Lives in Cricket No 30 - MJK Smith

104 The captain loses his crown Little went right for the skipper. A pitch that had never been used before was widely expected to deteriorate, and it did. It was an important toss to win, and Mike lost it. With centuries from Hunte and Sobers, West Indies piled up 484, after which came some abject batting by England, whose 167 meant that they followed on 317 behind. Colin Milburn, with 94 on debut, and Cowdrey, with 69, ensured a better performance in the second innings but could not prevent England’s first defeat within three days since 1921. The margin of the loss, an innings and 40 runs, fuelled the clamour for changes – and the first head to roll was that of the captain, whose batting had not helped his cause. The first of two single-figure scores had ended with a sad miscue as Mike tried to work Lance Gibbs to leg, while in the second innings he was unfortunate to drive a ball from the off spinner into his boot only to see it to rebound onto the stumps. Free to spend more time with Warwickshire, Mike was back near his best with the bat, averaging just over 44. Sixth in the table slightly flattered the county, whose wins and losses balanced out, but the The Warwickshire side which won the Gillette Cup in 1966. From l to r: R.N. Abberley, R.B. Edmonds, Khalid Ibadulla, T.W. Cartwright, D.L. Amiss, J.A. Jameson, A.C. Smith, R.V. Webster, D.J. Brown, M.J.K. Smith (holding cup), J.D. Bannister, R.W. Barber.