Jim Griffiths was a good seam bowler and a Northamptonshire stalwart for more than a decade, finishing with 444 first-class wickets at 29.05. His best season was 1981 when he took 70 wickets at 26.30. However, he managed only 290 runs at a career average of 3.33, a figure boosted by 51 not outs from 138 innings. Of his 51 ducks, ten came in one sequence, and so bad was he that his testimonial brochure labelled him as the "Wally of the Willow". But his proud record was tarnished when, in the 1981 NatWest Trophy semi-final, he joined Tim Lamb with 13 needed and Michael Holding in full flight for Lancashire. Griffiths dug deep, "playing and missing comfortably" according to The Times, and such was his reputation that despite the closeness of the game, Lamb, far from competent with the bat himself, turned down five easy singles. Griffiths then got off the mark when he hit the winning run and was carried from the field on the shoulders of the Northants faithful. He was granted a deserved benefit in 1987 but the county managed a PR gaff by releasing him at the end of 1986. He played a few seasons with Lincolnshire and was still playing league cricket into his 50s.
Martin Williamson