Object number
TN.2008.543b
Title
Ball presented to JC (Jim) Laker, England vs. Australia, Old Trafford 1956
Date
1956 - 1956
Creator
Material
Size
23 cm diameter
Description
Cricket ball with engraved, circular silver plaque. Presented by Lancashire County Cricket Club. Used by J C Laker to take 10 wickets for 53 runs for England vs. Australia at Old Trafford 1956.
Display caption
Laker spun the ball fiercely on a drying pitch when taking his record wicket haul. Pitches were left uncovered during the hours of play at the time and pitches drying out after a soaking were notoriously difficult to bat on. Uncovered pitches remained in use in England later than anywhere else, being used in Test cricket until 1972 and in county cricket until 1981. In the first innings at Old Trafford in 1956 Laker took 9 for 37, long before the wicket became “sticky”.
Association
Exhibitions
Object name
Object Category
