Lives in Cricket No 20 - Maurice Tompkin

magnificent straight driving, almost ‘too straight’ he considered as he had a lot of bruising fielding to do off his own bowling. He had the last laugh, getting Maurice stumped by Roy Booth, but still it was the first century against Yorkshire that season. Magnificent bowling by Terry Spencer, who took nine for 63 (the best figures of his career), ensured that Leicestershire needed 137 to win, and they had 150 minutes to do so. Off the last ball of the final over of extra time, with scores level, Wardle, fielding off his own bowling, spun round and threw out the striker at the bowler’s end. The great mystery was why Brian Boshier, suffering from sciatica, did not bat with a runner, though Terry did not hit the ball far enough for anyone to have completed a run. Leicestershire thus were involved in a tied first-class match for the first (and to date, only) time in their history. It would be a late return and breakfast at home with Sheila and the boys before the short journey to Hinckley for the local derby against Warwickshire. Hinckley always did their best to put on a good show; the Warwickshire match was just the sort of fixture to bring in the crowds. As always the club committee had been hard at work; up at dawn and ensuring the car park was weeded, the sightscreens painted and the geranium and lobelia were flowering, as they should be. After fielding all day against Warwickshire, it was off to Ashby on Sunday for a benefit match, and then back to Hinckley to complete the Warwickshire match on Monday and Tuesday. The tragedy for Maurice was that he bagged a pair: in the first innings he was out bowled second ball by Keith Dollery, and in the second he lasted almost a quarter of an hour before Ray Hitchcock clutched a hard-hit ball head high off a slower delivery from Jack Bannister in a failing victory attempt. The game was well supported, though, and the gate of £700 compared favourably with the £850 taken at the four games at Grace Road, matches that included the game against the Pakistanis. His form continued to desert him. Another pair came at Portsmouth, though his first duck lasted 30 minutes and he did pretty well to withstand Derek Shackleton and Vic Cannings for that time on a green wicket. Was the wet summer, and the dispiriting evenings and Sundays spent trying to be good-humoured as yet another event went off like a damp squib because of the conditions getting to him? From Portsmouth they returned for a week in Leicestershire. Against Middlesex, a monumental four-hour innings saw him fall frustratingly one run short of his century. In the second innings a rapid 50 set up a run-chase, but Leicestershire were once again four wickets short of victory. Saturday, 26 June was close to midsummer, but the gateman’s book describes the weather as ‘cold’. It was ‘Supporters’ Day’, with members of the Supporters’ Association let in free. Sadly, few availed themselves of the opportunity and only 1,600 brave souls were there to see what hindsight tells us was Maurice’s last first-class century in Leicestershire. Taking just Senior Professional 96