Lives in Cricket No 30 - MJK Smith

93 Ashes frustration for an English summer, he failed to hit a century. Was his form good enough to retain the captaincy for the tour to Australia? The selectors clearly decided that he was still their man, his appointment coming after the Trent Bridge Test, England’s first defeat in 15 matches under Mike’s captaincy: he celebrated with a fluent 82 against Lancashire. With Dexter withdrawing from full-time cricket, Cowdrey had been the obvious alternative. Noting that it was a 40-year break with tradition for a captain never previously to have toured Australia, E.W. Swanton hinted that Cowdrey might have been his own choice. Pondering on the factors that might have swayed the decision in Mike’s favour, he wrote: ‘They were, I am sure, the good leadership qualities of serenity, fair-mindedness, and unselfishness which have made him so popular with his fellow players.’ Mike’s was the first MCC party to make the whole journey to Australia by air, breaking off briefly, as earlier ocean-bound tourists had done, in Ceylon. As always, they left England with rallying calls about how they should play their cricket and conduct themselves. The number of drawn Test matches had become a concern, and in the eyes of some commentators Mike’s captaincy could be too negative, John Woodcock once dubbing him ‘a life vice-president of the Seam Bowlers’ Union.’ However, to Mike there has always been a distinction between defensive tactics and negativity. For him the ability of Cartwright for Warwickshire or Titmus and Allen for England to tie up opposing batsmen for hours on end was positive cricket. That summer Mike had also won over critics who saw as a positive move his declaration of the England innings at Leeds when Edrich was within reach of Garry Sobers’ record 365. Showing that he would not be diverted by personal goals, Mike had been rewarded that evening with five New Zealand wickets, paving the way to victory in a match that was always under threat from the weather. Now, as he set off for Australia, he was accompanied by a manager, Billy Griffith, with a passion for positive cricket to which he was happy to commit his team. The first evidence of MCC’s up-beat approach came at Perth when their opening first-class match ended in victory by nine runs in the last minute of the match. Centuries for Barber and Parks, 81 from Russell and 67 from Mike had set the tone in the first innings as MCC’s 447 for five came at over a run a minute. Five first-innings wickets for Jeff Jones and a good spell by David Larter to win the match set the tour off on a positive note. A not-out century by Mike