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

223 point’. Wakefield themselves only managed 100 at home to Dewsbury who now had Tony Bowes in their armoury taking six for 39. However Johnny’s seven for 56 extinguished Dewsbury’s hopes as they fell 82 all out. Wakefield played the return match at Dewsbury on the Monday and Tuesday evenings following – and it was with the bat in this match that Johnny first made his mark. Recovering from the early loss of three wickets Johnny scored 90 not out and with Mal Colley enabled Wakefield to reach 181 for five. Johnny must have been an exceedingly sprightly 53-year-old to complete five threes on a heavily grassed outfield in this huge innings. Evidently refreshed by the time gap, he then took five of the first seven wickets which fell for 23 runs. He finished with six for 49 as a lusty 51 not out by B Senior (no relation to Brian Senior the author and cricket-watcher who has helped me with my research for this book) added some respectability to the Dewsbury total. Yet Dewsbury had lost by 75 runs. Hanging Heaton in the cup were Wakefield’s next victims with Johnny taking nine for 39! Then Batley were crushed by Johnny’s eight for 46 before our man then top-scored with 53 to pave the way for a six wicket win. In a midweek game with Ossett Johnny proved yet that he was human with what to someone else would have been more than reasonable figures of two for 52 but these were described as ‘very ordinary figures’. Vernon Grace and Ken Dews successfully played Johnny off the back foot and caused only Wakefield’s second loss of the season. Wakefield’s decimation of Staincliffe in the semi-final of the Heavy Woollen Cup with Johnny bowling 9.5 overs, three maidens and taking seven for 18 took his tally by July 11 to 91 wickets. His wicket keeper Peter White now had a league (including cup) record number of 37 victims so many of them stumpings off Johnny Lawrence. At home to Huddersfield ICI, Johnny was second fiddle to Harry Atkinson with both bat and ball. Atkinson took six for 21 whilst Johnny took four for 36 and 58 all out did not seem a big total but then Wakefield fell to 16 for five and it took a careful rescue act with Atkinson (30 not out) doing most of the scoring and Johnny (18 not out) providing ‘an uncompromising defence’ as the situation brightened and Wakefield came through to win by five wickets. It must have come as light relief when a ‘most immature’ Sowerby Appendix Two: Some of Johnny Lawrence’s league career in more detail