LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

76 brightly. To avoid further argument the umpires upheld the appeal and took the players off the field to end play for the day. Yorkshire had beaten Hampshire at Bournemouth so the final table confirmed that they were champions once again. A neutral ground had been agreed for the challenge match and on 11 September the match began at the Kennington Oval with Yorkshire at full strength but Middlesex without Compton, who was playing football for Arsenal. The match was scheduled for four days to ensure a result and, despite ending on the third day, raised over £700 for various charities. Yorkshire won the toss and at close of play on the Saturday were 293 for six. They went on to 401 on the Monday but Middlesex, caught on a turning wicket, ended the day at 63 for six. Things went from bad to worse for Middlesex who followed on 216 runs behind and were then dismissed for 101 on the Tuesday, with Verity taking eight for 43 to give him match figures of ten for 94, and lost by an innings. The Yorkshire members of the crowd celebrated their victory with some good-natured singing, in particular several renditions of ’Who killed Cock Robin?’, directed at Robbie by those who mistook his indefatigable confidence as nothing more than ’cockiness’. Robbie escorting Pat Hendren onto the field of play from the professionals’ entrance at the start of his last match for Middlesex at Lord’s on 28 August 1937. Captain of England