Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Against the best 92 Dear Mrs Leyland, I should have written a long time ago to thank you for your nice letter. This though to remind you in your joy at getting Maurice back, of someone who will be very sorry to lose him. Maurice has been a real friend and help to me, both on and off the field, and a grand example to all of us. You must have been delighted with his success, but I doubt whether he himself was more pleased than I was on that account. My congratulations and good wishes for many years of happiness. Yours sincerely, DR Jardine. PS. Hope you have a lovely time in lovely Scotland. DRJ Whatever discussion may continue on this most talked about of cricketing winters, of one thing all are agreed: in Douglas Jardine, England had a captain who had i) a desire, even a need, to succeed, ii) the ability to succeed, iii) the character to inspire a will in others to succeed and iv) he was someone the players would follow up a drainpipe - there wasn’t anything that team would not have done for Jardine on that tour.