Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

becoming the third son to follow in his father’s England footsteps. 19 Winning the toss and batting first, Wyatt opened with Denis Smith, but was out for nought. Smith and Barber then added 52 before Barber was out for 24. Smith left at 78. Arthur Mitchell now joined Hammond and they added 69 for the fourth wicket. This brought Joe to the crease. He reached 10 in a partnership of 30 with Mitchell who, in near-fictional manner, made 58 and followed it with 72 in the second innings. Wisden has nothing to say about Joe’s innings, but The Nottingham Journal felt that he never seemed confident. The Cricketer , however, said that he had something of the George Gunn in his somewhat nonchalant method of play. It commented favourably though on his fielding. England were eventually dismissed for 216. South Africa replied with 171, Eric Rowan making 61. England went in again with a lead of 45 and declared at 294 for seven. Joe perished for a duck, being clean bowled by Bell, attempting to force the pace along with Ames and Nichols. South Africa were left with 340 to win in 270 minutes. They chose to play out time and finished with 194 for five. The Gentlemen and Players match at Lord’s started the following day. Along with Wyatt, Smith, Barber, Hammond, Bowes, Sims and James Langridge, Joe journeyed south as soon as the Test was over. They were joined by a now-recovered Leyland. This fixture was always regarded as the most prestigious match of the season outside the Tests. Selection for either side meant recognition at the highest level and a good performance could therefore make all the difference as to possible selection for England. The Gentlemen were dismissed for 218 and the Players replied with 251 for nine declared. Joe scored 26 and, in the course of his innings, passed 1,000 runs for the season. Dismissing the Gentlemen in their second innings for 89, the Players won easily by nine wickets. Joe was among the thirteen players selected for the Fourth Test, at Manchester. The other players were Wyatt, Smith, Barber, Leyland, Duckworth, Hammond, Tate, Robins, Bowes, Clay and Arthur Mitchell. The last named dropped out through injury and was replaced by Bakewell. On the morning of the match, Saturday, 27 Nottinghamshire and England, 1934-1935 35 19 The first two pairs were Fred and Maurice Tate, and Charles and David Townsend. Curiously, in the First Test at Trent Bridge, Dudley Nourse had followed his father ‘Dave’ Nourse, thereby joining Frank and George Hearne of South Africa as members of this distinguished group.