Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

reached 525 for nine. An overnight declaration left Notts needing to make 209 to avoid an innings defeat. By lunch Notts were 149 for four. Joe had reached the wicket when the score was 40 for two. He lost Keeton at 97 and George Gunn at 149. Joe and Arthur Staples then turned the game round by adding 247 in the next 150 minutes, Staples’ share being 76. Joe was finally out for 243 made out of 407 in 270 minutes. He hit two sixes and 31 fours, thereby putting an end to Middlesex’s hope of glory. According to A.J.Turner in The Nottingham Journal he made only one questionable stroke, otherwise ‘all the features of academic batsmanship were present’. In his early autobiography, Playing for England , Denis Compton recalled that when Joe arrived at the crease Walter Robins, the Middlesex captain, asked him what he thought of the new champions. Apparently Joe never replied, leaving his bat to do the talking. In Compton’s words, ‘Joe well and truly flogged our bowling.’ Joe said later: ‘If only Robins had kept his mouth shut. I didn’t want to rob Middlesex of the title; they were all friends of mine – Denis, Bill, Jack, Sid and Jim.’ In the meantime, Yorkshire defeated Sussex at Eastbourne and then went on to beat Hampshire in two days at Bournemouth, while Middlesex were outbatted by Surrey and thus had to be content with second place, three points behind Yorkshire. Of all the innings in this purple patch, the most outstanding was undoubtedly his 51-minute century at Canterbury, in early August, which won him the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest century of the season. 35 Joe claimed that in reality the century came in less than 50 minutes, because there was a drinks interval when an elderly retainer shuffled on and off the field with a tray of drinks – an interval Joe felt was nearer five minutes than the official two. Kent batted first and made 332. Notts replied with 265, Joe top scoring with 97. Kent then declared at lunch time on the third day, setting Notts a target of 310 in 225 minutes. Notts took up the challenge and after the early loss of Harris, Keeton and Knowles then added 117 for the second wicket in only 75 minutes. After Keeton’s dismissal Joe and Knowles put on 144 in an hour. Joe’s contribution to this stand was 117. He was finally out for 126. His century had taken only 51 minutes 36 and contained one six and 17 Regular England Player, 1937-1939 67 35 Started by Sir Walter Lawrence in 1934 the winner received £100; the previous winners had been Woolley, Gimblett and Ames. 36 The only other winner of the Trophy before the War to take less than an hour for his century was H.T.Bartlett whose century against the Australians in 1938 took 57 minutes.