Lives in Cricket No 16 - Joe Hardstaff

It was an arduous tour of five so-called ‘Test’ matches, each of four days; ten other first-class matches; and a further nine minor matches, totalling 68 days of cricket at 19 different venues, spread over sixteen weeks. The tour took in all parts of India, thus involving sea voyages, a lot of train travel, as well as considerable lavish Indian hospitality, especially when the team reached Calcutta to play the Maharaja of Cooch Behar’s XI in early January 1938. On the second evening the eating and drinking went on very late until only Joe and the Maharaja were still on their feet. They kept drinking until Joe eventually subsided under the table. Somehow or other he got to the ground the following morning and his team-mates got him out to bat. 31 not out overnight, the monumentally hung-over Joe reached his fifty in very quick time before Tennyson declared. Pope and Langridge then bowled their side to victory. For Joe this began a long friendship with the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, and son Joe remembers that each Christmas for many years after this the Hardstaff household received a ham and a case of Darjeeling tea courtesy of the Maharaja. 37 In the ‘Test’ matches Joe scored one and 50 not out at Lahore where Tennyson’s XI won by nine wickets despite being interrupted for two minutes by an earthquake. In the second ‘Test’ at Bombay, Joe managed only nine and four. This match ended in a six-wicket victory. Improved form saw Joe score 59 and 49 in the third ‘Test’ match at Calcutta which India won by 93 runs. Tennyson’s XI then went down to defeat by an innings and six runs in the fourth ‘Test’ at Madras, Joe making 29 and 14. With the series at two-all the teams returned to Bombay for the final encounter. This too was a low-scoring match (Joe 20 and five) which Tennyson’s side, largely thanks to the bowling of Wellard and Pope, won by 156 runs. In the other matches Joe’s best performance was his 213 against Madras. Batting for 300 minutes he hit 24 fours. It was the highest individual score of the tour, but it was to no avail as the match petered out into a draw on the third day. Overall Joe took some time to get going but, playing in twelve first-class games, he scored 706 runs and averaged 39.22 which put him second to Bill Edrich. 70 Regular England Player, 1937-1939 37 The players evidently had a great deal of enjoyment on this tour. But the stories have become much embellished to the extent that one recent tale has it that, without Fleet Street to report their activities, they not only enjoyed hunting panther, tiger and elephant, but that ‘at Patiala the Maharajah gave the team the run of his 300-strong harem’.