Lives in Cricket No 20 - Maurice Tompkin

Whitsun brought the eagerly awaited Bank Holiday match against Northamptonshire, which was sadly destroyed by rain. There was better luck with the weather for the second holiday-week match against Surrey, but few runs and a drubbing were the result. Maurice unwittingly almost caused a riot during the game against Lancashire at Barwell, just outside Hinckley. For commercial reasons, Leicestershire wanted to play a match in the south-west of the county. The old Ashby Road ground at Hinckley was under bricks and mortar, the Sketchley ground close to Hinckley station was not considered suitable, and the Coventry Road ground was still some way off being ready for first-class cricket. The Barwell pitch proved to be very difficult, mainly because the groundsman had marled it with the intention of making it harder, but had not watered and rolled it in adequately. As a result, bits of it flaked off during bursts of sunshine and a difficult wicket ensued. Lancashire felt able to declare their second innings with only two wickets down and slightly more than two sessions in which to bowl Leicestershire out. Jack Howard was given out lbw, a decision some elements of the crowd disagreed with. Another appeal against Frank Prentice was turned down, but the appeal irked the crowd, who then started to appeal every time a Lancashire bowler hit the batsman’s pads. Worse followed, because Les Berry was caught brilliantly at short leg by Jack Ikin, so brilliantly that some members of the crowd could not believe that he could possibly have made the catch and loud cries of ‘cheat’ were shouted. Things did not improve when Maurice hit the ball to short leg where it hit Ikin on the wrist. Sadly, the crowd rather enjoyed this, and suggested that it served the fielder right for having cheated out Berry. The spectators now started to barrack a fielder who had dropped a couple of catches the day before. Maurice decided that the only way to bat on this wicket was to be aggressive, and he at once drove the Lancashire slow left-arm bowler, William Roberts, out of the ground, and in just 75 minutes he scored 55, with two sixes and three fours. However one shot caused a great deal of trouble. It was almost a six, and Winston Place swept it up on the half volley just inside the rope. He then checked his stride and threw it back to the bowler, at no time suggesting that he had made a clean catch. This produced more abuse from the crowd who had not understood his actions and thought he was claiming a catch; the abuse became worse when Place turned around to indicate that he had not made the catch. This clearly did not affect Maurice unduly, and with the score on 116 for four, and batting with Tony Riddington, there seemed a chance that the target of 210 would be reached, but the final six wickets were swept away for 10 runs and Lancashire emerged comfortable winners. Leicestershire finished eleventh overall in 1946, a result that they must have been pleased with. With normally no aspiration at being champions, they derived more realistic satisfaction when they finished above Northamptonshire, but this year they could justifiably be considered to be War and Peace, 1940 to 1949 51