Maurice Leyland - Ten Years at The Top of Test Cricket

Ten Years At The Top of Test Cricket

Leyland began his Test career with a duck against the West Indies at the Oval in 1928, a game England won by an innings. He was picked for Percy Chapman's 1928-29 Ashes tour of Australia but had to wait until the 5th Test of the series at Melbourne to play. He wasted no time in establishing himself, scoring a hundred (137) and an unbeaten 53, and was an automatic selection from then on for a decade. He was a free-scoring player by inclination but proved his determination time after time by rescuing England after a poor start. His stroke play was based on an immaculate defence and implacable will. Bowlers had to labour hard to take his wicket. Never was this better displayed than at Brisbane in 1936-37, when Leyland rescued England from a parlous 20 for 3 to post 126 against the likes of Bill O'Reilly and set up a final crushing victory by 322 runs. He did not always best the fiery Australian leggie however. He once described a typically hostile O'Reilly over thus: "First he bowled me an off-break, then he bowled me a leg-break; then his googly, then a bumper, then one that went with his arm . . . ." "But that's only five, Maurice. What about the last one?" "Oh, that," said Maurice with a smile, "That was a straight 'un and it bowled me."

He lost his place in the Test team at the start of 1938 as a new generation, headed by Len Hutton, Denis Compton and Bill Edrich were given their chance. He returned for the Oval match where his magnificent 187 will always be overshadowed by Hutton's record innings of 364. Leyland added 382 for the second wicket with Hutton, England scored 903 for seven declared and beat Australia by an innings and 579. At the time it was the record partnership for any wicket by an England pair.

Leyland had consoled Hutton when the youngster was run out for a duck in his debut game with "Never mind, lad, you've started at bottom." When Hutton's mammoth vigil ended at last Leyland led the race to the bar and demanded two bottles of champagne. "Why two bottles, Maurice?" "One for thee, Len, and one for me."

Read more about this topic:  Maurice Leyland

Famous quotes containing the words ten years, ten, years, top, test and/or cricket:

    What matters it that man should have a little more knowledge of the universe? If he has it, he gets little higher. Is he not always infinitely removed from the end, and is not the duration of our life equally removed from eternity, even if it lasts ten years longer?
    Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)

    We had an inspection today of the brigade. The Twenty-third was pronounced the crack regiment in appearance, ... [but] I could see only six to ten in a company of the old men. They all smiled as I rode by. But as I passed away I couldn’t help dropping a few natural tears. I felt as I did when I saw them mustered in at Camp Chase.
    Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)

    When I was very young and the urge to be someplace was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked.... In other words, I don’t improve, in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable.
    John Steinbeck (1902–1968)

    People think that at the top there isn’t much room. They tend to think of it as an Everest. My message is that there is tons of room at the top.
    Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925)

    Just as we need to encourage women to test life’s many options, we need to acknowledge real limits of energy and resources. It would be pointless and cruel to prescribe role combination for every woman at each moment of her life. Life has its seasons. There are moments when a woman ought to invest emotionally in many different roles, and other moments when she may need to conserve her psychological energies.
    Faye J. Crosby (20th century)

    All cries are thin and terse;
    The field has droned the summer’s final mass;
    A cricket like a dwindled hearse
    Crawls from the dry grass.
    Richard Wilbur (b. 1921)