A Geordie All-Rounder: 13 - The Magic Of Nayadu
...A report in The Gazette read: "Scott maintained a nagging length, flighted the ball well and spun the ball consistently to return the remarkable figures of nine overs, four maidens, six runs and five wickets"...
Malcolm Scott continues the story of his illustrious sporting career.
The summer of 1953 was crowded with the Queen's Coronation, Roger Bannister's under four minute mile and Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mount Everest. It was also the beginning of an unforgettable period for South Shields Cricket Club and myself. We finished 5th in the league, mainly due to Nayudu's magic with the bat and ball. He put thousands on the 'gate' and people queued to get in and rushed for the best seats.
The game I most remember was the John Saunder's Cup Final against Sunderland. On Friday 17th July, hundreds of our supporters travelled to the Ashbrooke ground at Sunderland, boosting the attendance to over 5,000. The Press billed the game as a Coxon versus Nayudu final, and true to form the Sunderland professional scored 62 not out, out of a total of 134 for 6. We were 61 for 4 with only 10 overs remaining when the rain saved us.
For the reply, the following week, our first bowler, Jackie Atkinson was unavailable and for the first time in three years veteran all-rounder Alan Lawson stepped into the breach. He also promised to buy a free dinner for the team if they won.
Shields batted first and made 134 for 9 in 30 overs, mainly due to Benny Taylor's 51 and Bert Land's 47. My contribution, batting at No.9 was 1 not out.
We all knew we could win this game if we could get Coxon out early. Gordon Hall's first ball of the innings to Coxon was a rank full toss. In attempting to put the ball out of the ground, Coxon mistimed his shot and spooned it high to square-leg. Who was at square leg, but me. As thousands watched I waited for the ball to come down and held a very significant catch. The score book read A. Coxon c Scott b Hall 0 - both bowler and catcher being Coxon's former pupils.
Sunderland were all out for 125, we won the John Saunder's Cup and Alan Lawson fulfilled his promised with a celebration dinner. A match to remember!
During the 1953 cricket season Gordon Hall and I were selected for a Durham County Colts XI v Tyneside Senior League XI at Gateshead Fell. We both failed with the bat but took some wickets at a low cost.
Playing for Shields, I had a good season taking wickets and scoring a few runs. The highlight was possibly when I took 5 wickets for 6 runs against Tynemouth in a Challenge Cup match. A report in The Gazette read:
"Scott maintained a nagging length, flighted the ball well and spun the ball consistently to return the remarkable figures of nine overs, four maidens, six runs and five wickets"
The climax of the season for me came after one game in August, when Foster Coulson the Club Chairman asked to have a private word with me. I thought, what have I done, but it was just the opposite. He informed me I had been chosen to play for the Durham County side against Lancashire Second XI at Old Trafford the following week. He added I would be getting a letter in the post and hoped I could get off work without any problems.
I was amazed and excited, and just couldn't believe what Foster had told me. When I got home, dad thought I was joking. I was only 17 years 4 months. Bill Bawden, Sports Editor of the Gazette got hold of the news and the headline read:
Sportsmen's Corner by Bill Bawden
SCOTT ONE OF YOUNGEST EVER CHOSEN FOR COUNTY
South Shields all-rounder Malcolm Scott has been chosen to play for Durham against Lancashire II at Old Trafford on Monday, while Benny Taylor is again included in the county eleven.
Benny Taylor, my team-mate at Shields was also chosen and we both agreed we had much to thank the Club Chairman, Foster Coulson, for our selection. He was a forceful member of the Durham County Committee.
By showing the official letter from Durham County Cricket Club to the manager at Readheads, permission was granted and I travelled to Manchester with the rest of the team. At Old Trafford, several telegrams of congratulations awaited me. I'm afraid they didn't do much good!
The wickets in those days were uncovered and winning the toss was important. Lancashire did just that and batted on a beautiful, flat, dry wicket. They scored 247 for 7 at tea and Durham were 40 for one at the close of play. My figures were 10 overs, 4 maidens, 30 runs and 1 wicket.
During the night, Manchester weather took over and it thundered and poured with rain. The next morning the sun came out and we were caught on a true "sticky dog". Lancashire had two fine bowlers in Malcolm Hilton (who in 1948 bowled the great Don Bradman twice at Manchester) and Jackie Dyson (who also played football for Manchester City). They made the ball talk, it turned nearly square. Durham were all out for 115 and following on for 109. I bagged a pair. On returning home my Dad's friend, Harry Hudson - not the slow bowler who played for Shields during the war years - said "with a start like that it can't get any worse."
After that, Harry Hudson became my No. 1 fan; he was like an uncle to me. He would call at our house most Friday nights in the winter for a chat and some supper and tell us how many weeks, days and minutes there were to the start of the cricket season. South Shields Cricket Club never had a more devoted supporter. A local umpire, he could talk cricket for England. Harry used to send me a copy of Wisden every year without fail, until he left us all, much too soon in 1982.
In spite of Harry's comments, the County selection committed persevered with me and the following year I played seven times for the County and managed to score some runs and get some wickets. One of the games, against Northumberland, was at Wood Terrace, where three years earlier I used to practise in the outfield with my school mates.
