Lives in Cricket No 40 - Edwin Smith

63 Chapter Eleven Setbacks at the start of the Swinging Sixties The new decade has gone down in history as one when black and white austerity turned to vibrant psychedelia. In many ways it started the world which we are familiar with. County cricket was to change dramatically too. Overseas stars would arrive, and one-day cricket to capture the public imagination. Yet as it began, Edwin, like his team mates, was working away as he always had, combining a winter of graft in whatever work was available, with a summer plying his trade. While his county rose to fifth position in 1960, it is not a summer that Edwin remembers fondly. As a side we did well, but we did so on the back of 1800 runs from Laurie Johnson, who was now batting as well as anyone in the country, together with 150 Championship wickets from Les. He was 39 before the season started but bowled over a thousand overs. If the skipper wanted wickets he left Les on. If he wanted to control things, he brought him back again. He bowled almost 400 overs more than any other seam bowler and went for less than two runs an over. It was a fantastic effort and he continued to be the most respected bowler on the county circuit. Yet all was not well. Harold Rhodes fell victim to the throwing ‘witch hunt’ and was no- balled in two different matches, one of them against the South Africans. That was ironic, because Geoff Griffin, who everyone knew threw the ball, bowled almost the same number of overs in the game without question. It was the start of a very tough few seasons for Harold, throughout which he showed great dignity and professionalism as he sought to clear his name. He underwent many filming sessions and he was watched from every conceivable angle. The reality was that it was impossible for him to throw the ball, because of his classic, sideways action. The ones who were throwing did so from an open-chested action, much like a player at a dart board. Denis Smith was a very good coach and neither he, Cliff or Les had ever expressed any concerns over the way Harold bowled. Arnold Hamer and John Kelly left the staff that summer. Hamer was 43 and missed much of it with a broken thumb, after being hit by South