff innings were few and far between.