Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Above: Officers’ Mess, 210 OCTU Pioneer Corps, May 1945. Maurice is middle row, far right Australians lose a wicket, or a pause for lemonade is permitted. And is Leyland’s shoulder really better? It is a little saddening that great match even in a dream never got beyond the point at which the batsmen were just due. It was during the 1935 season that the left shoulder really began to pose problems, and it helped delay his recall to the England side before the fifth Test in 1938, but he still managed to bat and bowl regularly up to the outbreak of war. The one area he did have difficulty with, however, was his throwing. Game after game he had to nurse the injured shoulder but while taking care to throw the ball in underarm on most occasions the tale is told of one crucial game when he used his incapacity to the team’s advantage. Having religiously returned the ball to his keeper with that underarm throw he eventually tempted a well set batsman to take a chance on an extra run and then unleashed a full powered return with a full throw of the arm. It was the first and last of the game for Maurice but it had brought a vital run out and he 123