Lives in Cricket No 20 - Maurice Tompkin

concern that though 25,000 had attended the match, the entertainment had not been great. Les Berry declared, leaving Northamptonshire three hours to score 281, which they did not attempt. In the following match at Grace Road, Surrey scored the little matter of 499 for six in 142 overs on the first day, with Laurie Fishlock leading the way with 253. Leicestershire did their best to slow down the over-rate, with their fastest bowler, 38-year-old Jim Sperry, bowling 44 overs of left-arm over the wicket seam, taking an heroic four for 105. On Thursday, Alec Bedser took two quick wickets, and when Maurice arrived at the wicket the score was one run for two. At 92 for five, Leicestershire were heading for a massive first-innings deficit, especially as Les Berry was crippled with a sprained ankle and would not bat. Maurice was then joined by Walter Cornock. Cornock was Australian-born, though brought up in Lancashire, and was typical of many cricketers who Leicestershire have registered and played over the years. He was signed in a desperate attempt to bolster the fast bowling resources. At the end of the 1948 season, in which he played all but two of the championship matches, the general verdict was that he would have learnt a lot from the experience and would be a valuable member of the team in the following season. Except that he did not return and never played for Leicestershire again. A valuable summer of opportunity was therefore wasted. This was all in the future and on this May afternoon he helped Maurice add 152 for the sixth wicket in under two hours. Maurice ‘drove and hooked’ with equal facility. He hit a six off McMahon, and three fours off one over from Squires. He completed his century with his eleventh boundary in just 2½ hours. When he was eighth out, with the score on 261, caught by Fletcher off McMahon at cover point, he had batted 3 hours 25 minutes, and hit 16 fours. With a deficit of over two hundred runs on first innings, Leicestershire batted more successfully in their second attempt. Acting captain Vic Jackson scored a fine century, and put on 64 in 53 minutes with Maurice who was second top score with 31. Four more wickets for Jim Sperry could not stop Surrey winning easily by six wickets. Under Jackson’s leadership, Leicestershire won their next match at Hove, but it was two months and seven defeats later before they won again, and then they won four matches in a row. During this time Maurice scored very few runs, fifties at Melton Mowbray and Frome apart. The winning streak started at Cardiff, where Jackson and Walsh were responsible for the win in a low-scoring match. In the following match, at Grace Road, Leicestershire steadily overhauled Sussex’s first innings of 330 for eight declared; the most important partnership was between Frank Prentice and Maurice of 120 for the third wicket, Maurice contributing 62. Jackson and Walsh dismissed Sussex a second time, and the target to win was 126. With quick runs important, he scored 26 in 37 minutes, and Leicestershire were home by six wickets. War and Peace, 1940 to 1949 61