Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Enter Sir William 72 on moving to Oxford, serious cricket took a back seat and his main cricketing ‘claim to fame’ was his part in perpetuating the wonderful tradition at Hovingham where the Hall provides one of the grandest backdrops to any ground in England. Today, the players of the village team turn out week in week out on the ground as the club fulfils its fixture obligations in the York and District Senior League. But, it was a different tale in the early days of cricket at Hovingham Hall where games were played in the best country house tradition. The Baronetcy of Hovingham was created in 1838 and as William’s son Marcus, explained: “As far as we know, it was my grandfather’s grandfather, the first Sir William, who started the cricket here. But our earliest record of a match is in 1858.” Marcus, by his own admission, was not the greatest of cricketers but he is an enthusiastic follower of the game and keenly shared his fond memories of Maurice. Thus, my attempts to retrace the pathways trodden by Maurice Leyland in his lifetime, looking to share, in some small way, the experiences of this quiet man of cricket, had brought me and Jayne, Maurice’s second cousin, to Hovingham on a cool, damp November morning. Maurice talked so little of himself it is hard to find much record of his thoughts and feelings about the world around him - particularly when it came to life away from county or Test cricket - but the clue to his connection with Hovingham had been discovered in a collection of mementoes that had scarcely seen the light of day in years. His nephew Geoff Rimington had provided access to a suitcase full of souvenirs and among them were cuttings and photos of cricketing days at Hovingham, several items related to the wedding of Marcus’ sister Katharine, the present Duchess of Kent, and, finally, a letter of condolence from his old skipper to the family following Maurice’s death. First impressions suggested a relationship between Maurice and the Worsleys that went beyond what you would normally expect between a captain and one of his players. Our visit confirmed this. William Worsley, who, as the son of a baronet, eventually became SirWilliam, styled himself ‘Captain’during hisYorkshire days even though he had left the Army in 1923. He married the