Lives in Cricket No 40 - Edwin Smith

26 Chapter Four First team regular – and capped Nineteen-fifty three was a momentous year. England won back the Ashes and Edwin Smith became a first team regular for Derbyshire for the first time. Edwin played 18 games for Derbyshire in that Coronation summer, that ended with the county sixth in the table. Four batsmen passed the thousand-run barrier, led by Arnold Hamer, who came close to 1500 in his trademark style. Meanwhile, Cliff Gladwin bowled over a thousand overs in the Championship, taking 121 wickets at 18 runs each and conceding just two runs an over in the process. Les Jackson just missed his hundred wickets, while Derek Morgan took 64 with a mixture of medium pace and off cutters. It was a fine side. The batting could be sketchy at times, but when Hamer got going the crowd enjoyed the spectacle. Thirty-three before he played regular county cricket, he scored a thousand runs in ten successive seasons and always played with one eye on the scoreboard and the other on the crowd and their entertainment. Not until the advent of Kim Barnett many years later did the county have an English batsman of similar approach and there was a discernible disappointment among supporters when he was dismissed early. John Kelly came from the other side of the Pennines to Hamer, but the Lancastrian gave sterling service, mainly as a more dour opener who served as the perfect counterfoil. Alan Revill was another who sometimes fired off strokes with disregard for his average, but played many important innings and, for a naturally aggressive batsman, was remarkably consistent for several seasons. The Repton-educated Donald Carr would eventually take over the captaincy from Guy Willatt. Both were fine players with a good range of strokes and in turn would lead the side with unruffled temperament and no little skill. Providing ballast to the batting was Derek Morgan, one of the finest all- rounders never to represent his country. While not a graceful player, Morgan was functional and a fighter, usually contributing runs when they were most needed or when scoring them was at its most difficult. His bowling gradually became an important component of a fine attack, he and Edwin becoming team mates for the best part of 20 seasons. They were a tight band and, for all that there were strong characters among them, they got on well. At 19, Edwin was lead spinner in the county side and understandably found things difficult at times. As Guy Willatt