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

52 Miles was a craftsman and became a piano tuner and French polisher and looked after pianos for – among others – the illustrious Fanny Waterman. He sadly died aged 56 in 1974 when he is believed to have accidentally overdosed on one of his own herbal remedies as he faced kidney failure and acute pancreatitis. Another companion in many of Johnny’s activities was Sam, Johnny’s older brother who was instrumental in helping him with coaching in the nets and many of Johnny’s non-cricketing projects which often involved building. In the war, Sam who ran a haulage business was helped by Johnny and Miles Coope in many goodwill errands. Immediately after the war we find Sam and Johnny in collaboration to create the tomato sheds which would become indoor cricket nets. At some point after this time, Sam did go and play for and be groundsman at Perth in Scotland for a while, and then he came to Yorkshire Copperworks in Stourton and was groundsman at North Leeds from 1956 to 1964. He outlived Johnny by a good few years – living till July 2007 but no longer coached during the period after Johnny’s death due to ill health. A close friendship develops