Lives in Cricet No 33 - Jack Robertson and Syd Brown

Hendren’s brother Denis, but whether it was he who raised the fateful finger is not known. The poor weather then set in again and there was no play on the days two and three. The next Middlesex match was against Sussex in the Championship; with Patsy Hendren, Denis Compton and Bill Edrich coming back into the side Jack and Syd had to wait until the following season before they played for the county again. Back in the Second Eleven, however, they made sure that they would not be forgotten. Syd, opening the innings, topped the averages with 414 runs at 46 runs apiece; Jack, batting in the middle order, came second with 348 runs at an average of 32. 28 Both made centuries. Jack’s came at Hornsey 29 on a dull, cool midsummer day against a Norfolk side that included two of the Edrich clan, Eric who stumped him for 106, and Geoff. Both brothers would follow Bill into county cricket after the war, Geoff in particular with some success . Jack christened the new pavilion by pulling a six into it. He had gone in with five wickets down and when the ninth wicket fell he was still 30 short of three figures. However, the last man, his captain Arthur Childs-Clarke, saw him home. Middlesex had only entered the Minor Counties Championship two years previously and Jack had become the first professional to score a century for them in it. Later in the season, against Kent at Ealing, Syd carried his bat for 137, over half his side’s total. In that match Jack fell for a duck to the pace of Norman Harding who finished with five for 95. 30 The Minor Counties Championship provided younger Middlesex professionals with the chance to showcase their talents. It was a slightly curious competition. Twenty-three counties, including six first-class county second elevens, took part, but they had only to play a minimum of eight matches, although some managed ten or 12. Denis Compton had quickly demonstrated his quality there and now Jack and Syd had similarly taken their chance. Syd’s century against them had obviously been noted by the county of his birth, and at the end of the season Kent approached Middlesex in an attempt to acquire his registration. They were refused. 31 Kent already had a fine opening batsman in Arthur Fagg who, in a 25-year career beginning in 1932, would finish with a record similar to Jack’s. However, he had missed the whole of the 1937 season with rheumatic fever. He and Syd might have made a good pair. Meanwhile Jack was offered a contract, although only for one year. 28 As now recorded in CricketArchive. The figures given for Syd in Wisden differ slightly. 29 Middlesex have played one first-class match there: against Hampshire in July 1959. The cover of The Cricketer for 22 August shows an interesting photograph of the match in action with Alexandra Palace an attractive backdrop. 30 A week before, Harding, who had joined Kent after playing for Berkshire, had taken nine wickets in each innings against Wiltshire at Swindon. Not surprisingly his first-class debut soon followed. He became a mainstay of the Kent attack after the War but tragically just after the end of the 1947 season he contracted polio and died within a few days. 31 See the minutes of the Kent CCC Managing Committee meeting held on 1 November. 23 Making the Grade