Walter Robins: Achievements, Affections and Affronts

Book excerpt: Three initials before his surname; public school and ‘varsity’ connections; Middlesex player, then captain; England player, then captain; MCC committee man; Test selector. To the average cricket follower of his time R.W.V. Robins (1906-1968) seemed to be a typical ‘big noise’ at Lord’s. But the detail of his life is far more interesting than that. Born the son of a Post Office clerk in working-class Stafford, his family moved to London when he was fourteen. Walter’s mother talked Highgate School into taking him on as a pupil, where he starred in the school’s cricket and football teams. His cricket reputation, underpinned by energy and commitment, got him into Middlesex sides in the summer he left school. His sporting reputation followed him to Cambridge where he was helped by a scholarship seemingly contrived out of thin air. He rewarded his supporters with sporting rather than academic achievements, and then joined the ranks of Sir Julien Cahn’s cricket-playing employees, fitting in football for the Corinthians and the odd appearance in the League. Marriage yielded a job in insurance underwriting, and allowed him to play regular county cricket. His enthusiastic batting, dynamic fielding, and sharply spun leg-breaks brought him representative-match opportunities and eventually Test games. Committee places followed, and his combative but cheerful manner found him friends, including a regular correspondence with Don Bradman, and exasperated enemies, including Enid Blyton. He led Middlesex in the Brylcreem summer of 1947. Brian Rendell here reports on a man who wanted cricket to be as exciting as football.