Club, or Lord's. According to Daniels, Cardus "thrived in the role of patron, encourager, [and] accoucheur". Howat describes his appearance in these years as not having changed much from his younger days: "... the lean, ascetic figure of moderate height, with sharp features, sleek hair, and strong glasses". Cardus died on 28 February 1975 at the Nuffield Clinic, London, a few days after collapsing at home. His cremation service was private. On 4 April more than 200 people attended a memorial service at St Paul's, Covent Garden. These included representatives from Cardus's worlds of cricket, journalism and music. Flora Robson and Wendy Hiller gave readings, and Clifford Curzon, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, played the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. The eulogy was given by the cricket writer and historian Alan Gibson, who took as his text verses from Blake's Auguries of Innocence: Reputation, honours and influence Cardus's contribution to cricket writing has been acknowledged by various commentators on the game. John Arlott wrote: "Before him, cricket was reported ... with him it was for the first time appreciated, felt, and imaginatively described." Howat commented: "He would have his imitators and parodists, and no serious cricket writer would remain unaffected by him". His influence on his successors was more specifically acknowledged by Gibson: "All cricket writers of the last half century have been influenced by Cardus, whether they admit it or not, whether they have wished to be or not, whether they have tried to copy him or tried to avoid copying him. He was not a model, any more than Macaulay, say, was a model for the aspiring historian. But just as Macaulay changed the course of the writing of history, Cardus changed the course of the writing of cricket. He showed what could be done. He dignified and illuminated the craft". As a music critic, Cardus's romantic, instinctive approach was the opposite of Newman's objective school of musical criticism. Initially in awe of Newman's reputation, Cardus soon discovered his own independent, more subjective voice. A fellow critic wrote that Newman "probed into Music's vitals, put her head under deep X-ray and analysed cell-tissue. Cardus laid his head against her bosom and listened to the beating of her heart." Despite their different approaches, the two writers held each other in considerable regard; at times, Newman's own prose showed the influence of Cardus's style. Among leading musicians