Open Writing

I had an indifferent season only playing in ten County matches and taking 22 wickets at an average of 34. During the complete season I went to the wicket on only nine occasions for the First XI. Given the opportunity my bowling was okay but I was not getting the chance to show my batting worth.

In County Cricket many regular bowlers are also excellent batsmen, but the first five places in the batting order are usually given to players who don't bowl, with the remaining places going to the bowlers and wicket-keeper. Singular rather than dual skills are encouraged hence the shortage of all-rounders in County Cricket.

I usually batted 8 or 9 and if I went in at all it was usually when we had over 300 on the board and I was told to swing the bat for half an hour. The other recurring circumstance was usually just after lunch on a nasty wicket when the specialist batsman had failed and the score was something like 80 for 6. Also I didn't know what else I could do? Opening the batting for the Second XI, I had demonstrated the building of an innings with several near century knocks. Perhaps some action was required?

After careful thought, and knowing that Somerset and Leicestershire were still interested in my services, I put a formal request in writing to Ken Turner, (known as the Fuhrer), theNorthants Secretary requesting my release. Somerset also approached Northants asking them if they could formally approach me. I got an answer from Ken Turner at the end of October telling me that "the Executive Committee had decided I was too good a cricketer to be released at the moment." It was interesting to note that during seven years correspondence with Northants County Cricket Club this was the first letter I got addressed to Dear Malcolm instead of Dear Scott!

It was ironic that Newcastle United had put me on the transfer list when I would have rather stayed, and now Northampton wouldn't release me when I wanted to be away. Perhaps I should have had the gumption to leave and go into league cricket until they released me. George Eastman's 1960 High Court Action came to mind.

To compensate, I tried to relax and enjoy my second football season with Darlington. This worked until January 1963 when it started to snow, it then froze and didn't let up until March.

On the last Saturday before winter took over we were due to play Barrow on the north-west coast. After confirming the ground was playable, we set off in the team coach on the Saturday morning. We got as far as the top of the Pennines before a massive blizzard engulfed the bus. It was impossible to travel any further and we had to dig the bus out just to return to Darlington. The club was heavily fined by the FA and told they should have travelled the day before.

That Saturday night I went to a dance in Shields and told my friends what we had been through, they thought I was making it up as there was hardly any snow on the east coast. They got it later.

The extended winter of 1962/3 also indirectly finished my career with Darlington. Due to the big freeze, football fixtures continued to the end of May, weeks after I was supposed to start cricket with Northamptonshire. Eddie Carr, manager at Darlington, gave me an ultimatum - "stay or go." I made a decision to go, so he told me, in no uncertain terms, to leave as I was of no further use to him.

Throughout my football and cricket careers, with the co-operation of the clubs concerned, I had usually managed to avoid any conflict caused by the overlapping seasons. In May 1963, however, I couldn't be in two places at once and chose the cricket field. It was a pity, because I enjoyed my 47 games with Darlington, playing mostly at left-half.

The 1963 cricket season at Northants was the second year in charge for our new skipper - wicket-keeper Keith Andrew. The season was also significant because Mike Allen left the county and as a result I got more overs. I managed 50 wickets at 27 each which helped to win a few games. Also I got selected by the M.C.C for a two day game against Cambridge University at Lords.

The pitch at Northampton during the 1960s was quite slow and more often favoured the batsman rather than the bowler. My two north-east colleagues Gordon Williamson and Louis McGibbon both used to swing the ball late when playing for Northumberland and Durham, especially at coastal venues. When bowling at Northampton or other inland venues the vital wicket-taking delivery disappeared from their armoury. Realisation eventually dawned and both left the county; Louis to study to be a solicitor and Gordon to return to Durham to go into the motor trade.
In the Gillette Cup in 1963 we beat Warwickshire and Middlesex only to lose to Sussex, the eventual winners, in the semi-final. During my time at Northants I played in only eleven one day games and took 19 wickets at 13.8 runs per wicket. I didn't rate one day cricket very highly then and I still don't, although I appreciate it can be much more enjoyable to watch and the money is essential for the game to develop.

At the start of the 1963/4 football season I was transferred from Darlington to York City in Division 4. York had an ageing team and we had to struggle throughout the season to maintain respectability.

My nineteen games during the 1963/4 season for York were marred by an incident while playing away at Hartlepool. They were desperate for points to avoid relegation and there was some dirty play going on. I was marking Ambrose Fogerty, Hartlepool's new £10,000 signing from Sunderland, who, as the papers said, was in a "provocative mood". That was putting it mildly. He left his foot in late on a couple of occasions and twice gave me a back heeler when the referee wasn't looking and the ball was well away. My adrenalin must have been sky high as I responded by giving him a good whacking and down he went. I had never done anything like this before and expected to be sent off. Referee Spadling from Grimsby consulted his linesman and after a good talking to, booked me. I was extremely lucky. The game didn't get any better in the second half and the referee had to speak to both captains about 'calming down their players'. The local paper reported: - "Incidents apart, one must give Malcolm Scott full credit for the way he mastered Fogarty who was seldom able to produce his known talents." Was this before or after I floored him I ask?
When incidents like this happen, a player usually gets the support from his manager. This didn't happen at York. On the contrary, after the game I was given a long lecture on why players didn't do such things in a York City shirt. Despite my attempt to reason with him and to point out what was going on, I was dropped for the next game. The manager did not have much time for me after that.

There were several older and more experienced players at York with Noel Paynton, Johnnie Scott and Tommy Heron, all of whom at one time had been on Manchester United's books. They were also funny and quite mischievous. Our manager at the time was Tom Scott an old, upstanding Scottish type, very forthright and stern.

Every Friday afternoon, equipped with a blackboard and pointer, he used to give us a lecture on our deficiencies and telling us how good our opponents were. He did this to such an extent on one occasion we thought we were playing Real Madrid.

When he had finished he would ask the usual "any questions". There were usually none. However, this time extrovert Noel Paynton put his hand up and said "I've got one Boss." Tom Scott asked, "What's that Noel?" The answer came "How many do you think we will get beat by tomorrow Boss?" Our sniggering broke into laughter much to the embarrassment of the manager, who told us "You don't take this game seriously enough." (A la Bill Shankley).

In May 1964 the Club finished third bottom of the fourth division and had to seek re¬election. This was compounded when one of our players—none of the above—was found guilty of being involved in a soccer bribery scandal. After a dreadful season more than half the squad - including myself- were on the transfer list.

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