Lives in Cricet No 33 - Jack Robertson and Syd Brown

122 Coach dressed in his whites, even in his sixties he was fit, strong and tireless and looked every inch a great cricketer. Whether those in his charge were a County Colts XI or those less talented, he was equally dedicated to imparting the skills of the game to them. A gentle man, he still ensured everybody played the game in the right spirit. As a member of the Middlesex Colts Association committee he gave much firm but understated help to those who organised colts’ cricket for clubs throughout the country. One of his protégés was Mark Ramprakash who was playing for Bessborough Cricket Club and Middlesex Under-11s and had been invited to go along to Finchley for coaching. Ramprakash recalled later in his autobiography how much he enjoyed Jack’s coaching and how grateful he was for putting the basics into his game. 170 Another Middlesex and England cricketer who remembered Jack with gratitude was Mike Gatting. He played for England Young Cricketers when Jack managed them and recalls ‘a lovely gentleman and a quiet coach’ who stressed to the youngsters the need to build an innings. 171 Coaching didn’t leave Jack much time for playing, but he turned out when he could. For example, in June 1960 on Stanmore Common in a match played to help the local club raise money for a new pavilion. Going in first for W.J.Edrich’s XI after Stanmore had made 322, his 53, which included ‘the most elegant strokes of the day’ according to the Harrow Observer , set his former colleague’s side off on a successful run-chase. After he left, Messrs Benaud, Trueman, Evans and Edrich had their fun, and then it was over to The Sunday Times rugby union correspondent (and former rugby international and Glamorgan cricketer) Viv Jenkins to finish the job, whilst Queens Park Rangers’ Tony Ingham, who had followed his manager Alec Stock to the wicket, watched from the other end. It was great entertainment for the crowd of some 5,000 ringing the boundary of Stanmore’s attractive tree-lined ground. And Jack more than did his bit for the Lord’s Taverners, 172 turning out in their matches even when he was, in cricket terms, at a relatively advanced age. The CricketArchive website shows him in August 1975 playing at Lord’s against the Taverners’ President’s XI for the MCC President’s XI. Charity matches attracted large crowds and were clearly interesting affairs, Jack (run out 15) batting at No.8 between Mike Procter and England footballer Alan Ball. Middlesex and England fast bowler John Price remembers Joyce and Ian at Taverners’ matches running the Polaroid enclosure where spectators could pay to have their photographs taken with the celebrities. Ian has many photographs of those who were there: to name but two, Harry Secombe and actor Bill Simpson. John Price had joined the Taverners at Jack’s invitation at the 170 Ramprakash, Mark, Strictly Me: My Life Under the Spotlight, Mainstream Publishing, 2009. Ramprakash also expresses his thanks, among others, to Graham Sainsbury who had himself been coached by Jack before some years later becoming Ramprakash’s mentor and captain at Bessborough Cricket Club. 171 Gatting, Mike, with Patmore, Angela, Leading from the Front , Macdonald Queen Anne Press, 1988. 172 The Taverners organisation, now over 60 years old, had been founded by a group of actors who used to watch cricket from in front of the old Tavern. Its charitable matches attracted large crowds who came to see not only cricket stars in action, but celebrities from the world of showbiz.