Lives in Cricket No 30 - MJK Smith

64 Endurance test in India no-balling Geoff Griffin, the first bowler to be called for the offence in a Test match in England. In earlier tour matches Griffin had been called by six different umpires, but three days of intensive coaching with Alf Gover had supposedly eradicated the problem and he had survived the scrutiny of both officials at Edgbaston. But one who still awaited his chance to pass judgement was Syd Buller, acknowledged as the strongest of the English umpires. Mike remembers that at Lord’s South Africa’s captain, Jackie McGlew, took care to bowl Griffin from Buller’s end, depriving him of the chance of seeing the bowler’s action from square leg. Griffin was no-balled 11 times by Frank Lee, but he had still to be scrutinised by Buller. It had been agreed that if a Test match ended before lunch, an exhibition match of limited overs should be played to give the fourth-day crowd value for money. Buller suspected that McGlew would bowl Griffin in this game when he was standing at square leg, hoping that Buller would not wish to call him in an exhibition match and that, having satisfied England’s premier umpire, the South Africans would be in a stronger position for the next Test match. However, Billy Griffith, at the time Assistant Secretary of MCC, later told Mike that Buller had gone to see him before the exhibition match began and asked whether it was to be played under the Laws of the game. Not appreciating the significance of the question, Griffith replied that it was. So, when McGlew put Griffin on with Buller at square leg, the umpire immediately no- balled him. He did this four times in five balls, effectively branding Griffin an habitual thrower and causing McGlew to tell his bowler to finish the over underarm. Poor Griffin was then no-balled again, this time by Lee, for failing to announce his change of action. ‘All very embarrassing,’ says Mike, ‘but my sympathies were entirely with Syd for upholding the laws of the game and his own reputation as a Test umpire, though the sympathies of the crowd were for the young fast bowler.’ Mike reflects on Buller’s demise some years later. ‘Sadly, Syd collapsed and died in the pavilion at Edgbaston when he was standing in a county match.’ At Lord’s Mike had top-scored for England with 99 in a total of 362 for eight. Out when he edged Griffin to wicketkeeper Waite off the last ball of an over, he became the first victim of a hat-trick that was consummated when Peter Walker and Trueman were bowled by the first two balls of Griffin’s next over to bring the hapless bowler one moment of cheer in what was to be his last Test. Eleven wickets for Statham brought England a comfortable