LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

132 Final Years consideration but this was not accepted by Australia and encouraged further discussion in England. In October, MCC appointed a special sub- committee under George Mann to advise on steps to be taken to eliminate throwing from all grades of cricket, and in the same month The Cricketer magazine published a four-page feature, ‘Throwing: The Shadow on the Game’, in which Robbie declared ‘the bent arm “bowler” has no case for consideration, and his elimination would be in the best interests of all who conscientiously seek to observe the spirit as well as the letter of the law.”’ The MCC sub-committee reached a conclusion in November and proposed the definition: A ball shall be deemed to have been thrown if, in the opinion of either Umpire, the bowling arm is straightened, whether partially or completely during that part of the action which immediately precedes the ball leaving the hand. This definition shall not debar the bowler from the use of the wrist in delivering the ball. In the meantime, Kathleen and Unity went to Australia in October for six months holiday. Richard was still living and working there and he had found them a flat in Darling Point, a harbour-side suburb of Sydney. Robbie would join them after Christmas and, as England were touring there that winter, planned to see the last three Ashes Tests before returning with Kathleen and Unity to England. But Robbie was not in the best of health when he arrived. The cumulative effect of the stress he had endured during the Caribbean tour; the strain of three seasons as chairman of the selection committee; anxiety during Kathleen’s recuperation from peritonitis following an appendix operation in 1962; then the deaths of his father and brother-in-law the following winter; the necessary but sad departure from Froyle; plus the responsibilities of being head of Stafford, Knight, the family business in the City; as well as recovering from a number of small strokes since the diagnosis of high blood pressure in 1957; had all contributed to his decline. But his spirits were soon raised when, on the first morning of the Third Test in Sydney, he watched Boycott and Barber open England’s innings with 234 runs in 240 minutes. England went on to win by an innings and go one-up in the series. His next big surprise came at Adelaide when, in reply to England’s first innings of 241 he saw Simpson and Lawry open Australia’s innings with a stand of 244 in only 266 minutes. With the series all-square when the teams arrived at Melbourne the scene was set for a dramatic finish. ‘The captains promised that they would be “out to win”’, according to John Woodcock in The Cricketer . England batted first and had reached 419 for seven by lunch on the second day, with the perfect opportunity to force the pace with the intention of declaring before the tea interval and capturing some Australian wickets before close of play. Instead, England played for safety while only adding another 66 runs in 90 minutes before declaring at 485 for nine. After losing their first two wickets, including Simpson for 36, the Australian batsmen saw no reason to take the risk of losing their hold on the Ashes and began to play for a draw. Lawry took over six hours to make 108 and Cowper used up 727 minutes to make 307 before Simpson finally declared at 543 for eight