Lives in Cricket No 20 - Maurice Tompkin

partnership between Jeff Goodwin and Charlie Palmer lasting over two hours. The Whit Bank Holiday match at Northampton followed, and after two large first innings, another draw. Apart from the Gloucester century, Maurice was having a pretty rough season, in which he had not otherwise reached 30, and had scored only 200 runs in nine innings. As the next match was during the Leicester schools’ half-term holiday, Leicestershire were able to play a home championship game at Grace Road for the first time that season. The other change was that Maurice opened the innings with Gerry Lester. Gerry Smithson had damaged a finger whilst fielding, and had not recovered sufficiently to be able to open. The promotion did not work as he was dismissed in the first over. Declarations in a rain-affected match meant that Leicestershire were chasing 189 in 138 minutes. Happily, this time they got the chase off to a good start, with 52 in 46 minutes, and ultimately Leicestershire were home with four wickets and 15 minutes to spare. Another win followed in the next match, but this was against Oxford University, who nevertheless warranted a strong team. At last, Maurice started to bat with some fluency, this time putting on 110 for the first wicket with Gerry Lester, in a partnership lasting just over two hours. The final day was also Coronation Day, so double reasons for the team to celebrate as they travelled north to Harrogate and Yorkshire. This was a miserable match, though, with poor weather, another small score (18) and a defeat on first innings. It would be back home just before midnight, in preparation for the match against Sussex the following day at Grace Road. Sussex were to be one of the championship challengers in 1953, but at this stage in the season they were in the middle of the table, like Leicestershire, having won one just one game. David Sheppard captained them in his one season of full-time county cricket before starting his ordination training at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. The weather was sunny; the crowd of over 2,000 made the ground look pleasantly full. Maurice had now reverted to his usual position at three, with Gerald Smithson resuming as opener. He scored 150, including 17 fours. Batting in total for 4¾ hours, his first fifty took nearly two hours, but his third and last fifty, ‘driving fiercely’, took only an hour. His main partner was Vic Jackson, with whom he put on 129 for the fourth wicket in three hours. The Mercury reported that he used his feet well, going forward boldly to smother the spin of Oakman. He also hit Jim Parks’ leg breaks – he was not yet a wicketkeeper – for two fours in one over. With Jeff Goodwin and Jack Walsh bowling out Sussex, Leicestershire had a lead of over a hundred when they started their second innings on the second evening. A rapid partnership of 128 , scored in 90 minutes (Tompkin’s share being 69) enabled Palmer to set Sussex the formidable 346 in four hours on what was still ‘a perfect wicket’. In fact, though the declaration was not generous, the tactics of the Sussex captain in part set it up. In those days a new ball could be taken after 65 overs. As 66 overs had Years of Plenty, 1950 to 1953 82