LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

80 Disappointment In the next match, against Hampshire, Robbie took seven for 77 in their second innings to ensure another Middlesex victory, but the England selectors even passed him over for the place as leg spinner and preferred to choose Doug Wright of Kent for the First Test. Another disappointment followed at Leeds in a match that only lasted two days and where both counties were without key players away on Test duty at Trent Bridge, Edrich and Compton from Middlesex and Hutton and Verity for Yorkshire. Middlesex were all out for 105, but with Robbie taking four for 24, they kept the Yorkshire lead to only 68. Middlesex managed to reach only 148 in their second innings and Yorkshire finished winners by seven wickets. Even so, after Middlesex had won two of their next three matches and Yorkshire remained unbeaten in the month of June, Middlesex were still in front with 96 points giving them an average of 7.27, while Yorkshire had an average of 7.17 from their 120 points. Middlesex made a poor start to July drawing their first two matches before Robbie asked Peebles to come to Trent Bridge where Middlesex needed a good result over Nottinghamshire if they were to stay in the race for the title. The pitch had a bit of bounce and pace, Peebles took seven wickets and Middlesex grabbed a win at the last minute. He would stay in the side for the rest of the season, apart from one match, and later wrote: ‘These were some of the happiest days of my active cricket life. I was back with old friends and doing quite well.’ Then Yorkshire came to Lord’s and, as in the previous season, with so much riding on the result, Middlesex rose to the occasion. Robbie won the toss and sent Yorkshire in to bat on a rain-affected wicket. The ball flew dangerously from the start and Hutton suffered a broken finger, Leyland a broken thumb, and Gibb could take no further part in the match after being hit on the head. Robbie sportingly allowed Yorkshire to bring in Wood to play as substitute wicketkeeper for Gibb throughout both Middlesex innings, although they still batted three short in their second innings and Middlesex won by eight wickets. Unfortunately this was followed by losing to Kent at Maidstone, despite Robbie’s brave 83 out of the first-innings total of 159, trying again to make up for the absence of Compton and Edrich playing in the Fourth Test, and with only three wins in six matches in July, Middlesex dropped to second place. They could win only three out of seven in August and failed to match the final run-in from Yorkshire who were unbeaten that month and took the title again. Regrettably, we shall never know what would have happened if Robbie had been retained as England captain. The whole Ashes series could have been turned on its head if he had been there in the First Test to make one of his usual positive decisions and declared England’s first innings closed at 487 for five, after Compton was out, and given his bowlers ten overs before lunch on the second day, instead of waiting until the middle of the afternoon, as Hammond did, to declare at 658 for eight, with the match safe but a result unlikely. At least Robbie and Bradman had a chance to discuss what ‘might-have-been’ that summer when the series was over and Don and Jessie came to stay with the Robins family for a fortnight at their home in Burnham Beeches, while Don recuperated from the ankle injury he suffered during the Fifth Test at The Oval. Kathleen remembered that