Tony Lewis

Anthony Robert Lewis CBE (born 6 July 1938) is a Welsh former cricketer, who captained England, became a journalist, went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage between 1986 and 1998, and became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Early life

Tony Lewis was born in Swansea, the first of two children of Wilfrid Lewis and his wife Marjorie (''née'' Flower). The family moved to Neath after the Second World War. Following his service in the war as a major, Wilfrid managed an insurance office in Neath, and then joined the Civil Service.

Tony Lewis attended the Gnoll School in Neath and Neath Grammar School for Boys, where he learned the violin exceptionally well and was selected to play first violin for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, as well as playing cricket and rugby for the school. He represented the Welsh Secondary Schools v England Schools at cricket for five years and captained his country for three of them. In rugby football he made his first-class debut for Neath at the age of nineteen and followed up with a full season for Gloucester, as well as representing thereafter the Royal Air Force, Cambridge University and Pontypool. He also played cricket for the Royal Air Force and Combined Services. At Christ's College, Cambridge, he read History in which he graduated as BA and MA. In his first University year he was a freshman double blue in rugby union and cricket. He was elected President of the Christ's College Marguerites and in 1962, President of the University Hawks Club, residence of the highest achievers in all Cambridge sports.

Cricket career

Lewis made his first-class cricket debut in 1955 at the age of 17, playing for Glamorgan against Leicestershire in the County Championship while still at Neath Grammar School. He was an amateur cricketer until the governing bodies of cricket decided that all first-class cricketers should sign professional playing contracts beginning in the 1963 season. In his first decade as a Glamorgan player he retained his amateur status, representing the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players matches at Lord's and Scarborough.

He was also chosen as a first violinist by the National Youth Orchestra of Wales in 1955. After doing his national service in the RAF, he established himself in first-class cricket in 1960, when in his first year at Christ's College, he scored 1307 runs for Cambridge University at 43.56, followed by 616 runs at 30.80 when he played for Glamorgan later in the season. He captained Cambridge in his final season there in 1962, when in all matches he made 2188 runs at 40.51, with five centuries. He also topped 2000 runs in 1966, when he made 2190 runs, more than anybody else in the season, at 40.51, including his only double-century, 223 against Kent at Gravesend after Glamorgan had followed on. He captained Glamorgan from 1967 to 1972, taking the county to its second championship in 1969, when Glamorgan went through the season undefeated.

He is the last man to captain England on his Test debut. He led England on a gruelling five-month tour in 1972/73 to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Despite having no Test match experience, Lewis scored 70 not out in his debut Test in Delhi, which guided England to their first Test victory in India since 1951. England lost the next two Tests, but Lewis went on to score his maiden Test hundred (125) in Kanpur. He was nominated Man of the Match in both the Delhi and the Kanpur Tests. He went on to captain England eight times, winning once, losing twice and drawing five times. After the India series, his team went on to draw with Pakistan in a three-Test series. He played in nine Tests. After captaining England in the first 8 of them, he played his last Test in 1973 under Illingworth's captaincy against New Zealand. In the light of his achievements, Lewis was picked as vice captain to Ray Illingworth, when the latter returned from his self-imposed hiatus the following summer. But he played in only one Test in the English season of 1973. Lewis was asked by the selectors to make himself available to lead the England team in the West Indies on the 1973–74 tour, but having had an injury-plagued season in 1973, he declined in order to take up opportunities in writing and broadcasting.

Lewis is one of two England cricket captains to come out of Neath Grammar School, the other being Cyril Walters when he was playing for Worcestershire. Walters was nominated captain for a single Test when R. E. S. Wyatt withdrew at the last moment, and captains were always chosen from the amateurs in the team. Lewis, however, remains the only Glamorgan player to captain England and the only one to lead England on a major Test tour abroad. Lewis and Allan Watkins are the only Glamorgan players who have scored a century in a Test match for England. Lewis, however, was much more than a cricketer.

In 1968 and for three years, he was one of the founding members of the Sports Council for Wales.

Lewis sat on MCC committees from 1967 (Pitches, Cricket and Registration) and on a long succession of MCC and ECB boards and committees, until he founded MCC's World Cricket Committee in 2006 which he chaired until 2011. The MCC invested him with the highest honour it fell within its powers to give a member, that of Honorary Life Vice President, from the date of his retirement from Committees in 2011. He was the thirty-first MCC member to be so honoured. He was MCC's Bi-Centenary President for two years: 1998–2000.

Later career

Lewis also played rugby union for Neath and Gloucester before winning a blue for Cambridge in The Varsity Match in 1959. Chronic knee trouble, which had curtailed his rugby career, meant that Lewis retired from cricket at the age of 34, but writing and broadcasting had always been his main pursuit since 1965, when he began writing rugby union reports for ''The Daily Telegraph''. In 1975 he was appointed Cricket and Rugby correspondent of ''The Sunday Telegraph''. He was a founding member of the Sports Council for Wales in 1968 and put in long service to Glamorgan County Cricket Club as chairman, chairman of cricket followed later as president and trustee. His broadcasting extended from ''Test Match Special'' to the anchor man of all of BBC television's coverage of cricket, from 1975 to 1999, and he was the initial presenter (10 years) of the popular Radio 4 magazine programme, '' Sport on Four''.

After long service to cricket at Lord's – committee work from 1967 to 2011 – he created, and chaired for five years, the MCC World Cricket Committee, from 2006 to 2011, opposing all cricket decisions that were led by money, race or religion. He initiated MCC research into the use of both the white and pink ball in day/nig