Brian Close

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England captaincy

After the fourth Test of their five-Test series against the West Indies in 1966, England were 3-0 down and had lost the series. Needing someone to come in to revitalise the squad, the England selectors turned to the successful Yorkshire captain, Brian Close. Close knew why he had been selected, and also why many of his men had been. At the pre-match dinner he said, "I shouldn't be here if we hadn't made such a mess of the series. What's more, neither would a few of you. You are here because you are all fighters, and we are going to keep the pressure on and keep it on for five days." What Close did was to engender a battling spirit for the final Test Match. So, when England were 166 for 7 in reply to the West Indies' 268 all out, they did not give up. Instead, a century from Tom Graveney and John Murray, and half-centuries from Ken Higgs and John Snow, saw England to 527. The highlight of the match was when West Indian captain Gary Sobers, who had a batting average in the series of well over 100, came in to bat at 137/5 with his side still 128 runs from making England bat again. Close knew that Sobers was a fine hooker, and he knew how he wanted to approach him, so he asked John Snow to bowl a bouncer first up. Everything went to plan: Sobers hooked, edged the ball to his body, and it rebounded to Close at his customary short leg position, close to the batsman, ready to take the catch or a full blow to the body had Sobers middled it. Sobers c. Close, b. Snow 0 off one ball. England went on to win the game by an innings and 34 runs.

Related Topics:
Tom Graveney - John Murray - Ken Higgs - John Snow - Gary Sobers

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There was no overseas tour in 1966/7, so the next game Close captained was the first Test at Headingley against India in 1967.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1967/IND_IN_ENG/ Of the 16 Tests India had previously played in England, England had won 12 and drawn 4, and there were no expectations that there would be anything other than an England victory in the 3-match series. But they still needed to be beaten, and England, under Close, won each game convincingly.

Related Topics:
1966 - 7 - Headingley - India

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Pakistan toured England in the second half of the summer of 1967.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1967/PAK_IN_ENG/ The first match of that three-Test series was a rain-affected draw. The second Test was won comfortably by England by 10 wickets. It seemed certain that Close would be selected to captain England in their 1967/8 tour to the West Indies.

Related Topics:
Pakistan - 1967 - 8

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Then on 16, 17 and 18 August, Yorkshire, captained by Close, played Warwickshire at Birmingham.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1967/ENG_LOCAL/CC/WARWICKS_YORKS_CC_16-18AUG1967.html Warwickshire had been set 142 to win in 100 minutes. When the match ended, Warwickshire were 133/5 and the match was drawn, 9 runs short of the victory target. However Yorkshire managed to bowl only 24 overs, with only 2 being bowled in the last 15 minutes. Whilst it was wet, and Yorkshire had to dry the ball often, this was seen as unacceptable time-wasting and gamesmanship. Close did not help himself as he personally berated a Warwickshire spectator who he thought had called out something inopportune, though in the event, he picked on the wrong man. After the game, Close said to the Warwickshire captain, MJK Smith, "Bad luck, Mike, you played better than we did. But I couldn't give you the game." Smith appeared to accept this when he replied, "I quite understand."

Related Topics:
Warwickshire - Gamesmanship - MJK Smith

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Brian Sellers, chairman of Yorkshire and the one who berated Close in 1949 for saying "Thank you, Billy", then made matters worse for Close by sending an apology to the MCC. In 1967 England touring sides were still MCC sides rather than "England" sides, and the MCC took the opportunity to overrule the selectors who picked Close as captain. Close, whose temperament had been shown lacking, would not go to the West Indies; Cowdrey would captain the MCC England squad instead. And so it was that the Wednesday before the third and final Test against Pakistan, Close was told he had been stripped of the captaincy for the upcoming tour.

Related Topics:
MCC - 1967

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The third test against Pakistanhttp://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1967/PAK_IN_ENG/PAK_ENG_T3_24-28AUG1967.html was Close's final test as Captain. He went on to lead England to a comprehensive 8 wicket victory and win the series 2-0. His record as captain was played 7, won 6, drawn 1, the best record of any England captain who has captained in more than 2 Tests.

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