Lives in Cricket No 40 - Edwin Smith

91 Victorian era. He was always smartly dressed, clean shaven and frankly a fine ambassador for his county. I can’t recall Edwin having major disagreements with players he played with or against. Meanwhile, Peter Gibbs remembers him for a different reason. I’d played in the Varsity Match at Lord’s [1966] and found myself on the same ground for Middlesex v Derbyshire and my county debut. I was posted to long on for Edwin and my main memory of the game is running in to take a regulation catch - but on my chest, rather than in my hands. Despite my state school education, perhaps he thought better of cursing a ‘Blue’. In fact he was generously undemonstrative, which almost made my embarrassment worse. Back at Derby, I thought it politic to ask the ‘senior pro’ if he had advice on playing there. ‘Yes’, he said, ‘keep your belly to the wind.’ Failure to do so meant a stiff back in no time and it was typically sound and succinct advice.  Gibbs just missed a thousand Championship runs in 1967 but Ian Buxton, Derek Morgan and Smith did so and there was a welcome return to his best form from Harold Rhodes, who passed a hundred wickets with ease and led the attack with great skill and impressive pace. Good seam support came from Morgan, Brian Jackson and Peter Eyre, while Edwin simply kept on doing what he had done for years. There were 81 Championship wickets, costing him 22 runs each while conceding only two runs per over. Only once did he take five in an innings, but he regularly chipped in with two, three or four. First innings points were won against Glamorgan at Chesterfield, largely thanks to his figures of 28-17-29-4. There were three second innings wickets too, supporting the six of Harold Rhodes as the Welsh side clung on desperately for a draw with nine wickets down. Then came five for 57 as Somerset were beaten at Bath, before a momentous day at Ilkeston, against Cambridge University. The students included Roger Knight, who later played for Surrey, Gloucestershire and Sussex with distinction, while Derbyshire included the 16-year old Fred Swarbrook. With Morgan, Rhodes and Jackson rested, Edwin took on the captaincy for the first time. He ended the match a winner, too. He and Swarbrook shared a long spell and six wickets, Edwin bowling 55 overs in the last innings. It was nice to lead the side out as captain and although it was not against a county side, as senior professional it brought home to me that I had a very good chance of taking on the role on a permanent basis when Derek retired. Winning did me no harm either ... Testimonial year