LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

48 class cricket, once again Sir Julien had an ace up his sleeve — another all-expenses-paid tour abroad, this time to North America in August and September. That meant that all the Cahn players would have to cut short their season in England after July, but as far as Sir Julien was concerned, there was no difference between his employees being released for a series of matches overseas or playing two or three times a week for him in England. But for Robbie it would do nothing to further his Test and county cricket ambitions. However, his employment had always been subject to his being able to take extended leave during May, June and the first few days of July, to play for Middlesex, MCC and, perhaps, England, returning occasionally for games in Nottingham when required. Sir Julien realised that he would need to make concessions if he was going to keep his star player, and so that period of release was extended to include the whole month of July. This meant that not only could Robbie hope to play in two Test matches, but also much more county cricket for Middlesex. For the time being, at least, this pushed those doubts identified by Kathleen, to one side. But, in practice, the arrangement did not provide quite as many opportunities to play first-class cricket as Robbie had expected. From the start of their 1933 season in April until they sailed for Canada on 12 August, the Cahn XI played two or three times a week for a total of 35 matches, with Robbie playing in many of them. During the same period Middlesex played 19 matches, in which Robbie appeared only eight times. He also played in the first two Test matches against the West Indies and once for MCC against Kent, but these matches did not clash with Middlesex fixtures, so in effect, he played in less than half of the Middlesex matches for which he presumed he would be available. And this was because he had been called back to Nottingham to play country-house cricket far more frequently than he had anticipated. Sir Julien presumably believed that he had honoured his side of the bargain as Robbie appeared for Middlesex more often than in 1931 and 1932, and had been available for the first two Tests. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that Robbie would have been satisfied with the way the season had gone, and thoughts of seeking new employment may have resurfaced. In his eight appearances for Middlesex, Robbie’s best bowling figures were seven for 36 in Hampshire’s second innings in the opening match at Lord’s, and five for 102 in Somerset’s first innings in his last county match before the First Test. His batting once again was more impressive, including his only first-class century of the summer, 106 against Kent. The new chairman of England’s selection committee was Lord Hawke. He had stepped in to replace Plum Warner who had declined the MCC invitation to continue, saying he was ‘in need of a rest from any sort of cricket responsibility’. The real reason, of course, was that Warner believed he had a far greater responsibility — the future of cricket itself. Throughout 1933 he worked behind the scenes to outlaw Bodyline from English cricket before the Australians arrived in 1934, and conspired to take the captaincy of England away from Jardine. Hawke, like many others in the corridors of power at Lord’s, saw no reason why Jardine, the hero of the hour who had Part-Time Cricket