Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Against the best 82 unprecedented Ashes ‘whitewash’. Even then Maurice might have swung it England’s way with a smart piece of fielding that, according to reports, appeared to break the wicket with Jack Ryder a yard out of his crease. At that point the Aussie was on 27 but the England appeal was rejected and Ryder went on to hit 57 not out in an unbroken match winning sixth wicket stand of 83, with Bradman 37 not out. After the second day’s play all Yorkshire wanted to talk about that Leyland century and Saturday night’s Yorkshire Evening Post ‘Sports Final’, in Leeds, was full of news from the other side of the world. Wilfred Rhodes declared: Maurice Leyland has had to wait for his chance; but now that it has come, he has taken it with both hands as we all hoped, and many of us knew, he would. We, who have watched with close interest his progress since he came into the county team, have always realised the value of his aggressiveness, and there is evidence that he has faced the Australian attack the right way - the Yorkshire way, if you like, in the 13 boundaries he had to his credit when stumps were drawn. A century such as this tells of the temperament for the big occasions, when men of inferior mettle give way under the strain. One thing is certain - it is an indication to the English authorities that here is a left hander for the future battles with the Australians. Rhodes, whose first class career spanned 1,110 games between 1898 and 1930, included almost 40,000 runs and, as no other player has ever done, took over 4,000 wickets. He also had a 31-year England career and was undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable people in the game at this time. Just how good, and prophetic, his judgement was is clearly illustrated by Maurice’s final record against the old enemy. By the time he played his last innings, fittingly signing off with another century in the record-breaking 1938 Oval Test, Maurice had appeared in six Ashes series, played in 20 Tests, hit seven centuries, chalked up 1,705 runs and boasted an average of 56.83 that stood 40 per cent higher than his overall career average. If there was one opponent he most certainly enjoyed playing against - it was Australia!