Lives in Cricket No 40 - Edwin Smith

106 Centenary summer strengthen the side then being more apparent. Three defeats in the last five matches saw the side drop from the lofty heights, but the opening pair of Gibbs and Smith, followed by the aggressive Page and Wilkins was a great success. All passed the thousand run mark with ease, but if they failed it exposed a soft underbelly to the batting that was worrying, despite the best efforts of John Harvey and the new captain. There was an unfamiliar look to the bowling, at least in three-day cricket. With Rhodes gone and Peter Eyre struggling with glandular fever, it placed a large burden on the shoulders of Alan Ward, who often opened the bowling with Buxton in the absence of alternatives. Phil Russell passed 50 wickets for the first time and made good progress, after slowing down to bowl off cutters. It made for a less intimidating pace attack than previous years, especially when Ward injured an ankle playing for England against the Rest of the World and was seldom fully fit afterwards. His mounting injuries were a concern for the county, as Edwin explains: If the recognised ideal build for a fast bowler was short and sturdy with a big backside, like Harold Larwood and Fred Trueman, Alan was the opposite. He had a very long back and the pronounced arch of this, as he let the ball go, put a strain on it, as well as his hamstrings. We had to nurse him through matches, giving him very short bursts, but he was less prepared to play through niggles than Cliff, Les, Harold or Brian had been. It placed an additional burden on the side’s veteran off spinner, who bowled nearly 200 overs more than anyone else, taking 73 wickets at a cost of 30. The wickets were better and the influx of overseas stars, with the bonus point system, meant that batsmen were willing to take greater risks. Nevertheless, Edwin still only conceded an admirable two and a half runs an over and remained a focal point of the attack. For the first time, in Fred Swarbrook, he had a genuine spin bowling foil, the 19-year-old taking 57 Championship wickets and five in an innings on three occasions. Edwin enjoyed bowling with him. Fred was a talent. He could bat, too and made a very good 90 as an emergency opener against Essex. At that stage, I looked forward to spending several years working with him while he learned his craft. I was 38, but felt fit and was bowling as well as ever. The attempt to emulate the previous year’s Gillette Cup run ended at Lord’s, but this time in the second round against Middlesex, after a first round bye. A total of 161 for nine didn’t look enough for Derbyshire and their hosts scrambled to a two-wicket win. Edwin’s spell of almost ten overs went for only 35 runs, but he was to play only two more one-day matches that summer. The first came the following day, in front of the television cameras at Northampton. Derbyshire were top of the John Player League table after