My friend Ted

I was privileged to know Ted Dexter well these past few years so my tribute to him is more personal than some.

In his obituaries you will read that he was swashbuckling, debonair, a man about town but distant and aloof.

I never found him the latter and, although the obituaries spoke of distance and froideur with his Sussex teammates, when I met with him at a players’ reunion at the Hove ground you could see he was liked.

I was speaking to Alan Tanner, who said the same criticism of Johnny Haynes was made, but the reality was his teammates enjoyed and appreciated playing with the maestro.

Still a young captain of Sussex in the early sixties, he swiftly grasped the tactics and strategy of one day cricket winning the first two Gillette finals.

Once he placed the field around the boundary incurring the wrath of the cricketing establishment. On another occasion, I  expressed regret about the decline of West Indian  cricket.

He replied that England and Australia were to blame by retaining all the takings of a “home” series which undermined the West Indian board’s finances.

I got to know him in Nice where he then lived.

I recall a dinner with him at Nice’s finest fish restaurant Boccaccio. Over a seafood paella I asked him about that innings of 70 in the Lords Test of 1963 when he hit Charlie Griffith and Wes Hall to all parts.

What was he thinking as he came through the Long Room to the crease?

“I realised something had to be done. The game was slipping away from us.”

This remark reflected his gambler’s determination. This year he did a Zoom Q & A with Arundel Castle cricket club, hosted by Johnny Barclay.

Typical Ted he had to break off in the middle to sign his will. He did say that Wes Hall pitched the ball up which gave the batter a chance. Face Wes Hall – rather him than me!

A proper obituary should also mention his Christian faith.

He was treasurer of the Anglican Church in Nice.

Mention should also be made of the success of his marriage to Sue.

She was his perfect foil. A former Hartnell model, most who met her were overwhelmed by her kindness and charm.

She was most supportive in his final years.

The difficulty in assessing Ted was many who do did not know him that well so rely on an unauthorised biography which Ted detested and was the principal reason for his recent Eighty Five Not Out.

Ted, I will miss you …