Lives in Cricket No 40 - Edwin Smith

31 First team regular - and capped he could not turn the ball he took wickets by subtle variations of flight and direction, worthy of a much older head. Edwin, like Derek Morgan, also received praise for ‘bowling to orders’ and their ability to keep things tight while the opening attack rested proved a key component of a successful season. He again did well against the touring side, on this occasion Pakistan, taking two wickets in their first innings, then making his top score so far of an unbeaten 40, as he and Reg Carter added a crucial last wicket stand of 65 to avoid the follow-on. The season was made all the more memorable by a first win against Yorkshire at Headingley since 1895, Hamer’s batting and Morgan’s bowling the deciding factors in a display that was ‘celebrated in more ways than one’ according to Edwin. The win was indicative of the professionalism of the side, as he explains. Arnold looked on a different level to everyone else when we made 272. He carried his bat for 147 not out and really enjoyed that, against the county of his birth. Cliff hit Len Hutton on the hand in their innings and with the ball lifting and moving around, they were all out for 119. They did a little better in the second innings, when they followed on, but we knew Len had gone to hospital for an x-ray. Cliff kept saying to us ‘Come on, he’s going to come back and bat lower down, we need to get them out before he can do that’. As it turned out, Len had broken a finger and couldn’t bat, but Cliff missed very little on a cricket field and wasn’t going to miss out on an opportunity like that. Edwin’s personal highlight was the award of his county cap, at the end of the second game against Yorkshire at Chesterfield on 15 June. He took five for 37 in 20 overs as Yorkshire collapsed in the first innings, but the game ended in a draw with the game well balanced. What difference did the cap make? It was a recognition of achievement and in my case, of a series of good displays. There was no fuss, as that wasn’t the way things were done. I was simply presented with it in the dressing room at the end of the game. Having said that, I was only on £400 for the season and financially I was better off earning the £8 per match fee for occasional call-ups and working at Grassmoor. The basic salary meant that you had to be creative with your expenses claims. If we were playing locally, at Leicester or Nottingham, some would claim hotel expenses but go back home. One time we played a match at Ilkeston and Cliff Gladwin gave Les, myself and Jim Brailsford a lift to the game in his car. Will Taylor asked us for our expenses after the game and Les and I both claimed bus fares, which we gave to Cliff for the petrol. Jim said ‘It’s all right Mr Taylor, I got a lift with Cliff’. Well, you should have seen Cliff’s face. When Mr Taylor had gone, he turned to Jim and said ‘Do you think my bloody car runs on water?’