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

123 headed Yorkshire’s attack years earlier. Michael Crawford, the captain, was a batsman who had been good enough to captain Yorkshire seconds and get a game for Yorkshire firsts when Norman Yardley was away a few years earlier. Cricket in the Yorkshire League was of an excellent standard played on such good batting tracks such that no bowler had ever neared the coveted 100 wickets in a season – the highest at the time being 72. Given that Leeds had good pace bowlers Johnny would not usually come on to bowl until some wickets were already down. Thus it was a considerable feat that he would manage regularly his 50 or 60 wickets for the season. 1958 was an outstanding season for Leeds. On June 28 Leeds went top of the table as they completed a double over Harrogate. On August 23, a convincing win by 118 runs and double versus Hull sealed a great league campaign. Full details of Leeds’s week by week success are given in an appendix. Leeds having won the Yorkshire League would play Illingworth in the semi-final of the Yorkshire Council play- offs. This semi was played at Headingley on August 30. Johnny took three for 30. Hallas and Mylan also took three cheap wickets each as Illingworth mustered 71. Leeds scored the runs with seven wickets to spare with Peter Kippax and Billy Sutcliffe scoring 30s. The final versus Hallam of the South Yorkshire section took place at Elsecar on Saturday, September 6. Leeds scored a magnificent 155 for one at the suspension of their innings and never looked like having to resume their innings. Sutcliffe was 54 not out and Bolus had scored 51. Hallam were bowled out for 77 to the spin of Bolus, four for six and Johnny Lawrence four for 34. Leeds, who had finished fourth bottom the season before, had now done the double and done it in style. The Yorkshire Post commented at the time: “Leeds owed much to the ability and patience of Johnny Lawrence!” It was the first time in 14 years of trying that Leeds had A star again in league cricket