1933
PATSY’S THREE-PEAK CHALLENGE
It’s some effort to be half a century ahead of one’s time, but Patsy Hendren, the great Middlesex and England raconteur, and his wife Minnie, were nobody’s fools. After getting hit in the head four times in his career - including from Larwood, causing a wound that needed six stitches - and witnessing Bodyline first-hand, Patsy got Minnie to make him a special protective cap, with the Middlesex emblem on the front and sponge rubbers either side covering his temple and ears. He was ridiculed for it, and the Daily Mail was in uproar at the dismantling of another “glorious cricket tradition”, but Patsy wasn’t taking any chances: “The people can say what they like. I am still suffering recurrent headaches due to that [Larwood] bashing. Believe me, I’m taking no more risks.” He wore it intermittently for the rest of that season.