#England cricket captain 2016 portable#

He used to carry a portable television, then a rare commodity in those days, to watch races in dressing rooms. Besides, he had a passion for speed - with motor bikes, jaguars, greyhounds and race horses. The professionals were impressed enough to offer a trip to America to become a tournament golfer. During the 1962-63 tour of Australia, he played a foursome with Norman Von Nida, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, while Colin Cowdrey acted as his caddy. Yes, he was a scratch golfer, and went on to write books about golfing techniques. He switched off, standing in the field, practicing his golf swings. Yet, when things did not happen on the field, and one or two striking moves did not pay off, Dexter was known to get bored. Perhaps Dexter had the biggest influence in the development of the modern game. As captain of Sussex, he adapted to the novelty of the one-day game with remarkable ease, establishing fielding positions that were original and effective. Fred Trueman recalled that Dexter as captain had more theories than Charles Darwin. He was perhaps the only English batsman to have mastered Derek Underwood, scoring heavily against the left arm spinner when Sussex played Kent.

Dexter could be superb against spin as well. Later, as captain, he took 93 and 52 off them at Melbourne in the course of a memorable Test victory, which he recounted later as his most satisfying knocks. The Australians, following their perennial penchant for mockery, did not take him too seriously before he batted almost six hours at Birmingham to save the Test with an impeccable innings of 180. Five of his nine hundreds in Test cricket turned out to be over 150. Feet moved fractionally, head hardly at all, but the bat swung the ball for six over long-leg and they fetched it back from the seats under the gasholder.вЂќ His first ball, from the pavilion end, was slightly over-pitched on middle and leg. When he was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1961, the Almanac noted: вЂњFew batsmen announce themselves as Dexter did when batting for Sussex against Surrey at The Oval last summer. It was breath-taking, brilliant and could be frustrating. And like the true romantic among batsmen he could often succumb to the bowling due to his absolute refusal to treat even the best with any semblance of respect. When Garry Sobers trapped him leg before, Dexter had raced to 70 from 75 balls, out of a total of 102.Дexter often batted like the cavalier amateur of the old school, delighting the spectators and often bruising the hands of the fielders with his enormously powerful drives and cuts. And he proceeded to hook, cut and essay those thundering drives, in a scintillating display of audacity. Captain Dexter walked out to face the worldвЂ™s most feared pair of bowlers bowling at their fastest. With Hall and Griffith charging in, England lost John Edrich for a duck, without a run on the board. Who can forget the LordвЂ™s Test of 1963 - one of the greatest ever played. And Dexter stood tall, with feline grace and raw power, and drove them back, treating the bowling with a disdain it seldom deserved.

The balls came at him at furious speed - hurled by Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, propelled across by Alan Davidson and Graham McKenzie. Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the life and career of the man who was at his very best against high quality fast bowling, and was further characterised by his love for life, specifically golf, racehorses and bikes.ДЇew cricketers have tickled the fantasy of onlookers with their absolute nonchalance against fast bowling as did Ted Dexter. Ted Dexter, born May 15, 1935, was one of the most fascinating characters of English cricket with fearless stroke-play, dashing image and debonair attitude. Ted Dexter: a truly multi-faceted personality В© Getty Images