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

126 players – Ronnie had played for Yorkshire where he had been Johnny Wardle’s under-study as left-arm spinner) – would all be joining the College Grove club and playing in the opener at Batley. Vic Wilson would prove the ideal captain for Wakefield. He was described to me by playing colleague Harry Atkinson as a wonderfully laid-back character. Another colleague of Johnny’s at Wakefield, Bob Beardsell, regarded Wilson as a shrewd man-manager and an astute tactician of the game. The seasons 1964 and 1965 were phenomenal and are described in detail in the appendix as Wakefield won the Central Yorkshire League title in both. Let us jump for the moment to the Heavy Woollen Cup Final against Dewsbury at Heckmondwike on Saturday, August 1, 1964. Wakefield had not won the trophy for 43 years and in the final Johnny was to be the outstanding player in batting and bowling. He top-scored with 44 out of 130 and took six for 32 as Dewsbury slumped to 65 all out. Bill Squires, the Dewsbury captain, said at the presentation immediately after the match in a comment he tried to make humorous “You’ve bought the cup, not won it”, and certainly the club’s ambitions were coloured by input from the chairman, Albert Sharpe, who had paid for the big signings, especially Vic Wilson and Johnny (who incidentally had been a school friend). There probably has never been a level playing field at any time in any sport and certainly there have been a lot of minnows who most of the time could never compete with bigger clubs. Nonetheless, at the civic reception which followed, Vic Wilson was moved to say: “A lot has been said about the bowling of Johnny Lawrence and my view is that it must be all to the benefit of the game when someone like him comes along to play in this class of cricket. It is not brute force and ignorance, taking advantage of rough wickets; it is sheer skill and experience and if the junior players learn from him, it must be all for the good of cricket.” Johnny gave an interview to Express journalist A.G. (Geoff) A star again in league cricket