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

93 was sent for to drive him and the family back in the caravan to their Yorkshire home. It meant that his friend Miles Coope got to bowl in his place and took his best ever figures of three for 29 but this was not sufficient for Somerset to prevent Yorkshire getting a draw but, as the local Gazette suggested, Somerset would have won easily if not for Johnny’s inability to bowl in that second innings. Dare one suggest that the two leg spinners, Lawrence and Coope might have even bowled in partnership to pile on the agony against their native county. Johnny so often managed to avoid injury but this time he would miss his first opportunity to play against the Aussies who visited Taunton later in the same week. Nevertheless he was fit in time to play one more first-class match in 1948 and a rather special one at that. At Cardiff Arms Park, Johnny played for an England XI versus Glamorgan – the new first-time winners of the County Championship on September 18, 20 and 21, 1948 in a festival match with an incredible roll-call. This was effectively his only ‘representative’ match. Johnny is by no means out of place playing alongside an amazing list of illustrious names: Charlie Barnett of Gloucestershire and England batting fame, Dick Pollard the celebrated Lancashire bowler, Bill Edrich, Yorkshire stars from their great side of the 1930s; Len Hutton (still in his heyday), Maurice Leyland, and Arthur Wood behind the stumps; and latter-day Yorkshire spin star Johnny Wardle, plus Douglas Jardine (the ‘Bodyline’ captain of the early 1930s making a guest appearance), Norman Yardley – Yorkshire and England captain who was captain in this match and Surrey and England fast bowler Alf Gover (an earlier pioneer of cricket coaching). In present day parlance this was a fantasy team and yet it really did come together! Three of Johnny’s four wickets in the match were one lbw and two bowled. It must have been the only time in cricket history (though it was a great discovery to find in my researches) the coming together in first-class cricket of two ageing Yorkshire-born legends. A first class career with Somerset