Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

71 Chapter seven Enter Sir William Before moving on to Maurice’s memorable first encounter with the old enemy Australia it is worth reflecting a while on one other important change in Yorkshire cricket in 1928: the appointment of WilliamArthington Worsley as first team captain. Though making no great impact on the county’s fortunes in the Championship, it was a change that led to a special relationship between Maurice and the Worsley family that was to last for the rest of his life. Worsley might have wished for better preparation for his new task. Apart from the weakening of the side due to the loss of Roy Kilner, he found himself with little time to adjust to just playing cricket full time - never mind captaining the side. The previous skipper, Major AW Lupton, had taken the side to third place in 1927 but he would have been 49 by the time the new season started and, having scored just 168 runs in 23 innings (averaging 8.84) his practical contribution to the cause was limited to say the least. Contemporary commentators referred to a lack of strong amateur players within the county at this time; consequently the long standing tradition of appointing an amateur captain suddenly looked set to change. Lupton was to be replaced and there was quite a stir when it became known that Herbert Sutcliffe, one of England’s foremost professionals, was being touted as his successor. Sutcliffe was in fact eventually appointed by the committee without him having to revert to amateur status, but he responded to the news of the decision by sending the following cable to the club President, Lord Hawke: ‘Official invitation received yesterday. Many thanks you and committee. Great honour. Question carefully considered. Regret to decline. Willing to play under any captain elected.’ So, it was back to square one. But, the election which followed, at a specially convened committee meeting, resulted in a unanimous decision to offer the position to Worsley. With his father, Sir William Henry Arthington Worsley Bart., of Hovingham Hall, Malton, the new skipper was a long standing Yorkshire member but, at 38, he was certainly a late starter in the first class game. He did play first eleven cricket at Eton but,