Lives in Cricket No 20 - Maurice Tompkin

most experienced and best batsmen in the country in charge. No side with Jackson and Walsh was going to be a pushover. The only apparent weakness was the lack of a quick bowler, but then most other counties had the same problem. Two other players returning from earlier in the 1930s were certainly worth their places; Paddy Corrall was still a good wicketkeeper, even if he lacked George Dawkes’ run-making ability, and Tony Riddington was emerging as a valuable allrounder after his experience playing professionally in Scotland and Ireland. At Derby, their innings was dominated by a Stan Worthington century, but despite 50 from Tony Riddington, Leicestershire were nearly 100 runs behind on first innings. Jack Walsh, with his first five-wicket haul for the county, ensured that Leicestershire needed 295 to win in seven and a half hours. They started brilliantly, thanks to a first-wicket partnership of 190 between Berry and the craggy George Watson, scored at a run a minute. After three failures, Maurice needed some runs, and though well outscored he shared in a partnership of 65 with his captain in just 55 minutes that took the county to within ten runs of victory. With a bowling attack of Bill Copson, George Pope and Cliff Gladwin, Leicestershire’s was a magnificent achievement, and they had three hours to spare as well as seven wickets when they won. Leicestershire had still not played a home game at their ‘new’ ground, the Old County Ground, Aylestone as Sammy Coe, who seemed to get rounder and shorter with the passing of time, described it in the scorebook. The tourist match always attracted great attention, and there was particular optimism this year for the game against the Indians. Sadly, the match was ruined by rain, and the crowd was much smaller than anticipated. The match was drawn, and after another scratchy first innings, Maurice was promoted to open for the token final innings, where Leicestershire had only an hour to bat, scoring an unbeaten 11. Another rain-ruined match followed at Headingley in the following week, though once again the reigning county champions by no means outplayed Leicestershire. They (or rather Jim Sperry, who took five for 71) bowled Yorkshire out for 232, with Len Hutton scoring his famous ‘111’ in over four hours. It was perhaps after this innings that John Snagge, reading the scores on radio, announced that ‘Hutton was ill’, before correcting himself. For once in his life, Maurice did not bat aggressively. He badly needed to score some runs. Though he hit the first ball he received, from Bill Bowes, for four, he spent almost two hours over his 38, putting on 99 for the third wicket with Les Berry in the process. Though Leicestershire collapsed spectacularly, the game was drawn; their last seven wickets fell for the addition of only four runs, and that an edge by the Jamaican Freddie Gibson, his only runs in the County Championship. So it was off to Melton Mowbray for the next game against Somerset. In theory, Egerton Park should have made an ideal venue for Leicestershire, but though the playing area and car parking for county cricket was War and Peace, 1940 to 1949 49