Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes/David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts
This is the story of a classic Ashes series in 1961 in the context of two very different captains Peter May and Richie Benaud.
Peter May (Charterhouse and Cambridge) was more patrician, a classical batsman but cold and distant from his men.
Richie Benaud was an adventurous captain but also a skipper of guile. He possessed a lethal leg break too.
May was injured for the first two Tests in which England were captained by Colin Cowdrey.
It was a team of considerable talent with the likes of Ted Dexter and Ken Barrington, a pace attack of Fred Trueman and Brian Statham and solid county players like Geoff Pullar, David Allen, Ramon Subba Row, J.T Murray and Brian Close who was to play a controversial rôle in the key fourth Test at Old Trafford.
The Aussies had a younger team but one which was to dominate the Ashes in the sixties: the redoubtable limpet Bill Lawry, Bobby Simpson, Norman O’Neill, Peter Burge (‘the fastest growing sport in Queensland’), Brian Booth, Graham ‘Garth’ McKenzie as well as more established Test players like Wally Grout and all rounder Alan Davidson. They went one up in the series which England then levelled.
So the Fourth Test at Old Trafford was going to be crucial.
Ted Dexter scored a nonchalant 76 very much in the style of his 70 against Wes Indies when he defied the pace of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths.
It’s often forgotten – though not by him – that Lord Ted took 400 first class wickets and could be classified as an all rounder. He was the third seamer in the series.
Only a last wicket stand by McKenzie and Davidson added respectability to the Aussie’s second innings and the total of 256 seemed achievable.
England were 135-1 and up till tea time on the final day going along nicely.
Then Benaud brought himself on and, with Bobby Simpson, skittles out England.
In his biography ‘85 Not Out’ Dexter blames the chairman of selectors Walter Robins for berating Barrington in the dressing room at the tea interval and ordering him to up the tempo.
Others blame an ill-advised sweep shot by May off Benaud, costing his wicket, and some reckless stroke play by Brian Close.
Like most modern cricket writers the then ethos of public school players (‘amateurs’ ) and gentlemen and ‘players’ and lofty administrators like Gubby Allen come in for trenchant criticism.
I have often thought this unfair as May, Dexter and Cowdrey were considerable batters.
Later on we would have non-public school captains like Ian Botham and Freddie Flintoff who were unsuccessful.
Mike Brearley ( City of London and Cambridge) was such a successful captain that he was selected for that skill alone.
Mike Atherton (Manchester Grammar and Cambridge) was less successful but became the country’s leading writer and analyst of the games.
It is true that Michael Vaughan and Ben Stokes did not have a traditional Oxbridge background.
I had the privilege of knowing Ted Dexter in his latter years. He definitely thought ‘outside the box’, being critical of the way that Australia and England retained home receipts – a policy which effectively bankrupted the West Indies.
It must also be said that the Packer revolution, the growth of franchise white ball cricket, broadcasting cricket on satellite channels and the marginalisation of county cricket make the game considerably different to the one that Benaud and May played.
David Kynaston as a social historian constantly weaves events like Profumo into the cricketing narrative.
This is a highly readable account of a notable Test series.
