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The 1964-65 South Africa tour was my most memorable series because as it was successful for the team and I did well too. The ACS has issued a Diversity and Equality Statement setting out clearly its objective of seeking to appeal to people with an interest in every form of the game. Deeply ingrained in the Bears’ culture, Troughton also did much to pass on and enrich that culture. No-one who played in his team as captain, or these days in his team as first-team coach, will take the field anything less than fiercely proud to be a Bear. Cast your vote
If a measure of a captain is getting the best out of players, then MJK Smith has few equals. A fine batsman, who scored more than 30,000 runs for the Bears, MJK’s leadership and man-management skills were legendary, whether deployed for his county or in 25 Tests as captain of his country.
MJK Smith 1957-1967
These two remained the last of Smith’s 3 First-Class hundreds. The other one came for Oxford against MCC the year before, where his 106 and 77 were instrumental in an excellent win over MCC.
He agreed, led the team to victory in the next game, at Old Trafford, and the path to the most remarkable championship triumph ever recorded by any county was underway. Note: The pair had their revenge in the final Test when Davidson dismissed Smith with the final ball of his Test career. Smith was caught at slip by — Simpson. Ryder added: “Alan Smith has special qualities. He has a good sense of humour, which is all important in a dressing room, but at the same time is a dedicated, thoughtful and talented captain, who knows there are times when one needs to be firm and to express views very clearly. I think that he combines the necessary qualities, and there is no doubt that he is aided and abetted in all that he does by Mike Smith. I think between them they, therefore, cover all aspects, and for the rest they are a very nice bunch of fellows to deal with, quite apart from their talent in the game.”
Related Story: ENG v IRE: Zak Crawley to captain England in Ireland ODIs, Jamie Smith, Sam Hain receive maiden call-ups The 48th Annual General Meeting of the ACS was held virtually via Zoom on Saturday 20 March, and attended by 81 members. He had some advantages. That foundation. Brian Lara. Bowlers including Allan Donald, Gladstone Small and Tim Munton. But many skippers have had fine players under them and failed to deliver success.
Tony Webb, who masterminded the ACS’s Minor Counties Match Scores project from 1999 to 2011, died on 22 February. Julian Lawton Smith, who succeeded him as editor on the project, pays tribute to a phenomenal researcher. Philip will be known to many of our members as the statistical power behind many thrones, both inside and outside the ACS. There is no doubt that, without his efforts over all this time, the ACS would not be the flourishing and respected organisation that it is today. The six motions on which members had been asked for their votes were all carried by an overwhelming majority of the 97 members who had sent in valid voting papers. Pete previously served on the committee from 1993 to 2008, and has carried out many other roles for the Association, including typesetting many publications and running ACS Sales from 2006 to 2014. His expertise in matters digital and technological will be a great asset as the committee develops some of the ideas that were discussed at the members’ virtual meeting in November. Troughton’s captaincy started quite well. Away to Somerset is a toughie so it was a decent effort to return home celebrating victory by an innings and 382 runs!England Test all-rounder Enid Bakewell, whose biography by Simon Sweetman we published in 2018, was also honoured with an MBE. Coalminer’s Daughter is available from the ACS Shop. 29 November 2018 Of the 39,830 he finished with, probably 70 per cent were scored on the leg-side. This is not to say, though, that he was a poor off-side player. When he chose he could cover drive with the best, once he had come through the invariably painful process of playing himself in. Tactically he was inclined to be cautious, as England's captain anyway, and there is nothing unusual about that. He took over the England side in 1963, on a two-month tour to India, and was relieved of it after England had been heavily beaten by West Indies in the First Test of 1966. Alan ‘AC’ Smith, donning those gauntlets behind stumps, had a brief discussion with Dennis Amiss before taking the pads off. Amiss took up the place behind stumps. Smith took the ball and sent down a maiden with his odd-looking action where he bowled off the wrong foot (think Mike Procter and Sohail Tanvir from later days). At the other end Ibadulla conceded 6. The score read 28 without loss. Lord's is my favourite ground and I always enjoyed playing there. It has tradition, history and atmosphere. A further important factor is that MJK managed to miss most of the more interesting Tests that were played during “his” era. The controversial 1958/59 Ashes series came too soon , and save one Test in which he scored just a single he was out of favour for the next three Ashes series, as well as the visit of Frank Worrell’s 1963 West Indians.
Sadly, he could not be presented with the trophy amid the applause of our members, as the AGM on 21 March has had to be postponed because of the Covid-19 emergency.Mike (Michael John Knight) Smith, universally known as MJK, was born on 30 June 1933 at Westcotes, Leicestershire. He was educated at Stamford School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. Not everyone’s cup of tea, including some of those who played under him. But a great innovator and a mighty captain and leader. Jim Troughton 2011-2014
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