It was pretty much an unwritten rule that the captain winning the toss would always insert the opposition in the NatWest final, the early start in September conditions aiding swing bowlers. So it was a little surprising when Gatting elected to bat first, although knowing the pitch very well, he assumed correctly that it would get slower and lower as the day progressed. Unfortunately, the strip did not allow for much expansiveness, Middlesex's total of 210/5 from their 60 overs at just 3.50 runs per over proving this.

Indeed, after Middlesex had strolled to the semis with easy wins over Durham, Nottinghamshire and Sussex, it was the bowlers who ensured that the defending champions would be at Lord's on September 2, by successfully defending a determined run-chase against Hampshire in Southampton. The role of Middlesex's death bowler had been allocated to Hughes for a number of years, his effort in the 1986 Benson and Hedges cup final seeing Middlesex home against Kent, and although it was Fraser in the Hampshire match who held his nerve in the final over, Hughes details in his excellent A Lot of Hard Yakka book, that he secretly joked to friends before the match that he would probably bowl the last over in the final with just 10 runs needed for victory. MJK Smith tells Brian Halford how the '61 Test showcased Edgbaston's rise to the status of regular Test venue - and how that rise was powered principally by the punters of the Second City. He played 4 Tests in The Ashes that antipodean summer without much success (missing out the one England lost). He was a part of the second Test that England won at MCG. He did catch Alan Davidson in each innings and Bobby Simpson in the first. He also batted for over an hour for an unbeaten 6, securing a 16-run lead for England. He also had a stint as a Director of Aston Villa FC (he was, after all, an Oxford Blue in football as well). Then they took up the baton – but what a baton! Could they have achieved what they achieved without the foundation built by Lloyd and Bob Cottam? Almost certainly not. Dermot Reeve 1993-1996He scored 39,832 first-class runs (at 41.84) in 637 matches, placing him 17th in the history of the game, sandwiched between Len Hutton and Wilfred Rhodes. He hit 69 centuries (with a best of 204) and 241 fifties. He was often out when batting for the team rather than himself – he generally scored his runs at a good pace. He made 2,000 runs in a season six times running from 1957-62.

We are delighted to announce that Eric Midwinter has been awarded the Brooke-Lambert Trophy for the Statistician of the Year. 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.”

Andy Lloyd 1988-1992

Smith’s final figures read 2,278 runs in 50 Tests at a modest average of 31.63 with three hundreds. His gutsy close in fielding brought him 53 catches, at an impressive scalps per game ratio. In 637 First-Class matches, he scored a mammoth 39,832 runs with 69 hundreds and held 593 catches in all. Zodiac Sign: MJK Smith is a Cancer. People of this zodiac sign like home-based hobbies, relaxing near or in water, helping loved ones, and dislike strangers, revealing of personal life. The strengths of this sign are being loyal, emotional, sympathetic, tenacious, persuasive, while weaknesses can be moody, pessimistic, suspicious, manipulative and insecure. The greatest overall compatibility with Cancer is Capricorn and Taurus. Having retired from the First Class game in 1975, he became Club Chairman between 1991 and 2003, and was an ICC match referee between 1991 and 1996. 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. A Virtual Members Meeting was held via Zoom on 26 November, to discuss forthcoming meetings (including the 2023 AGM in March, and plans to celebrate the ACS’s 50th anniversary with a lunch at Grace Road in October); social media developments; and recent and forthcoming publications. Further details here. A recording is now available via YouTube. 22 November 2022

Hughes also highlights in his book a couple of pre-final warning signs for both himself and his county. Whereas Hughes had eagerly anticipated each of his previous finals with both a mixture of excitement and the required amount of nerves to perform to a high standard, he admitted that for the first time he did not feel the same sense of occasion as he had before, that he was maybe too relaxed. Perhaps Hughes was guilty of taking a final appearance for granted, after all Middlesex had played in plenty, but the fact that the county had booked a reception after the final for the very first time, also suggests that complacency had set in. I had great success during my Oxford University period. I scored a hundred in each of the three Varsity matches (in 1954, '55 and '56) - breaking a record held by the Nawab of Pataudi Sr since 1931. There are no international tourists, but the county players are hoping to win a place on England’s tour to Australia in 1920/21 for the first Test series in nearly seven years.

Terms

The 47th Annual General Meeting of the ACS, postponed from 21 March, took place on Saturday 10 October. It was held as a ‘virtual’ meeting, attended by the Association’s President (David Kendix), the members of the General Committee, and two observers from among the membership (Jenny Heald and Chris O’Brien). Having retired from the First Class game in 1975, MJK would go on to another senior role as the club, becoming Chairman between 1991 and 2003, and was an ICC match referee ICC match referee between 1991 and 1996. He also would support the ECB as Tour Manager for several England series overseas.

My final Test appearance was in 1972. That makes me England's last double international in major sports. My experience as manager of England was not good. I managed two full tours of England, to the West Indies [1993-94] and Australia [1994-95]. We lost both to better sides. His son Richard, who followed in his footsteps as a scorer and statistician, has written a tribute to his father. Vic’s funeral will be on Thursday 18 August 2022, 2.30pm, at Southampton (Stoneham) Crematorium. 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 It took some time to dawn that he was as good as he was, or such an excellent man. His appearance, I think, had something to do with this. To see him emerging from the pavilion in The Parks, as an outwardly gauche and gangling undergraduate, and to watch him taking guard, face screwed up behind those rimless spectacles, was not a convincing introduction.

We are saddened to report the death of Brian Heald, one of the ACS’s original members, who served the Association as a committee member and in numerous other roles. He was made an Honorary Life Member at the AGM earlier this year. 21 November 2016 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. 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.