Captaincy Style and Popularity
...he strolled in with an open-necked shirt, a white linen jacket which appeared to have been slept in for a week and a carry-cot containing a slumbering junior member of the Smith dynasty. Apparently Mrs Smith had gone shopping and M.J.K. was left holding the baby. Despite an Oxford education his accent was utterly classless and between questions to which he appeared to be paying no attention whatever, he applied himself to solving the crossword in the latest Times to arrive from Britain. "Good heavens", growled one of Australia's senior cricket correspondents, "what have we here?" What we all had on that tour was the affable companionship of one of the most popular England captains ever to tour anywhere. It never occurred to him to leave the baby, let alone his wife, at home while he led the fight for the Ashes.
- Ian Wooldridge
Unlike his predecessors Len Hutton, Peter May and Ted Dexter Smith rode '...the side with a loose rein, believing it knew where it was going and need only an occasional tug to keep it on the right course. I think most players appreciated this and his openness as a person brought a better response on the field.' He thought that any bowler good enough to play for England knew what field suited him best, and generally let his men play in their own style, though this resulted in slow over rates as he did not chivvy them along. Even the truculent fast bowler John Snow '...thought he was very astute in his handling of players...' and recalled '...Mike Smith adding a few words of congratulations in his thoroughly open, absent-minded-professor sort of way'. E.W. Swanton reported that 'Smith, though outwardly unconventional and in manner casual to a degree, succeeds as a captain for the conventional reasons. He is thoughtful for his players, unselfish, does not 'fuss' them or panic, shows a grasp of the situation which they deem generally sensible, and not least gives an inspiring personal lead in the field'.
Read more about this topic: M. J. K. Smith
Famous quotes containing the words style and/or popularity:
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