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

211 My relations still tease me about it; they remember when I was very young and used to ask what I wanted to be when I grew up. I used to say a County Cricketer in broad Yorkshire. They were from the East Riding and well educated. I used to visit them in the school holidays and had already developed a broad Yorkshire accent. They used to call us Leeds Loin-enders. I watched village cricket during the holidays at Middleton on the Wolds and Bishop Burton. It still gives me a thrill when I remember watching a chap called Dewhurst making a century at Bishop Burton. The ground was amongst the trees and the Hall in the background. There must be lots of cricket still played in this atmosphere. I know television and one-day games have brought interest to the game, but the real spirit of the game is on the village green. I am just writing down things that come into my head, thinking I can sort them out after.  Continuing my own memories of cricket from being very young. My first County match I watched was Yorkshire v Hampshire (refer to Wisden) at Headingley – 500 for 2; G. Brown 232 not out; P. Mead 180 not out. They were two left-handed batsmen. Yorkshire were bringing a new bowler from Driffield called Whitehead; he took the first five wickets and must have thought he was doing alright until the end of the day. I don’t think he played again. I remember going to Leeds, to Herbert Sutcliffe’s shop, with my father who bought me my first bat. It was a J.B. Hobbs bat and I still think it was the best bat I ever had. We went straight up to Roundhay Park Oval to try it out and I can still smell the Linseed Oil, which gives me a thrill every time I oil a bat. My father was a wicket keeper and Captain of the village side – Carlton in the Wakefield and District League so naturally, at school, they thought of me as a wicket keeper. I kept wicket for the school team, but was more interested in batting. I left school to be an apprentice carpenter and my first chance to play with a league team was when the wicket keeper was ill and couldn’t play. They came for me on a Saturday morning; the match was against Middleton Park in the Yorkshire Central League. I don’t remember how many byes, but I scored 18 not out, going in last and keeping my end up for my partner to score 50. I mention this very modestly just to record that a little success helps to make you more determined to succeed. You have to fancy yourself at cricket – it helps your confidence. I kept my place in the team as a batsman. I played as much cricket as possible with friendly sides during the week. When I played for the local Chapel team and Leeds YMCA against Guiseley it gave me a chance to play senior league cricket. I was invited by Alan Clayton to play for Guiseley in the Yorkshire Council and since then they formed the Wharfedale League.  Appendix One: Johnny Lawrence’s notes on his cricketing career