Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Signing off 129 runs behind and with an extra half hour possibly at Lancashire’s disposal. A draw would be enough to keep Yorkshire in the driving seat but anything less than outright victory would leave Lancashire with a near impossible task. No pressure then! One contemporary observer, Manchester Guardian cricket correspondent TCF Prittie, noted: ‘Yorkshire could not expect Smailes, Sellers and Coxon to come off twice in a match. They could not expect Robinson, Booth and Bowes to come off at all. The responsibility resting on Gibb, Watson and Leyland was tremendous. Only something exceptional from these three men could save the Champions.’ His judgement wasn’t bad. Watson, already an established professional soccer player with Sunderland, and destined to become the first post-war player to represent England at football and cricket, began confidently and took on the Lancashire attack with some flowing stroke play. At the other end Gibb resisted the wiles of spinners Roberts and Price to further dent Lancastrian aspirations. At 12.30, and lunch still an hour away, there came a breakthrough. Gibb, having been twice struck by fast man Phillipson, now back in the attack, missed an occasional straight one and was bowled. His defiance had yielded 44 runs, helped take the Yorkshire total to 105 for three and taken up 180 precious minutes of Lancashire bowling time. Maurice came in and was immediately bowled - off a no ball from Pollard. Relief - sort of. A lesser man might well have been unnerved by such a start but Maurice had had his back to the wall so often in his 25-year career you imagined he might have a brickwork pattern imprinted on it. Though, understandably, missing a little of the jaunty spring in the step that raised the pre-war crowds to their feet in anticipation of the spectacular, the 46-year-old was a maestro still capable of conjuring a wistful tune from a fidddle - even if the old fingers did lack a little of their former dexterity. After a half hour at the crease he had just a solitary run to his name and the home crowd were on his back - but he took no notice. His every gesture announced ‘I’m here to stay’. At 1.20pm Watson saw his brave effort come to an end when, showing uncharacteristic hesitancy, he lost his off stump to Pollard once again having made 40 in just under three hours.