Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

Barnett, Verity, Hardstaff, Voce, Duckworth, Worthington, Fagg and Sims. Robins dropped out through injury and Sims took his place. Had Joe not been injured presumably one of the batsmen would have been left out. One is left wondering who it might have been or whether a bowler might have been omitted. Fit again, Joe returned to the Nottinghamshire side for the match against Leicestershire. For the first time in his career he was dismissed for a pair – bowled Geary in the first innings and caught and bowled Geary in the second. The match ended in a draw although it would appear that indifferent fielding let Notts down. At this point Notts were third in the Championship table behind Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Joe made amends in the next match against Essex at Clacton, making 103 out of a total of 286. In the second innings he top-scored with 70 but it was not enough to prevent a 34-run win for Essex. Notts now slipped to fourth place. It was announced that Holmes was unable to tour and that he would be replaced by Wyatt. Ames now was fit and thus the 17-man party was completed. There were eight specialist batsmen – Hammond, Leyland, Wyatt, Barnett, Fagg, Fishlock, Worthington and Hardstaff. Stiff competition for selection in the First Test, in Brisbane starting on 4 December, was in the offing. In its issue of 5 September The Cricketer featured Joe in its series of ‘Brief Biographies’ and concluded that ‘it will be surprising indeed if he is not one of the outstanding batsmen in the coming tour’. County cricket came to an end, with Derbyshire taking the title. Notts drew against Glamorgan and lost to Gloucestershire in Tom Goddard’s benefit match 30 which put Notts in fifth position, with eight victories and three defeats in their 28 matches. Joe played in one more match. On 5, 7 and 8 September he appeared at the Scarborough Festival, playing for the MCC Australian team against H.D.G.Leveson Gower’s side. Playing alongside Joe were Wyatt, Verity, Leyland, Fishlock, Holmes, Allen, Sims, Duckworth, Farnes and Copson. 31 Joe made 97, helping Towards a Regular England Place, 1936 51 30 It was after this match that Dallas Page, the Gloucestershire captain, died in hospital in Cirencester as a result of a car crash while on his way home. Only a week earlier, R.P.Northway of Northamptonshire had been killed and Fred Bakewell so seriously injured that he never played first-class cricket again, when their car crashed near Leicester after the Derbyshire v Northamptonshire match. 31 Barnett, Hammond and Ames were appearing for the Players against the Gentlemen at Folkestone. Fagg was busy getting married. History does not record the whereabouts of Voce, Worthington and Robins.