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

179 was fortunate to be able to practise for hours on end a sport that he loved and to have such an encourager as Johnny as his coach. He would spend even more hours in those nets than Geoffrey Boycott for example as he was to make use of his geographical good fortune. He was such a regular attender that Keith Parker remembers he could be seen at times doing his school homework resting on the adjacent snooker table there. Boycott – among others – refers to him as the most naturally talented all-rounder of his generation and if it hadn’t been that Yorkshire already had a star quality off- spin bowler all-rounder in their team in the personage of Ray Illingworth, Birkenshaw would have occupied that position for a generation. He yet played 31 matches for Yorkshire – sometimes when Illingworth was on Test duty and sometimes when Yorkshire allowed themselves the luxury of an extra all rounder before moving on to Leicestershire and then – at the end of his first-class career – to Worcestershire. While at Leicester he played five times for his country. Dave Liverman writes in A Profile of Jack Birkenshaw on the Cricket Archive website: “He played all his Tests abroad, where he was picked several times as a second off-spinner, but in general his Test career was blocked by the presence of that other Yorkshire expatriate, Ray Illingworth. He made 64 on his Test debut as well as picking up wickets, and was well worth his place in his brief opportunities.” After a time as a first-class umpire, he became a full time coach and when I spoke to him several years ago was still – at the age of 70 – an England Cricket Board spin bowling coach and doing coaching for England women’s team. He described to me using Johnny’s method of coaching. Encouragement, straight-forwardness, excellence and perfection were the hallmarks. Allowing natural talent without undue interference was very much part of this method. He is now president of Leicestershire CCC. A few of his proteges