Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

128 Wantage Road but duly caught up with Jack to thank him for his part in what proved to be a truly unforgettable tour, and a launch pad for a career which saw the modest left-arm spinner take 139 wickets in a 36-match Test career that finally ended in 1961/62. 114 During the West Indian tour it increasingly became public knowledge that Jack had played a leading role in coaching of one of the men who had caused England’s batsmen so many difficulties. A host of plaudits duly came Jack’s way from those in the know, but with typical modesty, Jack never went out of his way to seek them. His good humour also helped to deflect some of the barbed and boorish comments, especially after the Lord’s Test, made to him by a few pompous and one-eyed spectators who couldn’t quite understand what an Englishman was doing helping the West Indies win a Test match in London. Indeed, there were smiles on the Northamptonshire team’s faces in the bar one evening after play when one spectator, who had clearly spent too long imbibing, came up to Jack and said, ‘Ah, Mercer, you are a traitor to England and Northants!’ In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth. Coaching in the east and west 114 Further details of Valentine’s first-class career are given in K.A.P.Sandiford, Famous Cricketers Series No. 94: A.L Valentine , ACS Publications, 2006.