World cricket bid adieu to 1970-71 Ashes winner Ray Illingworth; his loss ironically coinciding with the demolition Joe Root’s England in Oz
Former England captain Ray Illingworth, who passed away last week. Pic/Getty Images
I spotted Ray Illingworth (Illy to those who knew him) in a tea lounge at Leeds during the England v Sri Lanka NatWest Series game on July 2, 2002. He was chatting with his old Yorkshire mates, as rain forced the tie to be reduced to a 32-overs affair. I could have stayed on in the hope of interviewing the former England captain, who passed away on Saturday, but he appeared too imposing to approach.
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Sadly, now the opportunity is lost forever. On Christmas Day, Illingworth joined a long list of cricketers to succumb to cancer, when his life’s innings ended at 89.
He was Ajit Wadekar’s rival captain for India’s historic 1971 series in England, where the tourists beat their hosts for the first time on their soil. Not only was India’s win over England more creditable because they beat a team that had won the Ashes on Australian soil earlier in the year, but also since Wadekar had outwitted a shrewd captain like Illingworth. This came after India’s series victory over Garry Sobers’s West Indians in the Caribbean. Wadekar rated Illingworth’s captaincy skills highly despite the 1-0 triumph. In the book My Cricketing Years, he wrote: “Gary Sobers or Ray Illingworth? There should be no doubt as to who is the greater cricketer. Sobers has universally been acclaimed as one of the all-time greats of the game. But when it comes to a question of captaincy or leadership I would place Illingworth well ahead of Sobers. If you have any doubts on this score, ask those who have opposed him on the county circuit.”
Ian Chappell who, like Wadekar, was Illingworth’s opposite number in 1971 after taking over from Bill Lawry (and in the 1972 Ashes), spoke glowingly of the Yorkshireman’s captaincy. Chappell admired Illingworth’s quality of playing for a win from Ball One. He was also a player’s captain. He didn’t shy away from telling umpire Lou Rowan what he thought about his warning to John Snow after Australian tailender Terry Jenner was hit on the head in the seventh Test at Sydney.
A crowd disturbance followed and Illingworth walked off and took his team with him to the dressing room. He only agreed to return if the safety of his players was guaranteed. Their safety meant more to him than losing the game through a forfeiture.
He should have captained the MCC side to India in 1972-73 instead of rookie Tony Lewis, but he dropped out citing fatigue. He was slammed in some quarters for missing the winter tours of India and Pakistan that season, but he said in Yorkshire and Back that although he would have enjoyed bowling on Indian pitches, the thought of playing eight Tests in all at the age of 40 “was not particularly inviting.” Missing out on seeing his two daughters growing up was a factor too, but there were other reasons, which Illingworth revealed in the book: “To be perfectly frank, in considering as well that my stomach has never been terribly enthusiastic about infusions of Oriental spices, I reflected that I could make twice as much money in my winter job at home as I would get for slogging through Nagpur and Kanpur, Hyderabad (Pakistan) to Hyderabad (India).”
Apart from his astute captaincy, Illingworth was more than just a useful off-spinner. Bishan Singh Bedi rated him highly and the Indians of 1971 will remember his hundred in the Old Trafford Test after he was given not out by umpire Tom Spencer—caught by Eknath Solkar at short leg off BS Chandrasekhar—when he had just one run to his name.
Illingworth influenced the county circuit even after he played the last of his 61 Tests for England in 1973.
He was batting stylist David Gower’s first captain at Leicestershire, for whom he debuted in 1975. In Heroes and Contemporaries, Gower wrote: “My early career was dominated by Ray Illingworth and none of the lessons I ever learned from him has been forgotten. He was my mentor in the same way that Brian Close was for Ian Botham. I shall always remember that and when I captain a side now I always think that if I can do the job with half of Raymond’s ability and success, then I will not be doing badly.”
Illingworth’s tenure as England’s chief selector in the 1990s was a controversial one. Skipper Mike Atherton didn’t always see eye to eye [he fined him 2000 pounds for the dirt-in-the-pocket incident at Lord’s in 1994] while players like Devon Malcolm and Phil Tufnell felt targeted by Illingworth who had the final word on selection. Malcolm revealed in his 1998 autobiography that he was “at the right height to land a punch on him [Illingworth], but instead kept my arms folded tightly across my chest” when Illingworth told him that he had cost England the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 1996.
Illingworth may not have been the easiest man to get along with, but at least he didn’t view the media as a perpetual nuisance. While in Australia as chairman of selectors for the 1994-95 Ashes, he disagreed with manager Mike Smith’s blanket ban on players talking to the press. Illingworth felt particularly sorry for Darren Gough who, despite claiming six wickets in Australia’s first innings at Sydney, wasn’t allowed to be interviewed.
Late sports writer Martin Johnson wrote about how, as Leicestershire captain, Illingworth would welcome him in the dressing room, but warned of a “bollocking” if he got it wrong on matters he had not consulted Illingworth on.
In hindsight, I ought not to have developed cold feet on that chilly, windy July day in 2002.
mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello
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