Ted Dexter
Encyclopedia
Edward Ralph Dexter CBE
(born 15 May 1935 in Milan
, Italy
) (better known as Ted Dexter and nicknamed Lord Ted) is a former English cricket
er. An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler
, he captained Sussex
and England
in the early 1960s.
Dexter was educated at Norfolk House
, Beaconsfield
and Radley College
, where he played in the first XI from 1950 to 1953, initially as a wicket-keeper
and as captain in 1953, and was nicknamed "Lord Ted" for his aloof self-confidence. He did his National Service
as a second lieutenant
in the 11th Hussars
during the Malayan Emergency
in 1956-57 and was awarded the Malaya Campaign Medal. Dexter entered Jesus College, Cambridge
in October 1955, where he played golf and rugby in addition to winning his cricket Blue and playing in the University Match
in 1956, 1957 and (as captain) 1958. He first came to notice as a bowler taking 5/8 and 3/47 for the Gentlemen
in 1957 and joined Sussex County Cricket Club
in the same year. He made his Test debut in 1958 against New Zealand, made 52 and E.W. Swanton thought that he should have been picked for Peter May
's MCC tour of Australia in 1958–59
. In the end he was flown from Paris
(where his wife was working as a model) to reinforce Peter May
's injury-struck team. Dexter arrived in the middle of the tour, did not have time to acclimatize and although he did well in the tour matches he failed in the Tests. Continuing on the tour to New Zealand he made 141, his maiden Test century. After an indifferent summer against India
the decision to take him to the Caribbean in 1959-60
was much criticised, but "Lord Ted" made his name thrashing the fast bowlers Wes Hall
and Charlie Griffith
with his powerful drives. He hit 132 not out in the First Test, 110 in the Fourth Test, made 526 runs (65.75), topping the England batting averages, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1961.
On his return Dexter was made captain of Sussex
, which he held until he retired in 1965. He had a quiet home Test season against South Africa
, but in the First Test at Edgbaston
in the 1961 Ashes series England started their second innings needing 321 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Dexter made 180, the biggest century for England against Australia since the war and studded with 31 cracking boundaries, but typically he was stumped in the last minutes of the match trying to hit Bobby Simpson
for six so he could make a double century. In the famous Fourth Test at Old Trafford he played a spectacular innings of 79 in 84 minutes to take England to 106 runs from victory with 9 wickets in hand and the Ashes
in sight, but his dismissal set off an England collapse and the series was lost.
With Peter May
and Colin Cowdrey
declining to tour India and Pakistan in 1961-62 Dexter was chosen to lead the MCC team. With a weakened team (Fred Trueman
and Brian Statham
also refused to tour) Dexter beat Pakistan 1-0
but lost to India 2-0
, their first series victory over England. He made 712 Test runs (71.20) on the tour, including his highest Test score of 205 at Karachi
, and another 446 runs (89.20) when Pakistan toured England in 1962
and were beaten 4-0. Peter May
finally declared his retirement in 1962 and the selectors had to choose who would captain the English cricket team in Australia in 1962–63. Dexter captained England in the First and Second Tests against Pakistan, winning two big victories, but Colin Cowdrey
was put in charge for the Third Test. Cowdrey had been May's affable vice-captain, had a shrewd cricket brain and was seen as his natural successor, but had inherited his cautious tactics and the Marylebone Cricket Club
was crusading for "brighter cricket". Cowdrey withdrew from the final Gentleman v Players
match at Lord's
because of kidney stones even though he had been appointed captain, which usually indicated the selectors' intentions. Dexter was put back in charge (and drew against Fred Trueman
's Players), but found another rival in the old Sussex captain the Reverend
David Sheppard
, who was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End
in order to tour Australia. Sheppard made 112 for the Gentlemen and was chosen for the tour, but Dexter was confirmed as captain for the remainder of the home series and the forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand with Cowdrey as vice-captain. The general opinion was that England had a good batting side, but their bowling was unvaried, would struggle to dismiss Australia and that the tourists would be lucky to avoid another defeat.
He made 481 runs (48.01), the most runs by an England captain in Australia, and this remains a record. The team manager was His Grace
Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, KG, GCVO, PC
, Earl Marshal
and Chief Butler of England
, and it was joked that "Lord Ted" could only be controlled by a duke. In fact, the Duke was the President of Sussex County Cricket Club
, had been instrumental in Dexter's appointment as county captain, shared his interests in horse racing
and golf
and was very popular with the Australian public. In the tour match between the MCC
and an Australian XI Dexter hit 102 in 110 minutes, including 2 sixes and 13 fours "There was a drive off Veivers which sent the ball soaring over the sightboard, a huge hit out of the Melbourne confines
". At the Adelaide Oval
Dexter included "a six from a gigantic hit onto the roof of the stand - one of the biggest hits ever seen at the ground." He was the main draw in the England team and over a million spectators came to see the tourists, the most since 1936-37. The tour returned a record profit for the MCC
of £24,000, beating the £17,000 of 1946-47. Dexter continued his good run of form to equal Patsy Hendren
's England record of six consecutive Test 50s (85 and 172 against Pakistan and 70, 99, 93 and 52 against Australia), which he soon shared with Ken Barrington
and more recently Alastair Cook
. His powerful innings enlivened the First and Second Tests and gave England a 1-0 lead in the series. Australia came back to win the Third Test at Sydney
, where Dexter had preferred to keep his fast bowling
attack from the Second Test even when Fred Trueman
volunteered to stand down in favour of a second spinner to Fred Titmus
. In the end the unsupported Titmus took 7/79 in the first innings and Australia won by 8 wickets, E.W. Swanton and others thought that if either David Allen
or Ray Illingworth
had been in the team England would have won the Ashes
. Even so the match might have been saved if Dexter had not conceded 27 runs off 26 balls so that the teams would not have to return the next day to finish the game. The last few overs were played in the rain and it rained for most of the fifth day, so England might have won the Ashes
. Dexter's negative field placings and lack of urgency failed to regain the Ashes
and the painful draws in the Fourth and Fifth Tests particularly spoilt the atmosphere, as Richie Benaud
was determined to hold onto the Ashes
and Dexter was content to draw a series in Australia. Benaud was an advocate of "go ahead" captaincy and Dexter for "brighting up" cricket and their reputations were badly tarnished.
As captain against Frank Worrell
's West Indian cricket team in England in 1963
Dexter was able to loosen up after the Ashes
and they played an exciting Test series. After losing the First Test in the Second Test at Lord's England's first innings rested heavily on Dexter's hard-hitting 70 in 81 minutes when he took on the West Indian fast bowlers
Charlie Griffith
and Wes Hall
in an innings that was remembered by all who saw it. In the second innings Colin Cowdrey
came out to bat with a broken arm with victory, defeat or a tie still possible in the last two balls, but David Allen
blocked them for a draw. England levelled the series in the Third Test thanks to Dexter (4/38 and 1/7) and Fred Trueman
(5/75 and 7/44), but lost the last two Tests and the series. In 1964 Dexter was again in charge in the rain-soaked 1964 Ashes series
. Famously in the decisive Third Test at Headingley
he removed the off-spinner David Allen
after he had taken three wickets to reduce Australia to 187/7, still 81 runs behind England. Dexter took the new ball and gave it to Fred Trueman
who bowled a series of bouncers which Peter Burge hooked and pulled to 160, hoisting Australia to 389 and a 7 wicket win. Although the change made sense as the new batsman Neil Hawke
was fragile against fast bowling
and Trueman, the greatest wicket-taker in the world at the time, was playing on his home ground Dexter was heavily criticised for a decision which obviously lost the series. In the Fourth Test Australia made 656/8, but thanks to a stand of 246 between Ken Barrington
(256) and Dexter (174) England reached 611 and avoided defeat. It was the first time that two teams had made 600 runs in an innings in a Test, and their fortunes gripped the cricketing nation, but the inevitable draw meant that Australia retained the Ashes
. As some consolation Dexter led Sussex to the finals of the Gillette Cup in 1963 and 1964, and won both, the first trophies in the county's history.
Dexter declared himself unavailable for the 1964-65 tour of South Africa as he contested Jim Callaghan's Cardiff South East
seat in the 1964 General Election
. Finding himself free to tour after his defeat he was made vice-captain to M.J.K. Smith, who won the series and continued as captain. His cricket career was virtually ended by an accident in 1965. His Jaguar car ran out of petrol in west London
, and he was pushing it to safety when it pinned him to a warehouse door, breaking his leg. He left Sussex and played occasional Sunday games with the International Cavaliers
, and made 104 when they defeated the 1966 West Indians
by 7 wickets. He returned briefly in 1968, making 203 not out in his comeback match against Kent
, but failing in the 1968 Ashes series
and he played Sunday League games for Sussex in the early 1970s.
Dexter retired from cricket to concentrate on other interests in 1968, remaining a journalist, becoming a broadcaster
and founding a PR
company. In the late 1980s he joined Bob Willis
to find new fast bowlers
for English cricket. Sponsored by a brewery, application forms were sent to pubs to encourage young men, but most were filled in by jokers and drunks and only a few potential candidates were discovered. These were trained with javelin throw
ing and other exercises to strengthen their back and arm muscles, but the only bowler in the scheme who played first-class cricket had been signed up by Warwickshire
before its inception. The plan therefore failed even though it generated much publicity and showed a certain amount of imagination and initiative. In 1989 he succeeded Peter May
as Chairman of the England Cricket Selectors
, receiving £60,000 pay to compensate for his lost business interests, the first chairman to be so paid. "Dexter was soon in action, initially by way of press conferences and then, as the season developed, by lightning visits to the county grounds. These he made, despite an operation to a heel that put him for a while on crutches, by motorbike and car, a demonstration of enthusiasm and interest that was impressive." After the chaos of 1988 - the Summer of Four Captains
he wanted the tough Mike Gatting
as captain, but was vetoed by Ossie Wheatley
and his status was immediately undermined. Instead the more relaxed David Gower
was appointed for the six Test series. Dexter tackled the role with energy and enthusiasm, but the shine soon wore off as Allan Border
's 1989 Australians
beat England 4-0 to regain the Ashes
, their first series victory in England since 1975
. His cause was not helped by the announcement of the Mike Gatting
's Rebel tour of South Africa
in the middle of the series, which removed the England players Bill Athey
, Kim Barnett
, Ian Butcher
, Chris Broad
, Chris Cowdrey
, Graham Dilley
, Richard Ellison, John Emburey
, Phil DeFreitas, Neil Foster
, Bruce French, Paul Jarvis
, Matthew Maynard
, Tim Robinson
, Greg Thomas
and Alan Wells
from contention. Admittedly England were already 2-0 down in the series and none of these players had shown any talent so far in the summer, but it was an indication of the division and demoralisation of English cricket. In the First Test at Headingley
Dexter selected four fast bowlers and no spinners for the team, advised Gower to put Australia in to bat, only to see them made 601/7 and win by 210 runs. For the Second Test he wrote an inspirational hymn for the England cricketers to sing called "Onward Gower's Soldiers" and appointed a team chaplain
, but remained aloof from the players and seldom visited the dressing room. At the end of the summer he told the press that he couldn't think of any mistakes he had made and later joked that the "lines of Venus
were in the wrong juxtaposition", which was incorrectly translated by the press as a genuine belief in New Age
mysticism. The lackadaisical Gower was fired at the end of the summer and the more professional Graham Gooch
was made captain until 1993, despite Dexter having called his previous appointment as captain as "being hit in the face by a dead fish". Dexter's tenancy as Chairman of Selectors coincided with a poor period in English cricket, but there were some successes; the first Test victory over the West Indies for 19 years in 1990, the victories over New Zealand and India in the run-laden summer of 1990 and the 2-2 draw with the West Indies in 1991
. Against this England lost 3-1 to Australia in 1990-91 and 4-1 in 1993, and were "brownwashed" 3-0 in India in 1992-93, when Gower was controversially dropped from the team. Dexter resigned under a cloud at the end of 1993, but his overhaul of the antiquated structure of English cricket and forward-looking reforms and Richie Benaud
commented that the structures he put in place "will be of great of benefit to English cricket in years to come. Equally, I'm in no doubt that others will take the credit for it." He also became president of the MCC
, and was chairman of the MCC's cricket committee until 2003, when he was replaced by Tony Lewis
. He was also Chairman of the MCC's "England Committee", which was an administrative role and was awarded the CBE
in the New Year's Honours List in December 2000.
Ted Dexter was a cavalier batsman in the old amateur style and a ferocious strokemaker, but was known as being moody and mercurial. As a batsman he could leave the hands of the fielders team bruised and reddened with his powerful drives and cuts. To see "Lord Ted" thrashing the fast bowling was one of the most thrilling sights in cricket and he could make any run chase look possible. His great fault was that he seldom gave a bowling attack due respect and got himself out with rash strokes. Though more a batsman than a bowler he could seam
and swing
the ball, was a useful third paceman even at Test level and was an excellent fielder anywhere. Dexter was a natural one day player, where his big hitting, tidy bowling, keen fielding and lively captaincy gave Sussex their first two trophies - the inaugural Gillette Cup in 1963 and again in 1964. But in first-class matches he bored easily and his strokes of genius were in the end outweighed by his mistakes. As captain he had "more theories than Charles Darwin
", sometimes shifting fielders on a whim and was hailed as a genius if a wicket fell as a result. He was dictatorial on the field, rarely consulting with his bowlers about field placings and pulling them off by saying "You've had enough now. Get down to third man
"
Ted Dexter was a talented golf
player, an amateur champion and could have achieved greatness in that sport if he had not chosen cricket. He married Susan Georgina Longfield, the daughter of a former Kent
cricketer Tom Longfield, whom he met at a party Cambridge University while still an undergraduate and decided to marry on sight. She worked as a model and she joined her husband on the tour of Australia in 1962-63, where she generated considerable press interest and earned more than any of the cricketers. They have a son Thomas and a daughter Genevieve. He owned Jaguar cars, motorbikes, greyhounds, race horses and in 1970 piloted his Aztec BPA-23 Pommies Progress to Australia with his family to cover the Ashes
as a journalist, covering 12,000 miles and making 24 stops. He worked for the liberal The Observer
and the tabloid The Sunday Mirror and managed his style to suit both their editors. His fondness for horse racing
excelled even that of Gary Sobers and Brian Close
. He carried a then rare portable television to watch races in cricket dressing rooms and once declared
a Sussex
innings from Brighton Racecourse
. He co-wrote with Clifford Makins the crime novel Testkill (1976) where an Australian bowler is murdered during play at a Test match against England at Lord's.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
(born 15 May 1935 in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) (better known as Ted Dexter and nicknamed Lord Ted) is a former English cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a right-arm medium bowler
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, he captained Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
in the early 1960s.
Early career 1953–60
Few batsmen, or writers, announce themselves as Dexter did when batting for SussexSussex County Cricket ClubSussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
against SurreySurrey County Cricket ClubSurrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
at The OvalThe OvalThe Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
last summer. His first ball, from the pavilion end, was slightly over-pitched on middle and leg. Feet moved fractionally, head hardly at all, but the bat swung the ball for six over long leg and they fetched it back from the seats under the gasholder.
- Wisden
WisdenThe Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
, 1961
Dexter was educated at Norfolk House
Norfolk House
Norfolk House, at 31 St James's Square, London, was built in 1722 for the Duke of Norfolk. It was a royal residence for a short time only, when Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of King George III, lived there 1737-1741, after his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, daughter of...
, Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
and Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
, where he played in the first XI from 1950 to 1953, initially as a wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
and as captain in 1953, and was nicknamed "Lord Ted" for his aloof self-confidence. He did his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the 11th Hussars
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.-History:The regiment was founded in 1715 as Colonel Philip Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons and was known by the name of its Colonel until 1751 when it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons...
during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
in 1956-57 and was awarded the Malaya Campaign Medal. Dexter entered Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
in October 1955, where he played golf and rugby in addition to winning his cricket Blue and playing in the University Match
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
in 1956, 1957 and (as captain) 1958. He first came to notice as a bowler taking 5/8 and 3/47 for the Gentlemen
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
in 1957 and joined Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
in the same year. He made his Test debut in 1958 against New Zealand, made 52 and E.W. Swanton thought that he should have been picked for Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
's MCC tour of Australia in 1958–59
MCC tour of Australia in 1958–59
The Marylebone Cricket Club tour of Australia in 1958-59 under the captaincy of Peter May was its eleventh since it took official control of overseas tours in 1907-1908. The touring team played as England in the 1958-59 Ashes series against Australia, but as the MCC in all other games...
. In the end he was flown from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(where his wife was working as a model) to reinforce Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
's injury-struck team. Dexter arrived in the middle of the tour, did not have time to acclimatize and although he did well in the tour matches he failed in the Tests. Continuing on the tour to New Zealand he made 141, his maiden Test century. After an indifferent summer against India
Indian cricket team in England in 1959
The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1959 season. The team played five Test matches against England and lost them all: the first time that England had won all the matches in a five-match series...
the decision to take him to the Caribbean in 1959-60
English cricket team in West Indies in 1959-60
The English cricket team in the West Indies in 1959-60 played five Test matches, eight other first-class matches and two minor games. England won the Test series by one match to nil, with the other four matches being drawn.- The England touring party :...
was much criticised, but "Lord Ted" made his name thrashing the fast bowlers Wes Hall
Wes Hall
Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
and Charlie Griffith
Charlie Griffith
Charles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...
with his powerful drives. He hit 132 not out in the First Test, 110 in the Fourth Test, made 526 runs (65.75), topping the England batting averages, and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1961.
Rising star 1960–61
Few hundreds have filled such a yawning gap...Dexter so dominated a stand with BarringtonKen BarringtonKenneth Frank Barrington , better known as Ken Barrington, played for the English cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog...
that more than two-thirds of the 161 runs came from his masterful bat before he was stumped trying to lift Simpson'sBob Simpson (cricketer)Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
leg-break on to some distant fairway.
- Ray Robinson and Mike Coward
On his return Dexter was made captain of Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, which he held until he retired in 1965. He had a quiet home Test season against South Africa
South African cricket team in England in 1960
The South African cricket team toured England in the 1960 season to play a five-match Test series against England. The tour was marked by repeated rulings against South African fast bowler Geoff Griffin for throwing and anti-apartheid demonstrations targeting the visiting nation..England won the...
, but in the First Test at Edgbaston
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
in the 1961 Ashes series England started their second innings needing 321 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Dexter made 180, the biggest century for England against Australia since the war and studded with 31 cracking boundaries, but typically he was stumped in the last minutes of the match trying to hit Bobby Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
for six so he could make a double century. In the famous Fourth Test at Old Trafford he played a spectacular innings of 79 in 84 minutes to take England to 106 runs from victory with 9 wickets in hand and the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
in sight, but his dismissal set off an England collapse and the series was lost.
England captain 1961–62
Ted was a man of moods, often caught up in theories, keen when the action was hot, disinterested when the game was dull...a big-time player, one who responded to atmosphere, liked action and enjoyed the chase and gamble. Maybe this was the reason he was drawn to horse racingHorse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
; a dull day stalking the covers might be enlivened for him by thoughts of how his money was faring on the 3:15 at AscotAscot RacecourseAscot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
or GoodwoodGoodwood RacecourseGoodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House...
.
- John Snow
John Snow (cricketer)John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
With Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
and Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
declining to tour India and Pakistan in 1961-62 Dexter was chosen to lead the MCC team. With a weakened team (Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
and Brian Statham
Brian Statham
John Brian "George" Statham, CBE was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th-century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast...
also refused to tour) Dexter beat Pakistan 1-0
History of cricket in Pakistan from 1947 to 1970
This article describes the history of cricket in Pakistan from 1947 to 1970.-Early years: 1947 to 1950:The independent state of Pakistan was established in 1947 following the Partition of India...
but lost to India 2-0
English cricket team in India in 1961–62
A cricket team from England, representing the Marylebone Cricket Club, toured India in the 1961-62 cricket season. They played five Test matches against the India national cricket team, with India winning two matches and the other three being drawn.-1st Test:...
, their first series victory over England. He made 712 Test runs (71.20) on the tour, including his highest Test score of 205 at Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, and another 446 runs (89.20) when Pakistan toured England in 1962
Pakistani cricket team in England in 1962
The Pakistan cricket team toured England in the 1962 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 4-0 with 1 match drawn.-Test series summary:* at Edgbaston – England won by an innings and 24 runs...
and were beaten 4-0. Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
finally declared his retirement in 1962 and the selectors had to choose who would captain the English cricket team in Australia in 1962–63. Dexter captained England in the First and Second Tests against Pakistan, winning two big victories, but Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
was put in charge for the Third Test. Cowdrey had been May's affable vice-captain, had a shrewd cricket brain and was seen as his natural successor, but had inherited his cautious tactics and the Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
was crusading for "brighter cricket". Cowdrey withdrew from the final Gentleman v Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
match at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
because of kidney stones even though he had been appointed captain, which usually indicated the selectors' intentions. Dexter was put back in charge (and drew against Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
's Players), but found another rival in the old Sussex captain the Reverend
The Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
David Sheppard
David Sheppard
David Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool was the high-profile Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth...
, who was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
in order to tour Australia. Sheppard made 112 for the Gentlemen and was chosen for the tour, but Dexter was confirmed as captain for the remainder of the home series and the forthcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand with Cowdrey as vice-captain. The general opinion was that England had a good batting side, but their bowling was unvaried, would struggle to dismiss Australia and that the tourists would be lucky to avoid another defeat.
Tour of Australia and New Zealand 1962–63
After his thunderous Melbourne display Dexter was a magnet; the first thing people wanted to know about a team selection was: "Is Dexter playing?"...Batting against South AustraliaSouthern RedbacksThe South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
, he lifted the ball onto the high roof of the members standAdelaide OvalThe Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
- a tremendous hit. Some of his drives along the ground just could not be stopped, even when they went straight to a fieldsman.
- Tom Goodman
He made 481 runs (48.01), the most runs by an England captain in Australia, and this remains a record. The team manager was His Grace
Grace (style)
His Grace or Her Grace is a style used for various high ranking personages. It was the style used to address the King or Queen of Scotland up to the Act of Union of 1707, which merged the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, and to address monarchs of England prior to Henry VIII...
Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, KG, GCVO, PC
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
and Chief Butler of England
Chief Butler of England
The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of Pincera Regis, or Chief Butler at the Coronation banquet.The manor of...
, and it was joked that "Lord Ted" could only be controlled by a duke. In fact, the Duke was the President of Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, had been instrumental in Dexter's appointment as county captain, shared his interests in horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and was very popular with the Australian public. In the tour match between the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
and an Australian XI Dexter hit 102 in 110 minutes, including 2 sixes and 13 fours "There was a drive off Veivers which sent the ball soaring over the sightboard, a huge hit out of the Melbourne confines
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
". At the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
Dexter included "a six from a gigantic hit onto the roof of the stand - one of the biggest hits ever seen at the ground." He was the main draw in the England team and over a million spectators came to see the tourists, the most since 1936-37. The tour returned a record profit for the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
of £24,000, beating the £17,000 of 1946-47. Dexter continued his good run of form to equal Patsy Hendren
Patsy Hendren
Elias Henry Hendren better known as Patsy Hendren was an English cricketer. Patsy was one of the most prolific English batsmen of the period between the wars, averaging 47.63 in his 51 Test matches...
's England record of six consecutive Test 50s (85 and 172 against Pakistan and 70, 99, 93 and 52 against Australia), which he soon shared with Ken Barrington
Ken Barrington
Kenneth Frank Barrington , better known as Ken Barrington, played for the English cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog...
and more recently Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook
Alastair Nathan Cook, MBE is an English international cricket player. He is a left-handed opening batsman who plays county cricket for Essex and International cricket for England, where he is their ODI captain. Cook played for Essex's Academy and made his debut for the first XI in 2003...
. His powerful innings enlivened the First and Second Tests and gave England a 1-0 lead in the series. Australia came back to win the Third Test at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
, where Dexter had preferred to keep his fast bowling
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
attack from the Second Test even when Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
volunteered to stand down in favour of a second spinner to Fred Titmus
Fred Titmus
Frederick John Titmus MBE was an English cricketer, whose first-class career spanned five decades. Although he was best known for his off spin , he was an accomplished lower-order batsman who deserved to be called an all-rounder, even opening the batting for England on six occasions...
. In the end the unsupported Titmus took 7/79 in the first innings and Australia won by 8 wickets, E.W. Swanton and others thought that if either David Allen
David Allen (cricketer)
David Arthur Allen is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire between 1953 and 1972. He also played 39 Test matches for England.-Life and career:...
or Ray Illingworth
Ray Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
had been in the team England would have won the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. Even so the match might have been saved if Dexter had not conceded 27 runs off 26 balls so that the teams would not have to return the next day to finish the game. The last few overs were played in the rain and it rained for most of the fifth day, so England might have won the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. Dexter's negative field placings and lack of urgency failed to regain the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
and the painful draws in the Fourth and Fifth Tests particularly spoilt the atmosphere, as Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
was determined to hold onto the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
and Dexter was content to draw a series in Australia. Benaud was an advocate of "go ahead" captaincy and Dexter for "brighting up" cricket and their reputations were badly tarnished.
Home series 1963–64
Ted Dexter elected to lead from the front. We had a disastrous start, with Charlie GriffithCharlie GriffithCharles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...
blasting out both our openers very cheaply, and Ted unleashing one of his finest displays of controlled aggression I have ever witnessed. His 70 was electrifying. He stood up and hit the quick bowlers all over the show for an hour.
- Fred Titmus
Fred TitmusFrederick John Titmus MBE was an English cricketer, whose first-class career spanned five decades. Although he was best known for his off spin , he was an accomplished lower-order batsman who deserved to be called an all-rounder, even opening the batting for England on six occasions...
As captain against Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
's West Indian cricket team in England in 1963
West Indian cricket team in England in 1963
The West Indian cricket team in England in 1963 played 30 first-class matches of which they won 15, lost 2 and drew 13. West Indies played five Tests and won the series against England by three matches to one, with one game drawn....
Dexter was able to loosen up after the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
and they played an exciting Test series. After losing the First Test in the Second Test at Lord's England's first innings rested heavily on Dexter's hard-hitting 70 in 81 minutes when he took on the West Indian fast bowlers
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
Charlie Griffith
Charlie Griffith
Charles Christopher Griffith is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a lethal fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s...
and Wes Hall
Wes Hall
Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
in an innings that was remembered by all who saw it. In the second innings Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
came out to bat with a broken arm with victory, defeat or a tie still possible in the last two balls, but David Allen
David Allen (cricketer)
David Arthur Allen is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire between 1953 and 1972. He also played 39 Test matches for England.-Life and career:...
blocked them for a draw. England levelled the series in the Third Test thanks to Dexter (4/38 and 1/7) and Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
(5/75 and 7/44), but lost the last two Tests and the series. In 1964 Dexter was again in charge in the rain-soaked 1964 Ashes series
Australian cricket team in England in 1964
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1964 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.Australia won the series 1-0 with 4 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes.-Test series summary:...
. Famously in the decisive Third Test at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
he removed the off-spinner David Allen
David Allen (cricketer)
David Arthur Allen is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire between 1953 and 1972. He also played 39 Test matches for England.-Life and career:...
after he had taken three wickets to reduce Australia to 187/7, still 81 runs behind England. Dexter took the new ball and gave it to Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
who bowled a series of bouncers which Peter Burge hooked and pulled to 160, hoisting Australia to 389 and a 7 wicket win. Although the change made sense as the new batsman Neil Hawke
Neil Hawke
Neil James Napier Hawke was an Australian Test cricketer and leading Australian rules footballer.Born in Cheltenham, South Australia, Hawke quickly developed as a natural all-round sportsman who excelled in cricket, football and golf and made his senior Australian rules football debut for South...
was fragile against fast bowling
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
and Trueman, the greatest wicket-taker in the world at the time, was playing on his home ground Dexter was heavily criticised for a decision which obviously lost the series. In the Fourth Test Australia made 656/8, but thanks to a stand of 246 between Ken Barrington
Ken Barrington
Kenneth Frank Barrington , better known as Ken Barrington, played for the English cricket team and Surrey County Cricket Club in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a right-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler, well known for his jovial good humour and long, defensive innings "batting with bulldog...
(256) and Dexter (174) England reached 611 and avoided defeat. It was the first time that two teams had made 600 runs in an innings in a Test, and their fortunes gripped the cricketing nation, but the inevitable draw meant that Australia retained the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. As some consolation Dexter led Sussex to the finals of the Gillette Cup in 1963 and 1964, and won both, the first trophies in the county's history.
Later career 1965–70
Above all we had Dexter's captaincy. One-day cricket was his kind of game: it was instant and aggressive and its atmosphere brought out the best in him. He really became involved, more so than in county games. He even made a marked difference to our one day performances when he returned for a season of Sunday League games in the early 1970s.
- John Snow
John Snow (cricketer)John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
Dexter declared himself unavailable for the 1964-65 tour of South Africa as he contested Jim Callaghan's Cardiff South East
Cardiff South East (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff South East was a parliamentary constituency in Cardiff, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
seat in the 1964 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
. Finding himself free to tour after his defeat he was made vice-captain to M.J.K. Smith, who won the series and continued as captain. His cricket career was virtually ended by an accident in 1965. His Jaguar car ran out of petrol in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and he was pushing it to safety when it pinned him to a warehouse door, breaking his leg. He left Sussex and played occasional Sunday games with the International Cavaliers
International Cavaliers
The International Cavaliers were an ad hoc cricket team made up of famous cricketers in order to encourage local cricket. Their teams included many prominent cricketers from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as many retired veterans and talented young players were in the team at one point or another...
, and made 104 when they defeated the 1966 West Indians
West Indian cricket team in England in 1966
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1966 season to play a five-match Test series against England. West Indies won the series 3-1 with one match drawn....
by 7 wickets. He returned briefly in 1968, making 203 not out in his comeback match against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
, but failing in the 1968 Ashes series
Australian cricket team in England in 1968
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1968 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.Australia retained The Ashes after the series was drawn 1-1.-Test series summary:* at Old Trafford – Australia won by 159 runs...
and he played Sunday League games for Sussex in the early 1970s.
Administration 1989–2003
If you are going to lose, you might as well lose good and proper and try to sneak a win.
- Ted Dexter
Dexter retired from cricket to concentrate on other interests in 1968, remaining a journalist, becoming a broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and founding a PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
company. In the late 1980s he joined Bob Willis
Bob Willis
Robert George Dylan Willis MBE , known as Bob Willis, is a former English cricketer who played for Surrey, Warwickshire, Northern Transvaal and England...
to find new fast bowlers
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
for English cricket. Sponsored by a brewery, application forms were sent to pubs to encourage young men, but most were filled in by jokers and drunks and only a few potential candidates were discovered. These were trained with javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
ing and other exercises to strengthen their back and arm muscles, but the only bowler in the scheme who played first-class cricket had been signed up by Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
before its inception. The plan therefore failed even though it generated much publicity and showed a certain amount of imagination and initiative. In 1989 he succeeded Peter May
Peter May
-External links:* * at Cricket Archive*...
as Chairman of the England Cricket Selectors
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...
, receiving £60,000 pay to compensate for his lost business interests, the first chairman to be so paid. "Dexter was soon in action, initially by way of press conferences and then, as the season developed, by lightning visits to the county grounds. These he made, despite an operation to a heel that put him for a while on crutches, by motorbike and car, a demonstration of enthusiasm and interest that was impressive." After the chaos of 1988 - the Summer of Four Captains
West Indian cricket team in England in 1988
The West Indian cricket team played 16 first-class cricket matches in England in 1988, under the captaincy of Viv Richards. The West Indies enjoyed tremendous success during the tour, while England endured a "disastrous summer" of continuous change....
he wanted the tough Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
as captain, but was vetoed by Ossie Wheatley
Ossie Wheatley
Oswald Stephen "Ossie" Wheatley, born at Low Fell, Gateshead, County Durham on 28 May 1935, was a cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Warwickshire and Glamorgan...
and his status was immediately undermined. Instead the more relaxed David Gower
David Gower
David Ivon Gower OBE is a former English cricketer who became a commentator for Sky Sports. Although he eventually rose to the captaincy of the England cricket team during the 1980s, he is best known for being one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of the modern era. Gower played 117 Test...
was appointed for the six Test series. Dexter tackled the role with energy and enthusiasm, but the shine soon wore off as Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
's 1989 Australians
1989 Ashes series
The 1989 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 8 June 1989, England and Australia played six Tests, with the Ashes previously having been held by England since the 1985 Ashes series.The final result was a 4-0...
beat England 4-0 to regain the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
, their first series victory in England since 1975
Australian cricket team in England in 1975
Following the 1975 Cricket World Cup, the Australian cricket team remained in England in the 1975 season to play a four-match Test series against England....
. His cause was not helped by the announcement of the Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
's Rebel tour of South Africa
South African rebel tours
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...
in the middle of the series, which removed the England players Bill Athey
Bill Athey
Charles William Jeffrey Athey was an English first-class cricketer, who played for England, and first class cricket for Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Sussex; he also played a solitary one-day game for Worcestershire. His bulldog spirit was exemplified by the Union Jack tattooed on his arm...
, Kim Barnett
Kim Barnett
Kim John Barnett was an English cricketer who briefly played for England in 1988 and 1989, and for Derbyshire from 1979 to 1998. He also played for Gloucestershire from 1999 to 2002, and for South African club sides...
, Ian Butcher
Ian Butcher
Ian Paul Butcher is a former English first-class cricketer. He is the brother of former England Test player Alan and uncle of Mark....
, Chris Broad
Chris Broad
Brian Christopher Broad, usually known as Chris Broad is a former England Test cricketer and current Test official. An opening batsman, Broad had a 25-match long international Test career during which he hit six centuries, together with 34 One Day International matches with a respectable over 40...
, Chris Cowdrey
Chris Cowdrey
Christopher Stuart "Chris" Cowdrey is an English former cricketer. Cowdrey played for Kent, Glamorgan and England as an all-rounder...
, Graham Dilley
Graham Dilley
Graham Roy Dilley was an English cricketer, whose main role was as a fast bowler. He played first-class cricket for Kent and Worcestershire, and appeared in 41 test matches and 36 ODIs for England...
, Richard Ellison, John Emburey
John Emburey
John Ernest Emburey is a former English cricketer, who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England....
, Phil DeFreitas, Neil Foster
Neil Foster
Neil Foster and educated at Philip Morant Comprehensive, Colchester, is a former English cricketer, who played in twenty nine Tests and forty eight ODIs for England from 1983 to 1993. He played for Essex from 1980 to 1993, earning his county cap in 1983...
, Bruce French, Paul Jarvis
Paul Jarvis
Paul William Jarvis is a former English cricketer, who played in nine Tests and sixteen ODIs for England from 1988 to 1993....
, Matthew Maynard
Matthew Maynard
Matthew Maynard is an English former cricketer. He played in four Tests and fourteen ODIs for England....
, Tim Robinson
Tim Robinson
Tim Robinson is an English former cricketer, and current cricket umpire, who played in 29 Tests and 26 ODIs for England from 1984 to 1989....
, Greg Thomas
Greg Thomas
Greg Thomas is a Welsh former cricketer, who played in five Tests and three ODIs for England from 1986 to 1987.-Life and career:...
and Alan Wells
Alan Wells
Alan Peter Wells is an English cricketer. He played for Sussex from 1981 to 1996, where he was captain from 1992 to 1996. He then played for Kent from 1997 to 2000...
from contention. Admittedly England were already 2-0 down in the series and none of these players had shown any talent so far in the summer, but it was an indication of the division and demoralisation of English cricket. In the First Test at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
Dexter selected four fast bowlers and no spinners for the team, advised Gower to put Australia in to bat, only to see them made 601/7 and win by 210 runs. For the Second Test he wrote an inspirational hymn for the England cricketers to sing called "Onward Gower's Soldiers" and appointed a team chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, but remained aloof from the players and seldom visited the dressing room. At the end of the summer he told the press that he couldn't think of any mistakes he had made and later joked that the "lines of Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
were in the wrong juxtaposition", which was incorrectly translated by the press as a genuine belief in New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
mysticism. The lackadaisical Gower was fired at the end of the summer and the more professional Graham Gooch
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
was made captain until 1993, despite Dexter having called his previous appointment as captain as "being hit in the face by a dead fish". Dexter's tenancy as Chairman of Selectors coincided with a poor period in English cricket, but there were some successes; the first Test victory over the West Indies for 19 years in 1990, the victories over New Zealand and India in the run-laden summer of 1990 and the 2-2 draw with the West Indies in 1991
West Indian cricket team in England in 1991
The West Indian cricket team in England in 1991 played three one day internationals and five Tests.The test series was drawn 2-2.* – England won by 115 runs* – match drawn...
. Against this England lost 3-1 to Australia in 1990-91 and 4-1 in 1993, and were "brownwashed" 3-0 in India in 1992-93, when Gower was controversially dropped from the team. Dexter resigned under a cloud at the end of 1993, but his overhaul of the antiquated structure of English cricket and forward-looking reforms and Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
commented that the structures he put in place "will be of great of benefit to English cricket in years to come. Equally, I'm in no doubt that others will take the credit for it." He also became president of the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, and was chairman of the MCC's cricket committee until 2003, when he was replaced by Tony Lewis
Tony Lewis
Anthony Robert Lewis CBE is a former Welsh cricketer, who went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage in the 1990s, and become president of the MCC. Lewis attended Christ's College, Cambridge and played for Cambridge University. He also played county cricket for Glamorgan, and...
. He was also Chairman of the MCC's "England Committee", which was an administrative role and was awarded the CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the New Year's Honours List in December 2000.
Style
Dexter's power amazed everyone who had not had the joy of watching him in other innings in England and in Perth. He took chances - thank goodness for those who look on batting as a challenge! - but he made superb strokes, with his driving tremendous in power and placement. Sometimes, in fact, the placement didn't matter so much because the power sent the ball through men recognized as outstanding fielders. Once such stroke, a cover-drive, was through Thomas's legs just as he got his hands there. I felt glad that the ball went between his legs and that his hands were not behind it. Not even JehuJehuJehu was a king of Israel. He was the son of Jehoshaphat, and grandson of Nimshi.William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842-815 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841-814 BC...
drove more furiously than Dexter, and a direct hit on the leg or hands might well have put this accomplished fieldsman out of action.
- Johnnie Moyes
Johnnie MoyesAlban George "Johnny" Moyes MBE MC was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Victoria. Following his brief playing career, Moyes, a professional journalist, he later gained greater fame as a writer and commentator on the game.As a right-hand batsman Moyes scored 883 runs at an average of...
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
and swing
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
the ball, was a useful third paceman even at Test level and was an excellent fielder anywhere. Dexter was a natural one day player, where his big hitting, tidy bowling, keen fielding and lively captaincy gave Sussex their first two trophies - the inaugural Gillette Cup in 1963 and again in 1964. But in first-class matches he bored easily and his strokes of genius were in the end outweighed by his mistakes. As captain he had "more theories than Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
", sometimes shifting fielders on a whim and was hailed as a genius if a wicket fell as a result. He was dictatorial on the field, rarely consulting with his bowlers about field placings and pulling them off by saying "You've had enough now. Get down to third man
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
"
Outside cricket
Ted Dexter's wife arrived in Australia. Ted's wife was a looker and a modelModel (person)A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She is a very lovely lady, but on hearing of her arrival, when Ted faced the press, the majority of questions posed were about his wife...during an England cricket team press conference!
- Fred Trueman
Fred TruemanFrederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
Ted Dexter was a talented golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
player, an amateur champion and could have achieved greatness in that sport if he had not chosen cricket. He married Susan Georgina Longfield, the daughter of a former Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
cricketer Tom Longfield, whom he met at a party Cambridge University while still an undergraduate and decided to marry on sight. She worked as a model and she joined her husband on the tour of Australia in 1962-63, where she generated considerable press interest and earned more than any of the cricketers. They have a son Thomas and a daughter Genevieve. He owned Jaguar cars, motorbikes, greyhounds, race horses and in 1970 piloted his Aztec BPA-23 Pommies Progress to Australia with his family to cover the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
as a journalist, covering 12,000 miles and making 24 stops. He worked for the liberal The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and the tabloid The Sunday Mirror and managed his style to suit both their editors. His fondness for horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
excelled even that of Gary Sobers and Brian Close
Brian Close
Dennis Brian Close , usually known as Brian Close, is a former cricketer who is the youngest man ever to play Test cricket for England. He was picked for the Test team to play against New Zealand, in July 1949, when he was 18 years old. Close went on to play 22 Test matches for England,...
. He carried a then rare portable television to watch races in cricket dressing rooms and once declared
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
a Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
innings from Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse is a horse racing course at Brighton, East Sussex in England, for flat races of up to about one and a half miles. The course is one of three courses in Britain which is not a circuit and forms a figure like three sides of a square, sloping, with wide left-hand turns and an...
. He co-wrote with Clifford Makins the crime novel Testkill (1976) where an Australian bowler is murdered during play at a Test match against England at Lord's.
Statistics
| Ted Dexter's Test career batting averages | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | Season | Tests | Inn Innings An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is... | Not out | Runs | Highest score | Average | 100s | 50s | Ct Caught Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Being caught out is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition... | Wickets | Best bowling | Average |
vs  New Zealand |
1958 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 52 | 52.00 | 1 | 0/23 | |||||
in  Australia |
1958-59 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 11 | 4.50 | |||||||
| in New Zealand |
1958-59 | 2 | 2 | 142 | 141 | 71.00 | 1 | 3 | 3/23 | 8.66 | |||
vs  India |
1959 | 2 | 3 | 58 | 45 | 19.33 | 3 | 2/24 | 23.66 | ||||
in  West Indies Cricket Board |
1959-60 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 526 | 126* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... |
65.75 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2/7 | 34.00 |
vs  South Africa |
1960 | 5 | 9 | 241 | 56 | 26.77 | 2 | 5 | 3/79 | 31.40 | |||
| vs Australia |
1961 | 5 | 9 | 378 | 180 | 42.00 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 3/16 | 24.77 | |
in  Pakistan |
1961-62 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
3 | 4 | 1 | 303 | 205 | 101.00 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3/86 | 34.16 |
| in India |
1961-62 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
5 | 9 | 2 | 409 | 126* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... |
58.42 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2/84 | 60.00 |
| vs Pakistan |
1962 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
5 | 6 | 1 | 446 | 172 | 89.20 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4/10 | 28.42 |
| in Australia |
1962-63 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
5 | 10 | 481 | 99 | 48.10 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 3/65 | 33.90 | ||
| in New Zealand |
1962-63 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
3 | 3 | 84 | 46 | 28.00 | 3 | 0/2 | |||||
| vs West Indies Cricket Board |
1963 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
5 | 10 | 340 | 73 | 34.00 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4/38 | 32.42 | ||
| vs Australia |
1964 (c) Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... |
5 | 8 | 384 | 174 | 48.00 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2/16 | 39.33 | |
| in South Africa |
1964-65 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 344 | 172 | 57.33 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1/33 | 76.50 |
| vs New Zealand |
1965 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 199 | 80* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... |
99.50 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1/18 | 45.00 | |
| vs Australia |
1968 | 2 | 4 | 97 | 38 | 24.25 | 2 | 0/3 | |||||
| Total | 1958-68 | 62 | 102 | 8 | 4502 | 205 | 47.89 | 9 | 27 | 29 | 66 | 4/10 | 34.93 |
| Ted Dexter's 9 Test centuries | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Century Century (cricket) In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for... | Test | Opponents | Season | Venue | City | Country | Result | ||
| 1 | 141 | First Test | 1958-59 | Lancaster Park | Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... |
New Zealand |
win by an innings and 99 runs | |||
| 2 | 132* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... |
First Test | 1959-60 | Kensington Oval Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket... |
Bridgetown Bridgetown The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael... |
 Barbados |
Match Drawn | |||
| 3 | 110 | Fourth Test | 1959-60 | Bourda Bourda The Bourda is a cricket ground in Georgetown, Guyana, used by the Guyanese cricket team for matches with other nations in the Caribbean as well as some Test matches involving the West Indies. Located in Bourda in Georgetown, Guyana, between Regent Street and North Road, it is home to the Georgetown... |
Georgetown Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves... |
 Guyana |
Match Drawn | |||
| 4 | 180 | First Test | 1961 | Edgbaston Edgbaston Cricket Ground Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England... |
Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
 Kingdom of England |
Match Drawn | |||
| 5 | 126* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... |
First Test | 1961-62 | Modi Stadium | Kanpur | India |
Match Drawn | |||
| 6 | 205 | Third Test | 1961-62 | National Stadium National stadium Many countries have a national football stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadium. Usually, a national stadium will be in or very... |
Karachi Karachi Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million... |
Pakistan |
Match Drawn | |||
| 7 | 172 | Fifth Test | 1962 | Kennington Oval The Oval The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval... |
London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
Kingdom of England |
win by 10 wickets | |||
| 8 | 174 | Fourth Test | 1964 | Old Trafford | Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
Kingdom of England |
Match Drawn | |||
| 9 | 172 | Second Test | 1964-65 | New Wanderers Stadium | Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa... |
South Africa |
Match Drawn | |||
Further reading
- Peter Arnold, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Cricket, W.H. Smith, 1986
- John ArlottJohn ArlottLeslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
, John Arlott's 100 Greatest Batsman, Macdonald Queen Anne Press, 1986 - Trevor BaileyTrevor BaileyTrevor Edward Bailey CBE was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster.An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting...
, Richie BenaudRichie BenaudRichard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, Colin CowdreyColin CowdreyMichael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
and Jim LakerJim LakerJames "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...
The Lord's Taverners Fifty Greatest, Heinemann-Quixote, 1983 - John Campbell Clark, Challenge renewed. The M.C.C. tour of Australia, 1962-3,
- Ted Dexter, Ted Dexter's Cricket Book, Arthur Barker, 1963
- Ted Dexter (Ed), Rothmans Book of Test Matches: England v. Australia, 1946-1963, Arthur barker, 1964
- Ted Dexter, Ted Dexter Declares - An Autobiography, Stanley Paul, 1966
- Ted Dexter and Ian Wooldrige, The International Cavaliers' World of Cricket, Purnell, 1970
- Ted Dexter and Michael McDonnell World of Golf, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1970
- Ted Dexter and Clifford Makins, Testkill, Allen & Unwin, 1976
- Ted Dexter and Clifford Makins, Deadly Putter, Allen & Unwin, 1979
- Ted Dexter, From Bradman to Boycott, The Master Batsmen, Queen Anne Press, 1981
- Ted Dexter, My Golf, Arthur Barker, 1982
- Ted Dexter, You Can Play Cricket, Severn House Publishers Ltd, 1982
- Ted Dexter and David Lemmon, Walk to the Wicket, Allen and Unwin, 1984
- Ted Dexter and Ralph Dellor, Ted Dexter's Little Cricket Book, A Collection of Inspirational Anecdotes, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 1996
- David Frith, England Versus Australia: An Illustrated History of Every Test Match Since 1877, Viking, 2007
- Alan Lee, Lord Ted: The Dexter Enigma, Gollancz/Witherby, 1995
- Derek Lodge, The Test Match Career of Ted Dexter, Spellmount Publishers Ltd, 1989
- John SnowJohn Snow (cricketer)John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
, Cricket Rebel: An Autobiography, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, 1976 - E.W. Swanton (ed), The Barclays World of Cricket, Collins, 1986
- E.M. Wellings, Dexter v Benaud (MCC tour, Australia 1962-63), Bailey Brothers & Swinfen, 1963
Reference
- Patrick Eager and Alan Ross, Tour of Tours, Border'sAllan BorderAllan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
Victorious Australians of 1989, Hodder and Stoughton, 1989 - Cris Freddi, The Guinness Book of Cricket Blunders, Guinness Publishing, 1996
- A.G. MoyesJohnnie MoyesAlban George "Johnny" Moyes MBE MC was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Victoria. Following his brief playing career, Moyes, a professional journalist, he later gained greater fame as a writer and commentator on the game.As a right-hand batsman Moyes scored 883 runs at an average of...
and Tom Goodman, With the M.C.C. in Australia 1962-63, A Critical Story of the Tour, The Sportsmans Book Club, 1965 - E.W. Swanton, Swanton in Australia, with MCC 1946-1975, Fontana, 1977
- Fred TitmusFred TitmusFrederick John Titmus MBE was an English cricketer, whose first-class career spanned five decades. Although he was best known for his off spin , he was an accomplished lower-order batsman who deserved to be called an all-rounder, even opening the batting for England on six occasions...
with Stafford Hildred, My Life in Cricket, John Blake Publishing Ltd, 2005 - Fred TruemanFred TruemanFrederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
, As It Was, The Memoirs of Fred Trueman, Pan Books, 2004