Lives in Cricket No 23 - Brief Candles

61 the follow-on when the game finished on Tuesday. Thus Harbottle had no second chance to bat; he also made no catches, and his even-more- occasional-than-Eagar’s slow left-armers were not given an outing. So he had to be content with just an innings of 156 to mark his first-class debut; and who wouldn’t be? This was Harbottle’s first century in any of the matches whose scores I have traced, but he wasted no time in getting his second. On 22 July he made 109 for the Army against the Royal Navy at Lord’s, all before lunch on the first day of a two-day fixture. The Times described this innings as ‘most enjoyable’ and ‘a splendid all-round display’, but also ‘workmanlike’, a comment which seems a little harsh for a pre-lunch century. Described this time as ‘an engaging left-hander’, he is reported as making good use of the pull-stroke, to give the lie to any suggestions of him being solely an off-side player. He enjoyed another good stand with Hudson during this innings, this time of 81. There were no more first-class fixtures for the Army in 1938; had there been, then on this form Harbottle would surely have been an automatic selection, if available. He did however play for them in one further important match, a two-day game against the Australians at Aldershot in mid-August. On the face of it, his scores of one and 28 were nothing to write home about, but the latter was the top score in the Army’s second innings of 119, and their second-highest of the match. A photograph of the teams in this match shows him, tall, relaxed and cravatted, alongside Lindsay Hassett. But then, most cricketers would look tall alongside Lindsay Hassett. Runs Aplenty Teams in the Army v Australians two-day match at Aldershot in August 1938. Harbottle is fourth from left in the back row. The tourists, sans Bradman, won by an innings. The Australians, with piping on their blazer lapels, are, in the back row (l to r): A.L.Hassett, C.W.Walker (in white shirt), S.G.Barnes; middle row: E.L.McCormick, E.S.White, W.J.O’Reilly, J.H.W.Fingleton; front row: W.A.Brown, L.O’B. Fleetwood-Smith, S.J.McCabe, B.A.Barnett, C.L.Badcock.