Guest Speaker: Alastair Lack
- The Hambledon Club
- Oct 29, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Apr 1
Alastair Lack will be our guest speaker on Saturday, 26TH APRIL, 2025.
Alastair Lack was born in December 1944 and educated at Whitgift School and University College, Oxford where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics and then Modern History. Post Oxford, he taught at Scindia School in Madhya Pradesh in India and worked in publishing in New York.
In 1971 he joined the BBC and subsequently worked as a producer on Radio 4 and as a Further Education producer in Television. But almost all of his more than twenty-seven years with the BBC were spent at the World Service, where he travelled widely. In that time he was a presenter, producer, editor and manager for a broad range of programmes, from international current affairs through sport and education to music and the arts. He worked in many countries – from South America to South Africa, from Canada to Australia, and met many leading politicians and personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher and Alistair Cooke. His final position was Head of English Programmes and a member of the World Service Board of Management.
Following his retirement from the BBC, he was Secretary of the Oxford University Society, the organisation that creates and supports over three hundred alumni groups of Oxonians worldwide. He has worked on events and projects with his old college, University College, was the The Secretary of the Oxfordshire branch of the OUS and in 2011 was made a Distinguished Friend of the University of Oxford.
He is now an official guide for the city of Oxford, a writer and contributor to university magazines such as Oxford Today and involved widely in Oxford life, both for Town and Gown. He is a life member of the Oxford Preservation Trust and involved with the Oxford literary festival and the annual University Alumni week-end.
In the world of cricket, he has been Chairman of the MCC Arts and Library committee and a member of both the main MCC Committee and the Publishing sub-committee. He is also a long standing member of The Bushmen cricket and dining club, having been a past President and captain of the club.
His other interests embrace history, politics, literature, architecture and the visual arts.
Cricket All My Life: Down Memory Lane – Alastair Lack
It is a great pleasure to be here once again, and I hope you will indulge me as I recount my lifelong relationship with cricket. Although we have just discussed the future of the sport, I will not dwell on “whither cricket”, as it is anyone’s guess where it will be in twelve months’ time; instead, I have entitled my talk “Cricket All My Life: Down Memory Lane.” I hope that, as I reminisce, you may recall some treasured moments from your own cricketing experiences.
Early Beginnings
My journey began at Miss Singleton’s, a dame’s school in Croydon, which I attended with my two brothers. The school had a tennis court, and one day, when I was about eight, the net was taken down and a gentleman appeared with a bat and some balls. We weren’t so naïve as to not realise this was cricket. At that time, cricket was arguably the national game - at least until England’s World Cup football victory in 1966.
I subsequently attended a keen prep school where cricket was played with great enthusiasm. Even seventy years later, I have a photograph from those days and still feel a certain grievance that while we played competitive matches against other prep schools, in the school magazine we were referred to as the “Cricket Club”, as if we were merely a group that occasionally agreed to play. In reality, we were determined to beat all the other local prep schools.
School Cricket and Influential Coaches
My next school has since become renowned for producing several Test players, including Jamie Smith, Jason Roy - now playing in the United States - and the rather weird opening English combination, reminds me of Marshall and Snellgrove - simply Sibley and Burns – but I hesitate to say it was among England’s finest opening partnerships. During my time, we were not quite as accomplished, but there were two notable individuals in charge. One played half a dozen first-class matches and ended up, much to his chagrin, as 12th man at Oxford in the Varsity match, which was considered more important in 1954 than today.
Our coach, Eddie Watts, was a promising bowler before the Second World War interrupted his career for six years. Upon resuming in 1946 and 1947, he was past his best. He had been invited to join a tour to India, but the war prevented it. Eddie Watts was a charming man and adhered to the principle of “less is more.” He would stand behind you in the nets, and if you executed a good forward defensive shot, he would shout “page one” as congratulations. If you botched a leg sweep, it was “400, not to be published.” It was a very happy period. (Editor: Eddie Watts, Surrey, 1933-49, took 729 first-class wickets at 26.06.)
University Cricket
After school, I went to Oxford, to University College, which traditionally had a strong cricketing reputation. Among its alumni was Tip Foster, who famously scored 287 on his England debut in Australia and, I believe, was the only person to have captained England in both cricket and football. More recently, Clive van Ryneveld played college and Test cricket. By the time I arrived in the mid-1960s, cricket’s popularity had waned, so I became captain. Having always been a bowler, I was compelled to become an opening batsman, sort of the ‘Boycott’ of the team, since if I didn’t stay at the crease, no one else would. The ground and pitch were so good that I began to feel that opening was rather easy, forgetting how favourable the conditions were.
I enjoyed cricket not only in the UK but in one or two other countries as well. Our college team toured Denmark, where the hospitality was remarkable. After a Friday night of barbeques and schnapps, we played against a fit team the next day—none of whom had attended the previous night’s festivities. Danish radio mistakenly thought we represented the full Oxford University team and for the first and last time, I was accompanied to the centre by a broadcaster, who interviewed me on my approach to the game. It was the only time national media took an interest in my play.
Teaching in India and Cricket Abroad
After leaving Oxford, I spent a year teaching at Scindia School in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. A friend there turned out to be the Maharaja of Gwalior, a true cricket enthusiast. He would invite half the Indian cricket team to his palace for weekends, and they would have nets. I had the pleasure of bowling at some very talented Test batsmen. I remember Hanumant Singh who scored a Test debut century for India.
The coldest match I played was in Scotland, which convinced me never to play cricket there again - it was unbearably chilly; how cricket survives in Scotland remains a mystery to me. Perhaps the most unusual experience was in Hanoi, Vietnam, where we played on a Vietnamese Air Force ground. Michael Palin and his film crew happened to be in town and filmed the day but the match ended abruptly when the manager of the ground, unaware of our game, suspected we might be terrorists. Despite the confusion, it was a memorable day, and the English captain summed it up perfectly: “Our slips once caught their ball; caught their catches.”
Retirement from Playing
After fifty years, I finally retired from playing cricket with two umpires in white, twenty-two players, and a good pitch. In one of my later matches, as I was hit all over the ground, I felt much as Jock Cameron, the South African wicketkeeper once said to a spinner: “Well done, you’ve got the batsman in two minds. They don’t know whether to hit you for four or for six.” That summed up my experience, and so I called it a day.
Memorable Matches and Cricket Moments
Watching cricket has brought me immense pleasure. My earliest memory is from 1953, age eight, during a holiday, was when England were about to win the Ashes, my brother and I were called in to watch the television and I saw the last over—Compton and Edrich batting, Hasset bowling—and the pitch was engulfed with ecstatic supporters. It was the first time I watched cricket on television or a Test match. I attended a Test match in person at the Oval in 1955, which was not particularly exciting. In those days, as a young lad, you could sit beyond the boundary, and collect cushions and have fights without interference. In that match there was another unlikely opening partnership – Ikin and Close and I became a junior member at Surrey with my brothers, witnessing the team’s dominance from 1952 to 1957, and at the Oval I never saw Surrey beaten.
Surrey often restricted the opposition to a modest target, then handed over to Laker and Locke, who would win the match, aided by superb fielding. Eventually, Yorkshire claimed the title in 1959. I distinctly remember Peter May, batting on his back foot, hitting a six into the pavilion - a difficult feat against a fast bowler.
Highlights at Lord’s and MCC Involvement
This year marks my fiftieth as a member of Lord’s and the MCC and I wish to share a few vivid memories:
Sobers, 1966: He shared a remarkable partnership with David Holford. England were told to go easy as the Queen was coming to meet the teams at tea, but Sobers batted like a dream. Jim Swanton remarked that playing Sobers was like playing a team of thirteen—he excelled as a batsman, fast opening bowler, spinner, and close fielder.
Bob Massey: I was lucky to see him take one of his eight wickets and, in the next innings, a total of sixteen wickets. For the first time in my memory at Lord’s, the crowd applauded him as he returned to fielding after bowling. Strangely, he played only six more Tests.
Graham Gooch: Against India, Gooch was on 299 in the final over before tea, and the tension was immense. But he played defensively, waited until after tea, and then finally reached his 300 runs. And almost his opposite was:
David Gower: The great left-handed batsman. After buzzing the Test ground in a vintage plane, Gooch the captain took a dim view of that and he was dropped, so when he returned to Lord’s there was a point to prove and he batted beautifully, scoring 57 off 62 balls—a rare achievement forty years ago.
World Cup Final, 2019: I was in the front of the pavilion for the famous New Zealand match, described by Joe Root as the greatest cricket game ever. The match ended with a super over, and Stokes made a vital 84 not out. Boult, the New Zealand fielder, sportingly declared a six after his foot touched the rope, just in front of where I was sitting. The game had two winners: England, and New Zealand, who won everyone’s sympathy for their sportsmanship.
I have kept a handwritten record of that match in my study and still look at it occasionally. Strangely, the game was not always exciting, but the last hour was truly exceptional.
Committee Work and Heritage
I served five or six years on the main committee of the MCC, about 14 times a year, receiving copious papers; sometimes so many that the ‘postie’ couldn’t deliver them - Alec Douglas-Home, once Foreign Secretary in the Ted Heath government and President of MCC commented that the MCC provided much more ‘bumf’ to read than the Foreign Office. At my first meeting, the chairman unexpectedly called on me for my opinion, and I was greeted by the curious gaze of four England captains (Brearley, Lewis, Stewart and Gatting) and despite not knowing me they were always pleasant. I felt most at home on the arts and library committee, now the Heritage Committee, with John Woodcock a much-loved member. He congratulated me on joining and declared it the best committee at the MCC.
We commissioned portraits of great cricketers, when I was there, Glen McGrath and Viv Richards. McGrath’s portrait was painted shortly after his wife died, he was quite melancholic and the artist captured both his greatness and his inner life. We purchased books and works of art, though it became harder as wealthy hedge fund managers, passionate about cricket, sometimes outbid the MCC. We negotiated to borrow artworks, giving them back when requested. I successfully convinced the committee to buy a Lowry cricket painting, despite costing quite a bit. There were criticisms but I argued that in fifty years’ time, we would regret letting it slip away and just about won the argument.
Adam Chadwick, our wonderful curator, has since moved to Wimbledon to enhance their tennis collection. I also contributed to the MCC archive, interviewing former cricketers. Four examples stood out:
Sam Loxton: A member of the 1948 Australian ‘Invincibles’, was terrific - outspoken and full of stories and explained why it was hard to get into the side, it was also difficult to get out of the team, as Bradman preferred to keep familiar faces around.
‘Bert’ Robinson: The pro at Radley College, who coached around twenty first-class players. He surprised me by stating that Andrew Strauss was a better captain than Ted Dexter. (Robinson, Northants & Glamorgan – Radley Coach 1949-2006).
Ted Dexter: I met over tea at Sunningdale and asked him were the best batsman, fast bowler and slow bowler he ever saw and he replied without hesitation: Graham Pollock, the best batsman despite many years lost due to South Africa’s apartheid era. Dennis Lillie his best fast bowler, and Jim Laker his best slow bowler, - he always bowled perfectly to forward short leg.
Alan Smith: Instantly declared Shane Warne as the best bowler he had seen, “by a country mile.”
The Future of Cricket
I sincerely hope that Red Ball cricket has a future and that the balance between Red and White Ball cricket can be sorted out. The franchising of The Hundred is underway, with Lord’s holding 51% as a host venue plus significant investment from American and Indian interests—it went for £295 million. Times are changing, but I hope the county championship will continue. – it is a delight in visiting not only Lord’s but also Cheltenham Cricket Week, Worcester, and Rugby—the latter with its picturesque setting against the school.
John Arlott famously said cricket always reflects English society. I have just finished reading Lampedusa’s The Leopard, recording great changes in Italian society and I was struck by the idea in there, “to keep things the same, you’ve got to allow things to change.” That is my view of cricket - change is inevitable, but I hope the traditions I love will not be lost, even in an era of £295 million franchises.
Thank you for indulging my reminiscence. I hope it has stirred some memories for you as well.
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