By the 1949 season, Gladwin had developed so much as a batsman that he made 124 against Nottinghamshire and scored over 900 runs. However, he did not maintain this standard and only made one score over fifty in his last six seasons. However, as a bowler, Gladwin was always near the top of the averages until he retired in 1958 – though the return of England's pace bowling to more reasonable strength meant that he was out of the running for a Test berth during the 1950s.