Lives in Cricket No 52 - Schooled in Cricket (2nd edition)

120 A star again in league cricket immense time in the game (at least that we know of – but I would confidently say – ever) that he was judged by performance – rightly or wrongly – to be not good enough to continue at a club. Wakefield’s decision for example not to engage Johnny for 1967 would come in very different circumstances. Thus this proved to be his only season in this league. Back in the Yorkshire leagues Sadly and surprisingly even the greatest cricket writers have undervalued both league cricket and its sway over the game in northern England. Neville Cardus largely ignored it. John Arlott even more surprisingly disparaged it. No- one wrote positively about it in depth until Johnny’s friend Roy Genders wrote League Cricket in England . Genders wrote that League Cricket was “cricket in the raw, not the spit and polish county stuff, but the real ‘blood and guts’ warlike cricket which delighted these tough Yorkshiremen, reared on the windswept moors, who wanted some action for their money”. The leagues were the bread and butter of the game – but they were also often to provide the jam and the relish. They have been a stepping stone for players’ development – and their discovery. They have provided opportunities for the ordinary players to fulfil their ambitions against the greats and for spectators to share their dreams. They have also enabled ageing stars to continue successful competitive careers beyond the minimum period of a first- class career. Johnny was not totally unique in playing successfully for so long as he did or even for continuing to radiate his own enjoyment of the competitive game and be able to pass that enjoyment visibly on to whoever might be watching – but he certainly belonged to a rare breed in these respects. He would enjoy all kinds of cricket from end of season friendlies to seriously-played mid-winter frolics in snow, ice or cold; but he must certainly have enjoyed himself as much as anyone and thrived upon his long and