Lives in Cricket No 30 - MJK Smith

62 the boundary. England had defied expectation and won in the Caribbean. It had been a team effort in which Trueman and Statham had shown their class and Allen had emerged as a sharp-turning spinner with superior figures to those of the more attritional Illingworth. Dexter, one of the last two selections for the tour, had provided the flair and Barrington the solidity to the middle order, while Cowdrey had played innings of the highest class and his opening partner Pullar had scored with great consistency. The phlegmatic Pullar had especially impressed Mike. ‘He hardly knew who was coming up to bowl to him, but he was a superb picker of the funny boys – no problems with Ramadhin.’ But Mike, like others, adds a rider: ‘Nice bloke, but he didn’t like fielding. He had to go off and have a fag periodically!’ In the glare of the Caribbean