Derby sees the return of face-to-face CMS Meetings
We had an excellent turn out of members for our return to face-to-face meetings on Saturday 23rd October. The Pavilion at Derby proved an excellent and spacious venue for signings of memorabilia by our guests Bill Athey and Clare Taylor MBE, viewing of auction lots, table sales of cricket memorabilia and a hot lunch. Many members remarked how good it was to actually be together again.
The meeting was also attended by two of our patrons, Enid Bakewell MBE and John Jameson MBE, meaning we had four test cricketers in the room. The limited edition signed cards made a welcome return and these are now available for members to purchase for £5 each.
CMS does not aim to report in detail what our guests said but these are a few highlights. When asked which England batsman would be most successful in Australia, Bill Athey said ‘the luckiest’. He explained that when he scored his only test century at Lord’s against Pakistan he had given a caught and bowled chance to Abdul Qadir, who was wearing trainers and so slipped as he was pushing off to take the catch. Bill said that in Australia everything happens ‘just a little bit quicker’. Clare Taylor combined playing cricket and football for England with being a postie, which helped keep her fit, but does not regret missing out on central contracts and being paid to play because she wanted more in her life than just cricket. Having lived for a time in New Zealand she has kept that much memorabilia from her cricket career but very much enjoyed the dinner for all male and female test cricketers organised by Andrew Strauss in 2017 when she was presented with her personalised England cap. Medals were also awarded retrospectively to celebrate the 1993 World Cup victory – at the time players received a plaque.
Plans for future meetings
CMS has decided to cancel our November meeting due to delays getting a venue. We will hold an on line AGM in November.
We are at Lord’s on Saturday 29th January 2022 with guests Derek Pringle and Monte Lynch. A ticket for this meeting will be sent with the next magazine, but there is no additional charge.
NEW DATE: CMS will meet at Grace Road, Leicester on Saturday 12th March. Guests tbc. CMS Members’ Auction starts at 1.30pm
Ted Dexter CBE 1935 to 2021
Members of the Cricket Memorabilia Society have very fond memories of Ted Dexter who, since his return to the UK, developed close links with the Society. He joined us for a very special meeting at Worcester in 2017, contributed to our magazine, and earlier this year signed Book Plates for our members to coincide with the publication of his autobiography ’85 Not Out’.
The passing of any former England Captain is a moment for sadness, reflection and fond memories to be shared. Ted was a giant even amongst this elite group. He confidently told CMS members in 2017 that England would struggle on the forthcoming England tour because ‘Broad cannot take wickets in Australia’ and how right he proved to be. He also explained how he turned Sussex into such a force in one day cricket in the early 1960s by insisting his bowlers bowled straight and looked to hit the top of off stump. This was far more important than placing fielders on the boundary as he was accused of doing. Ted was at his most passionate when advocating the return of the Royal Crest on England cap badges, blazers and sweaters. He had already discussed this with the Duke of Edinburgh and now wanted CMS members to take up the cause!
Subsequent to the meeting I emailed Ted and asked if he would write an article for the CMS magazine on this topic. Somewhat to my surprise he agreed but asked if I could draft something as a basis for the piece. There then followed some extremely interesting email exchanges between us and the finished article appeared in CMS Magazine number 119. News of his death has prompted me to print these emails for the CMS archive.
Ted returned briefly to this theme in ’85 Not Out’ describing it as a ‘Failed Initiative – not over yet’. A fitting tribute to Ted would be if England could wear the Crown and Triple Lion Insignia in just one test match – perhaps the Ashes opener in September?
The publication of ’85 Not Out’ coincided with Covid lockdown and then Ted’s ill health. I emailed him to suggest a signed limited edition Book Plate would be much valued by CMS members who had been unable to get their actual copies signed. He immediately agreed though stated he was not strong enough to sign 85 but could manage 50. These were returned to me within days of being sent with proceeds from these Book Plates going to the MCC Foundation, who also benefited from sales of the book itself.
Sadly there will be no more opportunities to hear from Ted or for an exchange of emails. What a legacy he leaves as a player, journalist and author and as one of the great men of cricket. RIP.
Richard Brown, Chair CMS.
We at CricketMash have published David Frith's updated autobiography 'Paddington Boy'.
We would like to extend an offer exclusively for the CMS members who wish to buy a copy.
If you order the book using the order form here and enter the text 'CMS' in the 'additional details' field, you will be able to get it for the special price of £14 for CMS members. Within a couple of hours you will receive a paypal payment link and the book will be shipped to you as soon as the payment is complete.
CMS Online AGM Minutes
Minutes of the AGM can be downloaded by clicking on the CMS Logo above
Annual Accounts can be downloaded by clicking here
CMS at Derby
Our last meeting of the 2019/20 season saw us welcome guests Wayne Larkins (Northampton, Durham and England) and Jo Chamberlain, player of the match in the 1993 Women’s World Cup Final. Both signed autographs and answered members’ questions. A busy meeting also featured an auction full of varied lots. We plan a postal auction in July 2020.
Our next meeting will be in October 2020 (date and venue to be confirmed). We are the only cricket society to meet regularly at Lord’s and will be meeting at Lord’s on Saturday 30th January 2021. This comes with our good wishes to all cricket followers and members of CMS. Stay safe.
Lord's Meeting
A busy meeting at Lord’s included the presentation by CMS Patron Sir Clive Lloyd of the 2019 Award of Excellence to Andy Collier. This was in recognition of Andy’s book ‘Across the Oceans – with the English Cricketers to Australia and New Zealand 1861 to 1962’ which showcases his unique collection about MCC overseas tours. Andy has now set up his own You Tube channel about cricket memorabilia. (Check out Andy's YouTube here)
A packed meeting featured signings by our guests Sir Clive Lloyd and Hartley Alleyne, formerly of Worcestershire and Kent. CMS has produced a special limited edition, signed, card to celebrate the award of his Knighthood to Sir Clive in the recent honour’s list.
Our next meeting is at the County Ground, Derby, on Saturday 29th February with guests Wayne Larkins and former England Women’s World Cup winner Jo Chamberlain. A members’ auction starts at 1.30pm; the catalogue is already available on our website!