Lives in Cricket No 20 - Maurice Tompkin

then, whether in uniform or not. ‘Outgoing but quiet’ was another description: ‘He always had the time of day for you – he always had a smile on his face.’ * * * * * The summer of 1955 was a complete contrast to the year before. It was generally fine, with July and August particularly warm and sunny. The drier conditions brought an improvement in form to both Maurice and the county. Though he had exceeded 1,800 runs in each of the five seasons prior to the monsoon-like 1954, he had never reached the magic 2,000. Leicestershire rose ten places in the championship table with eleven wins, a number of exceeded only by the championship-winning side of 1975. On the debit side, they lost as many as ten. The fact that their bowling average was higher than their batting average suggests that Charles Palmer’s captaincy was especially important in winning matches that were evenly balanced. Overall Maurice had a much more consistent summer; it was not until the end of July that he was dismissed without scoring, and this was the only occasion it happened during the season. This would have been a particular disappointment: a lovely day, the ground full for the holiday match against Northamptonshire, and then bowled fifth ball by the great Australian chinaman bowler, George Tribe. Leicestershire won (and lost) matches consistently throughout the season. At Bristol in May it was so cold that it snowed, but two lengthy innings on a turning wicket helped Leicestershire win an exciting match by two wickets, just before heavy rain set in. Against Surrey at Grace Road, and in particular Laker, Lock and Bedser, Maurice batted well for a two-hour half-century in a low-scoring match. For once, not all the low scoring was by Leicestershire, for it was in this match that Charlie Palmer took eight wickets for no runs. The crowd, realising that he held a record that would probably never be broken, shouted at him to ‘take ‘isself off’. But he didn’t, and Maurice was fielding in the covers when Jim Laker, who had held the record of eight for two, had a swing and the ball ballooned in his direction. It was nothing like a chance, but the spell was broken and the chance to capture the record was lost. In Surrey’s second innings, Peter May scored 84, and they won by seven wickets, Leicestershire being handicapped by being unable to use spinners because early morning drizzle had made the outfield wet. Only May, with 112 runs in the match, scored more than Maurice, who scored 69. His first century of the season was against Worcestershire. It was another back-to-the-wall, four-hour hundred, that helped Leicestershire save the follow-on, but rain ensured that there was not time for there to be a result. Senior Professional 103