Lives in Cricket No 40 - Edwin Smith

109 Centenary summer Peter Gibbs retired to concentrate on his writing in 1972 and Ian Buxton retired too. It left us very short of experience and it was the same with the bowling. Alan’s struggles with his fitness reduced his effectiveness for us, although he continued to bowl some very good spells. Peter Eyre had health and injury issues and without them there was a young and not especially hostile attack. Phil Russell was a good bowler and later became an even better coach, but Ian Buxton’s effectiveness as a bowler had gone and younger players needed time. There was hope that, given time, Mike Hendrick might develop into something special, but David Wilde, a left-arm bowler of some pace, drifted quickly out of the game because of concerns over his action. It left a lot, perhaps too much, on the shoulders of Fred Swarbrook and in what became a vicious circle, the batting struggled at times through the weight of expectation, the need to score enough runs to offset a weakened attack. John Harvey had a solid summer down the order, but Mike Page came back too soon from a winter achilles tendon injury and was far from his best. Only one County Championship match was won all summer and although only four were lost, there was a perception that too many games began with a draw the summit of ambition. In some ways, given the limitations of the staff, that was understandable, but a few players felt that a willingness to take risks may, at times, have brought dividends. Some felt that may have happened under Edwin Smith, but he spent what was to be his final season as a cricketer in 1971 as a somewhat peripheral figure in the squad. He played one last Sunday game, against Yorkshire at Harrogate and finished on the winning side, once again not being asked to bowl. Even at this distance, the failure to utilise an experienced bowler when the side was short of them seems strange and Edwin tells a story of the game against Worcestershire, at Queen’s Park. Worcestershire lost early wickets, but were recovering thanks to Ted Hemsley and Jim Yardley. Ian Buxton had used five bowlers but I was still kicking my heels in the outfield. Then I heard a familiar voice, in a broad Yorkshire accent shout “‘ey oop Edwin ... hast tha broke tha arm?” It was Arnold Hamer, walking around the boundary and he said it in a voice that must have been heard by everyone. Inside a couple of overs I was on, had Jim stumped by Bob Taylor and caught and bowled Ted. In his final season, Edwin took 31 wickets in 13 matches, Swarbrook being preferred as the main spinner. His last five-wicket haul came at Northampton, a final analysis of 28.4-10-65-5 reminiscent of his great days. His final spell came a fortnight later, at The Oval, when he bowled a single atypical over for 13 runs, as Surrey hit out ahead of a declaration. It was a