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

61 would enjoy the double act involving the agility and proficiency of his wicketkeepers such as Wally Luckes and Harold Stephenson at Somerset, as well as Gordon Chadwick at Leeds, Peter White at Wakefield, Ron Beeson at Lincolnshire and his eldest son Miles Lawrence in Huddersfield League cricket back in Yorkshire after their county careers were over. With Miles keeping, a unique record of father-son partnership was created in a Sykes Cup final in Huddersfield in 1972 but more of that later. Leg spin bowling is an art throughout the cricket world. It is a type of bowling which is extremely difficult to bowl well and to bowl accurately. It has never been especially associated with Yorkshire. The most famous leg spin bowlers have included Clarrie Grimmett, Bill O’Reilly, Richie Benaud, Shane Warne (all Australians), ‘Titch’ Freeman, Doug Wright, R.O. (Roley) Jenkins (all from the southern half of England), Intikab Alam (Pakistan), B S Chandrasekhar (India) and quite a few more who did not come from Yorkshire. It seems to me that in one sense the knowledgeable public of Yorkshire cricket has never disparaged leg spin bowling Lawrence’s playing art and his love of being competitive Miles Lawrence.