Lives in Cricket No 48 - Maurice Leyland

Ashes to Ashes 97 in more crucial pieces of the ‘jigsaw’, I followed in Maurice’s footsteps to the other side of the world and met Bill Brown, at Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Bill, who was the oldest living Australian Test cricketer at that time, first encountered Maurice, or Maury, as he called him, in Sydney, on January 26, 1933, when the MCC took on New South Wales for what was the 16th match of their tour. “This was my first season in first class cricket and though ‘Bodyline’ was causing quite a stir by this time, England took the field without Larwood, Voce and Allen so they didn’t use it against us in this game,” he recalled. “But, while I didn’t have any first hand experience of it, I have thought about it all since and my only contribution to the argument would be to say, I wonder what would have happened if Vic Richardson had been captain.” He chuckled, then added: “I’m sure it would have been a perfectly decent bloodbath!” It was to be a fine game for the youngster who, though just 20 and playing only his third first-class game, managed to outscore his illustrious team mates Jack Fingleton (19), Don Bradman (one) and Alan Kippax (three) to hit a superb 69. Jack Hobbs wrote of Brown: “Youth never sees the risks of batting; what a pity we can’t always stay young! Brown stood very erect, and his stroke play reminded me of the late Archie Jackson. Young Brown made some good cuts and some beautiful strokes on the leg side, and presented a very straight bat all the time. But Bowes might have had him early on, for more than once Brown, trying to hook Bowes, failed to time the ball, putting a few over the head of short mid-on .... Brown [eventually] went in the first over after a stoppage for rain, the ball hitting the shoulder of the bat and going for an easy catch to third slip. I felt sorry for the boy, firstly because I would have liked to see him make a century, and, secondly, because, almost immediately after he went there was a stoppage for bad light.” In the second innings he was second highest scorer, behind Bradman’s 71, but was out to a great catch behind by Duckworth, off a fast one from Hammond, for 25 and Hobbs noted: “Brown, I think, will be a very good player when he learns to push out his left leg and not play forward with just his arms.” The Queensland- born opener had a good start indeed for his adopted state and