Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Signing off 126 only served to add fuel to argument that the tougher the task, the better he played. The stats are quite impressive for his record in Roses clashes shows a 15 per cent improvement on his overall career and that is a difference that clearly falls into the ‘statistically significant’ category. However, it is perhaps important to note that, like most other things in his life, his success was hard earned. Writing in the World Sports magazine a quarter of a century later Neville Cardus recalled the astonishing events of the last morning of that gaime in 1924. With Yorkshire bowling out Lancashire for 74 on the Bank Holiday Monday they were left needing only 58 for victory but, in the event, a little rain fell overnight and Dick Tyldesley took six for 18 in 11.3 overs to skittle the home side out, before lunch, for just 33, claiming Maurice with a caught and bowled, and secured an unlikely win for the Red Rose side. In the ensuing years Maurice exacted his revenge - over and over again. To start with his first century for Yorkshire was in a Roses game, 133 not out, at Old Trafford, in the return game, and the second of his five double centuries was the 211 not out against Lancashire, at Headingley, in June 1930. In 34 Roses games from 1923 to 1946 he was to total 1,490 runs at an average of 46.56, hit three centuries and was on the losing side only three times. It was a tremendous record but, arguably, he saved the best until last. At Old Trafford, on Saturday, August 3, 1946, play began in the 95th cricketing contest between Yorkshire and Lancashire and the destination of the Championship pennant possibly rested on the outcome. Even by ‘Roses’ standards this game was something special. Yorkshire, having won the title in 1937, 1938 and 1939, were reigning champions but Lancashire and Middlesex were both still in the running to snatch their crown. There was an upset at Taunton ten days earlier, when Somerset hammered the Yorkshire attack for 508, but they bounced back to beat Surrey by eight wickets and Northamptonshire by an innings, with the help of successive centuries from Hutton, and went into the bank holiday as league leaders. This was the first Roses clash at Old Trafford since 1939 and the Lancastrian fans turned out in droves to spur their side on - the gate over the three days being the second highest recorded on the