Tony Lewis
Encyclopedia
Anthony Robert Lewis CBE (born 6 July 1938, Swansea
, Wales
) is a former Welsh
cricket
er, 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 for England in nine Test matches. He is currently the Chairman of Cricket for the MCC.
He should not be confused with Tony Lewis
,
co-developer of the Duckworth-Lewis Method
.
, which guided England to their first victory on the Indian subcontinent
for more than two decades. England lost the next two Tests, but Lewis went on to score his maiden Test hundred (125) in Kanpur. He went on to captain England a total of eight times, achieving England's first Test victory in India since 1951, losing twice and drawing five times. In light of his achievements, Lewis was picked as vice captain to Ray Illingworth
, when the latter returned from his self imposed hiatus the following summer. Lewis is one of two English cricket captains to come out of Neath Grammar School for Boys, the other being C. F. Walters.
Lewis also played rugby union
and won a blue for Cambridge
in The Varsity Match
in 1959. Chronic knee trouble, which had curtailed his rugby career, meant that Lewis retired from cricket at the age of 35, but writing and broadcasting had always been his main pursuit from 1963. He was a founding member of the Sports Council for Wales in 1968 and put in long service to Glamorgan County Cricket Club as Chairman, President and Trustee. He served eight years as Chairman of the Wales Tourist Board and the British Tourist Authority. For three years he was Chairman of the Welsh National Opera Company. His first Committee work for the Marylebone Cricket Club was in 1964, and his last in 2011 and apart froom being MCC Millennium President, 1998-2000, he chaired both the Cricket Committee for five years and formed and chaired MCC's World Cricket Committee, 2006-2011. He retired at the age of 73 to Porthcawl where he accepted an immediate invitation to be captain-elect of the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.
Lewis served a year as High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan
for 1998. He was awarded the CBE for services to cricket, broadcasting and Wales, in the New Year's Honours List, announced on 31 December 2003.
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
) is a former Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
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, who went on to become the face of BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
cricket coverage in the 1990s, and become 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...
. Lewis attended Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
and played for Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
. He also played county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
, and for England in nine Test matches. He is currently the Chairman of Cricket for the MCC.
He should not be confused with Tony Lewis
Tony Lewis (mathematician)
Anthony John Lewis, MBE is a mathematician who, along with Frank Duckworth, developed the Duckworth-Lewis method of resetting targets in interrupted cricket matches....
,
co-developer of the Duckworth-Lewis Method
Duckworth-Lewis method
In the sport of cricket, the Duckworth–Lewis method is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket or Twenty20 cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance...
.
Life and career
Lewis was the last man to captain England on his Test debut. He led England on a gruelling five month tour in 1972/73 to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Despite having no Test match experience, Lewis scored 70 not out in his debut Test in DelhiDelhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, which guided England to their first victory on the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
for more than two decades. England lost the next two Tests, but Lewis went on to score his maiden Test hundred (125) in Kanpur. He went on to captain England a total of eight times, achieving England's first Test victory in India since 1951, losing twice and drawing five times. In light of his achievements, Lewis was picked as vice captain to 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...
, when the latter returned from his self imposed hiatus the following summer. Lewis is one of two English cricket captains to come out of Neath Grammar School for Boys, the other being C. F. Walters.
Lewis also played rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and won a blue for Cambridge
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...
in The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
in 1959. Chronic knee trouble, which had curtailed his rugby career, meant that Lewis retired from cricket at the age of 35, but writing and broadcasting had always been his main pursuit from 1963. He was a founding member of the Sports Council for Wales in 1968 and put in long service to Glamorgan County Cricket Club as Chairman, President and Trustee. He served eight years as Chairman of the Wales Tourist Board and the British Tourist Authority. For three years he was Chairman of the Welsh National Opera Company. His first Committee work for the Marylebone Cricket Club was in 1964, and his last in 2011 and apart froom being MCC Millennium President, 1998-2000, he chaired both the Cricket Committee for five years and formed and chaired MCC's World Cricket Committee, 2006-2011. He retired at the age of 73 to Porthcawl where he accepted an immediate invitation to be captain-elect of the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.
Lewis served a year as High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan
High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan
The office of High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan was established in 1974 as part of the creation of the county of Mid Glamorgan in Wales following the Local Government Act 1972, and, together with the High Sheriff of West Glamorgan and the High Sheriff of South Glamorgan, effectively replaced the office...
for 1998. He was awarded the CBE for services to cricket, broadcasting and Wales, in the New Year's Honours List, announced on 31 December 2003.