LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

108 Changing the Law serve to enliven its tempo. The discussions also ranged over possible reforms in the structure of first-class cricket and possible changes to the lbw law. Finally the Altham Committee presented its report in January 1957 rejecting the ‘Bradman’ extension giving a batsman out if he padded up and made no attempt to play a ball which would have hit the wicket, even if the point of impact were outside the line of wicket and wicket, because of the difficulties it would present to umpires in interpreting the batsman’s intentions. There was no progress on any of the other proposed changes to the status quo of cricket during 1957 and when the summer of 1958 arrived Robbie’s priorities were of a much more personal nature — the wedding reception at The Shrubbery for his daughter Penelope and Major Ken Came of the Parachute Regiment. Later that year Robbie played his 379th and last first-class match. It began on 6 September in Dublin when he led an MCC touring eleven against Ireland in a three-day match at College Park. Colin Cowdrey found the opportunity of playing in a match with him an unforgettable experience: Robins was captain. Now in his fifties he fielded at mid off, bowled a few erratic but highly entertaining overs of leg-breaks, batted number eleven, wore his MCC cap and never stopped talking about himself and the cricket and cricketers of his era. He was the unforgettable character of an entertaining week-end: witty, dominant, charming, magnetic. By the time we had returned to London I had fallen under his spell. That winter Peter May was the captain of the England team that went to Australia to defend the Ashes and lost 4-0. It was in this series that the problems of bowlers ‘throwing’ was first highlighted. No official complaints were made but the English press complained loudly about the ‘chuckers’. Robbie was more concerned about the negative tactics being employed by the England team and after the Third Test wrote to Don: Australia two up and two to go, and I don’t think there is any doubt that you thoroughly deserve to be in such a position. We here feel that had we won the rubber with the tactics we employed it would have been a tragedy for cricket as a game. I am sorry you have had such criticism of throwing as grousing in the middle of a series is thoroughly bad form. As a matter of fact we opened the question of throwing with our umpires last March and the matter was reopened in September when they had not no-balled one single suspect altho’ they admitted that there were some. We considered we had four or five suspects and the practice was getting worse. I have no doubt that we shall have a general tightening up of the law next summer. Don replied with a criticism of May’s captaincy: ‘Trueman is bowling to one slip and five on the on, except when the ball is new. Lock bowls to five on-side to both left and right hand batsmen. Tyson at one stage had five on and no slip at all. Bailey’s leg theory was so blatant that Burke asked him if he knew where the stumps were.’ He then went on to appeal to Robbie, the one man whom he thought might have enough influence to finally bring an end to slow play and time-wasting by begging him: ‘ Please