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

216 Willie Sutcliffe plundered 158 with eight sixes and sixteen fours. Willie was from the illustrious Farsley family and not related to the more famous Pudsey Sutcliffes! Yet Windhill accepted the daunting challenge and chased down 262 and won by two wickets with 15 minutes to spare. As Windhill continued to surge and hoped to win the championship, Render was leading wicket taker in a win over Lightcliffe on August 8 as Johnny chipped in with three wickets – and he did the same thing on the 15th as Pudsey St Lawrence were overwhelmed and all out for 38 in reply to 209 for eight. Then Johnny was the one in the wickets with seven for 77 in a four wicket win at Spen on August 22 and then the pair took five wickets each as Baildon Green were all out for 93 and again Windhill had a four wicket win. 1937 His four wickets in the first match against Bradford on May 1 helped in a 51 run win. There followed a narrow reversal at Farsley. Johnny again took four wickets and scored 46 but Windhill only managed to score 120 as no other batsman scored more than 21 and they lost by the slender margin of five runs. A succession of wins followed – punctuated by the occasional draw – and usually Johnny had some say in the matter. Notably he scored 68 run out and took two wickets in a drawn match at East Bierley as well as taking six wickets in a win at Lightcliffe and five wickets in an abandoned match at home to Brighouse. July began dramatically. After taking four wickets at home to Farsley (including getting Willie Sutcliffe out early), Johnny was hit on the chest in Windhill’s reply. A doctor was summoned as he had to leave the field, retired hurt. He was sent to Bradford Royal Infirmary before being sent home the same day after treatment. Johnny would learn that Windhill had gone on to win the match. He missed the next match which Windhill lost. Then came the Spen match when M Whitehead assaulted Johnny’s bowling yet this batsman made no other runs and was out ‘caught Jowett b Hipkin 26’. It was A. Waterhouse however who helped Spen the most with 86 as Spen reached 248 for seven and Windhill could only draw the match scoring 142 for five. This failure to win against Spen was another blip for Windhill and in general July was a month of mixed fortunes. Wins in early August were sufficient to give Windhill the title. Johnny took six wickets and two catches defeating Lidget Green away, and scored Appendix Two: Some of Johnny Lawrence’s league career in more detail