Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

150 been tremendous advances, but, despite the decline in surgical interventions, Mr Gibson in old age still had great faith in these procedures. He recalled: When I performed that operation on Maurice Leyland, I was convinced that this was one of the most effective ways of dealing with the tremor in Parkinson’s disease - and I still am! Drugs can help improve many of the other symptoms of the disease but surgery is coming back into fashion as a means to help control the tremor. It was a huge decision for Maurice and Connie to make but those drug therapies Mr Gibson spoke of were not an option in 1958 and, for someone who had always been as active as Maurice had, the operation offered the chance of an improved quality of life. His playing career was built on his ability to stand firm in a crisis and a remarkable capacity to rise to the occasion. The bigger the challenge the stronger he became - and there were few challenges as big as this one. On Tuesday, August 19, Maurice went down to the Infirmary theatre for the two hour operation. For once the events just up the road at Headingley seemed unimportant. As it happened a five for 51 return from off spinner Ray Illingworth bowledYorkshire to an 86-run victory overDerbyshire but that was to be their final win of a rain-soaked Championship season and the team finished a disappointing eleventh. But, for the next week or so cricket took a back seat. Thankfully, Maurice came through the operation without any ill effects and after ten days in hospital he was discharged home to spend a few days quietly preparing for his return to the public arena - at the Scarborough Festival. The trip to Scarborough was always an important one for Maurice and Connie as they took the opportunity to visit family as well as getting together with cricketing colleagues past and present. But, this time, things would be a little different. Maurice knew that those who were aware of his stay in hospital would be taking more interest in his well-being than usual and even though there would others who knew nothing he would doubtless be a Against the odds