Lives in Cricket No 30 - MJK Smith

120 ‘Would you mind if I came back?’ reputation as an uncertain starter, reaching double figures in each of his six innings, though he never managed to go beyond 34. An absorbing series began at Old Trafford, where England’s 89-run victory came after opening bowlers Snow and Geoff Arnold had restricted Australia’s first innings to 142. With scores of 10 and 34, Mike was retained for the Lord’s Test, where Australia made two changes, giving first caps to a batsman, Ross Edwards, and a bowler, Bob Massie, known to his team-mates, thanks to the well-known tractor manufacturer, as Fergie. A trial with Northants Second Eleven in 1970 had brought Massie three wickets for 166 but no contract. Hardly a record to bring sleepless nights to England’s batsmen – until his eight first- innings wickets equalled the world record for a Test debutant. All out for 272, with Mike contributing 34, England saw Australia take a 36-run lead that owed much to a classical century from Greg Chappell. For home supporters a champagne moment had come as a dangerous stand was building between the Chappell brothers, when Ian hooked Snow high towards the Mound Stand where Mike was stationed. After initial problems sighting the ball, he raced in, grasping the ball with outstretched arms and tumbling over as he clung on. ‘Never in the heat of an international at Twickenham did he make a better catch than this,’ wrote John Woodcock. ‘I knew I‘d get there if I committed myself early,’ Mike says, adding that his only worry had been a possible collision with Tony Greig coming in from midwicket. His catch capped another fine effort at Old Trafford, where he had held the same batsman on the boundary edge at fine leg off Greig, on that occasion for a first-ball duck, to give the bowler his first Test wicket. When England began their second innings, it was Massie once again, swinging the ball extravagantly in the humid conditions, who was writing his name indelibly into cricket history. To his eight for 84 he now added eight for 53, figures that were dented only by a last wicket stand after England ended the third day on 86 for nine. That Saturday, five of the top six batsmen were dismissed for single figure scores. Ninth man out for 30, Mike was the sole exception, another victim of Massie: He was a very big swinger of the ball, mainly away. If you swing it a long way, you’ve got to give some indication. I decided, with all due respect to Norman Gifford, that if we hung around we were going to get out. So it was time to put bat to ball. I picked the ball from the arm, an inswinger. I middled it and it went straight to Ross Edwards behind the umpire.