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alongside two leading professionals - Sam King and Arthur Lacey and
ahead of some other famous names, including Archie Compston and Reg
Whitcombe. Not far behind them came the Scottish amateur Jack
McLean, that year’s Irish Amateur Champion, who later became pro at
Gleneagles.  As the championship ended the second test was underway at Lord’s in wonderful weather and South African batsman Bruce Mitchell became the first victim of the new LBW law, which allowed players to be given out to balls pitching on the off side It was designed to stop them constantly ‘padding up’, but many think that it has had a negative influence on batting. South Africa won the match by 157 runs and went on to record their first series victory in England. The tests had been played over three days, which the pundits said had worked to the disadvantage of England who had had the better of two out of the four drawn matches. After that five-day tests were played against South Africa, as against the Australians. Thirty years later they had their second series win in England, in the three-match test of 1965 and were entering a period when the quality of their players would undoubtedly have brought them more success, but they were then to be in the wilderness for over twenty years during the apartheid era. 1935 was also a milestone in football as it marked the fiftieth year of the professional game. One well-known name in the news that August was Matt Busby. The man who was to achieve fame as Manager of Manchester United, the first of the two to be knighted, had converted from a forward to a halfback - for Manchester City! The previous year he had captained City to victory against Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final. The following year he was to join Liverpool for £8500. Following the Open the Ryder Cup selectors met to choose the team for the match to be held in the USA. I was again on the ‘short list’ and the last place was, so I understood, between Ted Jarman, from the Prenton club on the Wirral, and me. I was equal fourth in the championship and he was in a tie for fifty-eighth with Joe Ezar, but the place went to NEXT |
