Ted Dexter

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ted Dexter

medium
RoleBatsman
RelationsTom Longfield (father-in-law)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 388)24 July 1958 v New Zealand
Last Test22 August 1968 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1956–1958Cambridge University
1957–1968Sussex
1957–1965MCC
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA
Matches 62 327 43
Runs scored 4,502 21,150 1,209
Batting average 47.89 40.75 33.58
100s/50s 9/27 51/108 1/8
Top score 205 205 115
Balls bowled 5,317 26,255 575
Wickets 66 419 21
Bowling average 34.93 29.92 19.85
5 wickets in innings 0 9 0
10 wickets in match 0 2 0
Best bowling 4/10 7/24 3/6
Catches/stumpings 29/– 231/– 16/–
Source: CricketArchive, 17 September 2009

Edward Ralph Dexter,

England international cricketer.[3]

An aggressive middle-order batsman of ferocious power and a

England in the early 1960s.[4]
He captained England in 30 test matches out of his 62 test match appearances.

He was known by the nickname Lord Ted. He is credited for his instrumental role in the formation of the modern

ICC Player Rankings system.[5] In June 2021, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the special inductees to mark the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final.[6][7]

Biography

Dexter was born in Milan in Italy, where his father Ralph Dexter ran a successful underwriting agency.[8] He along with his family moved to England when he was aged three just before the start of World War II.[2]

Early career 1953–60

Few batsmen, or writers, announce themselves as Dexter did when batting for

gasholder
.

Wisden, 1961[9]

Dexter was educated at Norfolk House,

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

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 Barrington that more than two-thirds of the 161 runs came from his masterful bat before he was stumped trying to lift Simpson's leg-break on to some distant fairway.

Ray Robinson and Mike Coward[12]

On his return Dexter was made captain of

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 76 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.

England captain 1961–62

Ted was a man of moods, often caught up in theories, keen when the action was hot, seemingly uninterested 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 racing; a dull day stalking the covers might be enlivened for him by thoughts of how his money was faring on the 3:15 at Ascot or Goodwood.

John Snow[13]

With

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.[15][16][17]

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 Australia, he lifted the ball onto the high roof of the members stand
– 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[18]
Main article: English cricket team in Australia in 1962–63

He made 481 runs (48.10), the most runs by an England captain in Australia, and this remains a record. The team manager was

£17,000 of 1946–47.[21] 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. In mitigation the Adelaide pitch was flat as a pancake. The Sydney ground was so saturated in the days before the match that mowing was impossible before the start. The "square" was like one large bunker and the outfield like a meadow. Barely a ball reached the boundary. Benaud was an advocate of "go ahead" captaincy and Dexter for "brighting up" cricket and their reputations were unfairly tarnished.[22][23][24][25]

Home series 1963–64

Ted Dexter elected to lead from the front. We had a disastrous start, with Charlie Griffith 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[26]

As captain against

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 Fred Titmus 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.

Later career 1965–72

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[13]

Dexter declared himself unavailable for the

Jim Callaghan's Cardiff South East seat for the Conservative Party in the 1964 General Election.[27] 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.[28][29][30] 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.[31] He returned briefly in 1968, making 203 not out in his comeback match against Kent, but failing in the 1968 Ashes series. He played Sunday League games for Sussex in 1971 and 1972.[citation needed
]

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[32]

Dexter retired from cricket to concentrate on other interests in 1968, remaining a journalist, becoming a

broadcaster and founding a PR company.[33] 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 throwing 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 1987, Dexter had the idea of developing a ranking system for Test cricketers. He developed the system with statisticians Gordon Vince and

ICC Player Rankings. In an article in The Cricketer magazine in 2005, Dexter was quoted as saying: "The rankings idea was my biggest contribution to cricket. Much better than being known for hitting a couple of extra-cover drives."[34] Former cricketer and analyst Simon Hughes in his bibliography titled And God Created Cricket noted that Dexter's ideas had shaped modern cricket.[4]

In 1989 he succeeded

fast bowlers and no spinners for the team, advised Gower to put Australia in to bat, only to see them make 601/7 and win by 210 runs.[32] For the Second Test he wrote an inspirational hymn for the England cricketers to sing called "Onward Gower's Soldiers" (to the tune of "Onward, Christian 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 interpreted 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 painstaking 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".[32]

Dexter's tenure as Chairman of Selectors coincided with a poor period in English cricket, but there were some successes; these included the first Test victory over the West Indies for 16 years in 1990, victories over New Zealand and India in the run-laden summer of 1990, and the 2–2 draw with the

4–1 in 1993), and were heavily defeated 3–0 in India in 1992–93, after 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 such as the change from three- to four-day county cricket had a significant impact. 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."[32] He also became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), and was chairman of the MCC's cricket committee until 2003, when he was replaced by Tony Lewis.[37] He was also Chairman of the MCC's "England Committee", which was an administrative role and was awarded the CBE in the 2001 New Year Honours.[38]

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 Jehu 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[39]
Ted Dexter's career performance graph.

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

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"[42][43]

Outside cricket

Dexter married Susan Longfield on 2 May 1959 [1]. She was the daughter of a former

undergraduate and decided to marry on sight.[28] 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.[44] Fred Trueman recalled; "Ted Dexter's wife arrived in Australia. Ted's wife was a looker and a model. 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!".[44]
They had a son Thomas and a daughter Genevieve.

Dexter was a talented golfer, an amateur champion, and some believe could have achieved success in that sport if he had not chosen cricket.[28][45] In Australia in 1962–1963 he played a foursome with Norman Von Nida, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player (with Colin Cowdrey as his caddy) and they offered to take him to America to become a tournament golfer, but Dexter declined.[46][47] He also went on to win the President's Putter three times in his career.

Dexter owned

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.[49]

Dexter launched his own PR company, which ran for many years and briefly became a television cricket commentator, alongside Richie Benaud and Denis Compton. He wrote a weekly column on cricket for The Observer, and then, more lucratively, for the Sunday Mirror.[50]

His fondness for

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.

In December 2012, on BBC One's Antiques Roadshow, Dexter appeared with Paul Atterbury, a life-long fan. Dexter talked about his father's Military Cross, which had subsequently been stolen.[51]

Death

Dexter died on 25 August 2021 at the age of 86 in Wolverhampton due to an age-related illness. He left a widow Susan (whom he married in 1959), a son, daughter and several grandchildren.[52] In a statement following his death, Marylebone Cricket Club described him as "one of England's greatest ever cricketers".[53] England players wore black armbands as a tribute during the second day of the third test match of the series between India and England at Headingley.[54]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ashdown, John (26 August 2021). "Former England cricket captain Ted Dexter dies aged 86". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Frith, David (26 August 2021). "Ted Dexter obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ McGlashan, Andrew (26 August 2021). "Former England captain Ted Dexter dies aged 86". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Ted Dexter: Former England international cricketer dies aged 86". Sky News. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Former England captain Ted Dexter passes away aged 86". Cricbuzz. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  6. ^ "ICC Hall of Fame special inductions announced to mark the inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final" (Press release). International Cricket Council. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Andy Flower and Kumar Sangakkara among 10 players inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Ted Dexter obituary". The Times. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Cricketer of the Year - Ted Dexter". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. 1961. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Parkinson". Michael Parkinson TV show interview, 1976. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  11. OCLC 2151457. Archived
    from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  12. OCLC 12502067. Archived
    from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  13. ^ a b Snow, p. 25
  14. ^ Mohapatra, Bikash (6 December 2012). "An interview with Ted Dexter", [rediff.com]. Retrieved on 7 September 2021.
  15. ^ Moyes and Goodman, p. xiii
  16. ^ Swanton, pp. 120, 129
  17. ^ Trueman, p. 271
  18. ^ Moyes and Goodman, p. 169
  19. ^ Woodcock, John (10 November 1962) The Times.
  20. ^ Moyes and Goodman, p. 75
  21. ^ Swanton, pp. 129–130
  22. ^ Trueman, pp. 281–282
  23. ^ Moyes and Goodman, pp. 101–102
  24. ^ Swanton, pp. 124–125
  25. ^ Titmus, pp. 102–103
  26. ^ Titmus, p. 131
  27. ^ Keating, Frank (15 October 2004). "Notes from the touchline". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  28. ^
    OCLC 13358588. Archived
    from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  29. ^ Williamson, Martin (19 October 2010). "You're not going to believe this, but..." ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  30. ^ Preston, Norman (1966). "Notes by the Editor". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Retrieved 30 August 2021 – via ESPNcricinfo.
  31. ^ "International Cavaliers v West Indies XI". CricketArchive. 10 September 1967. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  32. ^
    OCLC 59629943. Archived
    from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  33. ^ "ICC expresses sadness at the passing of Ted Dexter" (Press release). International Cricket Council. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  34. ^ Wisden Cricketer Magazine "As easy as 1,2,3?", Simon Lister, January 2005
  35. ^ a b Eager and Ross, p. 6
  36. ^ Eager and Ross, p. 81
  37. ^ "Lewis takes over from Dexter on MCC committee | England Cricket News | Cricinfo.com". Content-uk.cricinfo.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  38. ^ "Dexter awarded CBE". ESPNcricinfo. 29 December 2000. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  39. ^ Moyes and Goodman, p. 20
  40. OCLC 315073794
    .
  41. ^ Trueman, p. 281
  42. ^ Titmus, pp. 232–233
  43. ^ Snow, p. 79
  44. ^ a b Trueman, pp. 274, 227–278
  45. ^ Gregory, Kenneth (1986), "Cricketers in Other Fields, p. 640 in E. W. Swanton ed. The Barclays World of Cricket, Collins
  46. ISBN 0340215704
  47. ^ "Fine Golf | Ted Dexter". Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  48. ^ "Gus Kuhn Customers Index". Guskuhn.net. 14 October 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  49. ISBN 0091122406
  50. ^ "Ted Dexter Obituary". The Times. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  51. ^ "BBC One - Antiques Roadshow, Series 35, Wightwick Manor 1". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2021.Antiques Roadshow: Wightwick Manor 1, Series 35, Episode 10 of 25, broadcast 9 December 2012 Archived 12 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Bbc.co.uk (1 August 2016). Retrieved on 22 May 2018.
  52. ^ "Ex-England captain Dexter dies aged 86". BBC Sport. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  53. ^ "ted Dexter (1935 - 2021)" (Press release). Marylebone Cricket Club. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  54. ^ Bhargav, Dixit (26 August 2021). "England cricket black armbands: Why are England cricket players wearing black armbands today in Leeds Test?". The SportsRush. Retrieved 30 August 2021.

Cited sources

  • Eager, Patrick and Ross, Alan (1989) Tour of Tours, Border's Victorious Australians of 1989, Hodder and Stoughton.
  • Moyes, Johnnie
    and Goodman, Tom (1965) With the M.C.C. in Australia 1962–63, A Critical Story of the Tour, The Sportsmans Book Club.
  • ISBN 0600319326
    .
  • Titmus, Fred (2005) My Life in Cricket, John Blake Publishing Ltd.
  • Trueman, Fred (2004) As It Was, The Memoirs of Fred Trueman, Pan Books.

Further reading

  • Trevor Bailey, Richie Benaud, Colin Cowdrey and Jim Laker 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 Wooldridge, The International Cavaliers' World of Cricket, Purnell, 1970
  • Ted Dexter and Michael McDonnell World of Golf, Littlehampton Book Services, 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, 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, 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, 1989
  • E. M. Wellings, Dexter v Benaud (MCC tour, Australia 1962–63), Bailey Brothers & Swinfen, 1963
Sporting positions
Preceded by English national cricket captain
1961/2-1963 		Succeeded by
Preceded by English national cricket captain
1964 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sussex county cricket captain
1960–1965 		Succeeded by

External links

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