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

144 reasonably successful first-class career eventually after taking a long time to break into the Derbyshire team. Sadly he died young (aged 53 in 1997) at the hands of an unapprehended gunman in Johannesburg after migrating there. The year 1969 provided a remarkably similar pattern to 1968. Yet worse weather in May and the early season again ruining the playing time, with poor early performances, again landed East Bierley in the relegation zone. Things only started to revive when Johnny was handed the captaincy. Yorkshire Sports (Bradford’s ‘Pink ‘Un’) headed an article on August 9, 1969, “They’re at it again” quoting club secretary and player Malcolm Allitt: “Last Saturday’s win over Bradford will have done nothing to harm confidence” and mentioned other recent performances that suggested they did not deserve such a lowly league position and that things should improve now that Johnny was captain. This is the first time we have evidence of Johnny as an appointed captain but he obviously took to it as a duck to water and we see him again in this role in his time at Honley, 1971 to 1973. By August 30, the threat of relegation still loomed large, Seven more successful seasons in league cricket Johnny and Miles Lawrence at work in 1969 on a house Johnny was building next to the indoor nets at Rothwell.