Lives in Cricet No 33 - Jack Robertson and Syd Brown

52 the season (when supporters might have to endure indifferent weather) and then going off on their travels in the second half, whilst Lord’s hosted a variety of matches including the annual Test match, Gentlemen v Players, Oxford v Cambridge, and matches between the services and between a number of worthy public schools. 69 Other counties had their own issues. According to The Cricketer Surrey, for example, had asked their supporters to give them any spare clothing coupons. During the military occupation of The Oval the club had lost much of its equipment and the special allowance of 15 extra coupons per player was not enough for them to re-equip themselves. Like most counties, Middlesex had retained a nucleus of its pre-war side and, significantly, Robins was back as captain. 70 Of the eleven that took the field for the county’s last match before the war, six appeared in the county’s first post-war match, and two more would appear later in the season. Jim Smith, now aged 40, had decided to play league cricket with East Lancashire. However, although not a direct replacement, there was more than adequate compensation with the ball in the form of left-arm slow bowler Jack Young, who had made his county debut in 1933, but was now finally given a regular place in the side. He would be playing for England within a year and eventually take nearly 1,200 wickets for Middlesex. Matches were of course still played on uncovered pitches and a good finger spinner was an essential part of a balanced attack. Although inevitably, after six long years of privation, the quality of county cricket was below pre-war standards, the Championship would be closely fought. It was finally won by Yorkshire who showed the value of good bowling and keen fielding by winning it despite scoring fewer runs than any other county. After being runners-up in the four seasons before the war, Middlesex would have had hopes of going one better this time. Yet again, however, they had to be satisfied with second place. 71 With Compton and Edrich again scoring heavily, Jack and Syd fulfilling expectations, and Robins scoring over a thousand runs, the batting easily met its obligations. England were due to tour Australia the following winter. C.B.Fry had already pencilled Jack in for the trip. In a BBC radio programme broadcast in September 1945 he had speculated on the next tour: ‘Washbrook will make a lot of runs, so will Oldfield 72 and Robertson … ’. 69 Famously in 1939 Middlesex had had to play Nottinghamshire at The Oval because Lord’s was wanted for the Eton and Harrow match. To be fair, the match was still quite a big event and some 8,000 had been there on the second day to see Harrow, coached by Patsy Hendren, beat Eton for the first time since 1908 − there had been a lot of draws! According to Wisden , ‘Delirious excitement’ was followed by an unseemly ‘free fight for top hats’. I don’t suppose Walter Keeton cared. He scored 312 not out at The Oval still, in 2013, a Nottinghamshire record. 70 Peebles had been injured during the War and played little after the resumption. Becoming a very fine cricket writer he was not however lost to the game. 71 But it was close. Both teams won 16 matches, but Yorkshire finished 12 points in the clear because of the points they garnered for first-innings leads in drawn matches. 72 An interesting cricketer. Only 5ft 3in tall, Lancashire’s Norman ‘Buddy’ Oldfield made 80 and 19 in his only Test, at The Oval in 1939. No England player has made more runs in a one-Test career. In the event, after the War he went into league cricket before moving to Northamptonshire in 1948. Resumption