Talk:Ted Dexter

Portable television etc.

I think it 's worth saying that the fact of the portable television appears to have come from an article which Dexter complained about as being inaccurate;

http://teddexter.com/blog/index.php?/archives/65-Complaint-to-MCC-Magazine.html

Meltingpot (talk) 20:26, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

Cricketer-politician?

I think the cat is inappropriate as the only politics he seems to be involved with is the cricketing board politics. If he had political interests beyond this, it should be mentioned in the article. --Gurubrahma 06:58, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

He stood in the 1964 elections and lost badly to James Callaghan . But afaik, that is the only time he tried his hand in politics. Tintin (talk) 07:10, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Melbourne Hit

The claim that he hit a ball out of the MCG is pure rubbish. Anyone who knows the dimesions of the ground will know that it's impossible. And on another topic, in 1962, the capacity of the ground was about 100k, not 120k. It was increased in the late 60's to about 120k, but about 30k of that would be standing room only for football crowds. The MCG has never been a 120,000 all-seat stadium. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.68.173.195 (talk) 14:45, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

I have two sources that say that he did hit Vievers out of the MCG in the MCC-Australian match, do you have any to say that he did not? Philipjelley (talk) 15:48, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Well, one of the references cited is from 1951, clearly before the event, so it doesn't count. The other source is Frith, who wrote in The Slow Men (published 1984, ISBN 0 7255 1540 6, p159) that Tom Veivers bowled "One flighted ball at Melbourne - not in a Test match - [that] was picked up so beautifully on the drive by Ted Dexter that oldtimers felt it was the best hit ever seen there." Now that's not hitting it out of the ground. Of course, if it didn't happen, then how would you find a ref that states so? You seem to have confused a big hit over the sightscreen with the ball going out of the ground. Any six at the MCG (on the shortest boundary, straight hit) needed a carry of at least 85-90 metres in the days before roped boundaries. A hit out of the ground would need to go almost twice that with an elevation to carry the height of a six storey building. You need to provide a direct quotation from a reliable source and include page no. etc. Further on, the article states: "As a batsman he could leave the hands of the fielders team bruised and reddened with his powerful drives and cuts and was one of the few to have hit a six out of the Melbourne Cricket Ground." Apart from being an unsourced opinion and unencyclopedic, the question is "Who are the few?" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.68.189.132 (talk) 05:01, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

The reference from 1951 refers to the impossibility of hitting a six out of the MCG. I have failed to find anyone else who has hit such a six, but was reluctant to say that Dexter was the only man to do it. The direct quotes are "There was a drive off Vievers which sent the ball soaring over the sightboard" by Johhny Moyes and "Naturally the 1962-63 tour by MCC produced memorable moments, such as this huge hit out of the Melbourne confines by Dexter off Australian XI bowler Veivers" by Colin Frith. Ted Dexter and Richie Benuad both wrote book on the series, which might shed more light on the matter. Incidentally on the same tour Dexter hit a ball onto the roof of the memnbers stand at the Adelaide Oval. Moyes wrote "Dexter closed the innings. He himself hit 37 runs, including a six from a gigantic hit onto the roof of the stand - one of the biggest hits ever seen at the ground." and Goodman (who completed Moyes's book after his untimely death) "Batting against South Australia, he lifted the ball onto the high roof of the members stand - a tremendous hit.". Philipjelley (talk) 10:29, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Wikitonary provides the following definitions for the word confines: "1. the borders or limits of an area; 2. elements that restrain one; 3. the scope or range of a subject." which can be taken to mean, in a cricketing context, the boundary. So, after claiming two sources, all you have is a quote saying Dexter hit a ball out of the confines of the MCG, ie. the boundary. This calls your scholarship into question, particularly after wrongly saying David Frith is Colin Frith (no such person). David Frith is probably the most prolific author in the cricket-sphere. I have looked around WP & noticed you have placed this claim for Dexter in a number of other articles. Your technique seems to be to write a large slab of text, with considerable amounts of NPOV language & opinions inserted, and then put a couple of refs at the end, which makes it impossible to verify them as RS, but pass casual scrutiny for unreferenced facts. I repeat: the claim that Dexter hit a ball out of the MCG is rubbish. What he did at Adelaide is irrelevant. Address the point please.

"Confine" is not a cricketing term - I have not seen it elsewhere - and it could mean over the boundary or out of the ground. Incidentally, who wrote the above text? It was left unsigned. I have returned the paragraph you object to above, so that others may know what we are discussing. As far as I am currently aware I think that confines means out of the ground and another thinks it does not. I have yet to find a a book that states where the ball landed, so there we are. I have amended the text to direct quotations from the authors and the ready may decide. I am sorry if you find that so objectional. [User:Philipjelley|Philipjelley]] (talk) 20:41, 15 December 2011 (UTC)

I do not believe that Dexter's six off Veivers was a hit "out of the MCG." Benaud's book on that 1962-63 summer Spin Me A Spinner discusses the Australian XI match on pages 23 and 24. There is no reference to any specific hit made by Dexter.

The match report published in The Times issue of 10 November 1962 page 3 does however have specific comment on it. Part of John Woodcock's report reads as follows: "I doubt if it is possible to hit a cricket ball any harder than Dexter did today. Melbourne is a huge ground and no one who hits a six here is likely to forget it. Against Veivers, an off-spinner, Dexter twice cleared the sight screen, once by a good 20 yards."RossRSmith (talk) 12:41, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, that clears that up. I'll use the above and delete the David Frith quotation as it is open to misinterpretation.Philipjelley (talk) 16:53, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

References