LIves in Cricket No 31 - Walter Robins

90 A Fresh Start with Old Friends for another big hit at 116. It was not enough to win the match but he had the satisfaction of knowing it had been enough to prevent another Yorkshire victory. He had reached 1,000 runs for the season for the fourth time in his career, thus rather confounding Robertson-Glasgow’s contention in his book Cricket Prints that ‘with advancing years his batting technique has become more eccentric.’ Jim Swanton later reported that ‘Robins was still a splendid cricketer, inspiring his side with his own vitality, and always liable to make runs, take wickets or make a sensational catch, when it was most needed.’ * * * * * * * The 1946 season was very wet with many hours of cricket, and even complete days, cancelled out by rain. This changed in 1947 when the sun shone nearly every day from May to September and, for players and supporters alike, it was time to really express their joy and relief that they had survived six years of bombs and bullets, and, according to the editor of Wisden ‘demonstrated the great hold the game takes on spectators once they are aware that both sides and every individual mean to expend all their energies striving for a definite result.’ Nearly three million spectators flocked to their favourite grounds up and down the country to watch some of the most exciting cricket ever seen. And much of it was played by Middlesex under the demanding leadership of Robbie; Denis Compton thought ‘he set the tone for the all-out action the team provided.’ When Middlesex were batting, ‘there was excitement in the air. Men rushed from their offices to get to Lord’s. Schoolboys played truant. Austerity was forgotten in clouds of happiness. It is difficult even now, 40 years on,’ according to David Lemmon, writing in 1987, ‘to think of those days without the pulse racing a little faster.’ Robbie couldn’t play in the first four matches and his place was taken by George Mann, the son of Frank Mann, Middlesex captain from 1921 to 1928, whom he was grooming to take his place permanently the next season. After ten matches it appeared that Yorkshire were no longer in serious contention for the Championship, having won only four matches compared to Middlesex and Gloucestershire who had both won seven, leaving Middlesex top of the table with 92 points and Gloucestershire second with 88. Middlesex pushed Yorkshire even further behind by beating them on their home ground at Leeds in two days. Robbie’s strategy throughout the season was working well and according to Denis Compton: ‘whenever we were batting first he would announce “I want 350 plus on the board by five o’clock. Anybody unable to keep the runs coming get out and let somebody in who can.”’ In the last 90 minutes of the first day’s play, he expected his bowlers to make a significant breakthrough and set up a victory. By 13 August Middlesex had a chance to take the lead in the title race when they met Kent at Lord’s. When the visitors declared their second innings closed they left Middlesex a mere four hours and twenty minutes to score 397 runs for the win they needed. This meant scoring at nearly 92 runs an hour with most of the Kent fieldsmen posted on the boundary. Both Robertson and Brown went quickly and there was little hope of