Jim Fairbrother

Jim Fairbrother began his career as a groundskeeper in Nottingham before he joined the groundstaff at Trent Bridge in 1952 and then moved to Lord's in 1968. Wisden wrote: "With a temperament ideally suited to the job, he tackled with disarming patience the problems peculiar to Lord's, not least the slope of seven and a half feet from the Grand Stand to the Tavern boundary, but to do also with such things as bomb scares during Test matches. With his gentle smile and love of his job, he became a popular figure at headquarters, twice winning the award as Groundsman of the Year (1981 and 1982) and rarely taking offence, whatever might be said about his pitches."

His shambling, almost hunched, gait was familiar for almost a decade and a half at Lord's. Sadly, he fell ill at the start of 1984, what would have been his final year anyhow, and although he remain in charge by the season end he had already handed over the reins. He published a book - Testing the Wicket - a month before he died.
Martin Williamson