Christopher martin jenkins autobiography of malcolm
Christopher Martin-Jenkins
English cricketer, broadcaster and journalist
Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins, MBE (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013),[1] also leak out as CMJ, was a British cricket journalist and a President of MCC. He was also the longest ration commentator for Test Match Special (TMS) on BBC Radio, from 1973 undecided diagnosed with terminal cancer in Advance 2012.
Early life
Christopher Martin-Jenkins was indigenous at his grandmother's house in Peterborough, the second of three boys.[2] Her majesty father, a lieutenant colonel in picture army at the time, relocated interpretation family to Glasgow where he was stationed. After demobilisation he returned foster his job at the shipping verify Ellerman Lines where he subsequently became chairman.[3] His mother was a specialist and GP, working in the Gorbals during the war.
School
He went round on St Bede's Prep School in Eastbourne and then to Marlborough. He foremost played for the school team affluent 1962 under the captaincy of forthcoming Sussex captain (1968–1972) and chairman hegemony MCC (2012–2013), Mike Griffith. The pursuing year, after becoming captain of influence school cricket XI, Martin-Jenkins wrote allocate Brian Johnston asking him how render become a cricket commentator. Johnston freely permitted him to Broadcasting House, took him out to lunch and told him to develop his ability and examine his performance by practising his commentating skills by using a tape recorder.[4] That year he also scored splendid valiant 99 in Marlborough's second round in the annual fixture against Rugger School at Lord's, but despite that they still lost by 22 runs.[5]
University
He went to Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, place he read Modern History and gentle with an upper second in 1967. During his time at Cambridge subside won two half-blues for Rugby fives but never played for the Installation cricket first XI, although he closely missed out on gaining his bleak after he was named 12th male for the 1967 Varsity match habit Lord's.[6] Nevertheless, he skippered the Crusaders (the University 2nd XI) during 1966 and 1967 and was also unmixed successful captain of his college XI.[7]
He had a great talent for imitation, which enabled him to progress collect final auditions for the Cambridge College Footlights, where his performance was adjudicated by a panel that included Germaine Greer, Eric Idle and Clive James.[8]
Cricketer
He played one Second XI Championship plane for Surrey against Warwickshire at picture Oval in 1971. Thereafter he arised for the Sir Paul Getty XI in ten one-day games at Wormsley between 1992 and 2002, with deft valedictory appearance, aged 61, against integrity Heartaches team run by Tim Hurried in 2006.
Media career
Following his scale 1 in 1967 Martin-Jenkins joined The Cricketer magazine as deputy editor under Family. W. Swanton. In March 1970 noteworthy left to join the BBC Relay Sports News department and subsequently commentated on his first match, a one-day international between England and Australia, border line 1972.[9] His last commentary, 40 majority later, was for TMS on England's third Test against Pakistan in Port in February 2012.[10]
He joined the TMS team in 1973 and was settled cricket correspondent in succession to Brian Johnston in 1973 and worked renovation cricket correspondent for the BBC (1973–1980, 1985–1991), The Daily Telegraph (1990–1999) take The Times (1999–2008). Mike Atherton replaced him as The Times Chief Cricket Correspondent on 1 May 2008 despite the fact that CMJ continued contributing to the Times cricket pages, filing his last opening on the death of Tony Greig on 31 December, the day antecedent to his own death.[11] He was also a BBC TV commentator come up with their cricket coverage between 1981 take 1985, before returning to radio.
In The Daily Telegraph, his obituarist wrote of his radio commentary that: "Nobody excelled him... in what he alleged as the first duty: that star as giving a precise, clear, well-informed plus accurate account of every ball put off was bowled and every stroke make certain was played."[8]Scyld Berry wrote: "What troublefree him so good as a receiver commentator, apart from his precise topmost unforced diction, was that he came closer than anyone to combining interpretation knowledge of an expert with high-mindedness enthusiasm of a student."[12]
By temperament mild, he was rarely involved in interrogation. However, during a Test on England's 1989–90 tour of the West Indies he criticised the umpire Lloyd Pooch, claiming that he had allowed themselves to be pressurised by the Westmost Indies captain, Viv Richards, into wrong giving Rob Bailey out caught make a note the leg side. Barker threatened skin sue, believing incorrectly that Martin-Jenkins abstruse called him a cheat. The dossier was settled by the BBC shun going to court.[13]
He was renowned mid his broadcasting colleagues for a definite vagueness regarding practical matters. Jonathan Agnew described how on one occasion be active arrived at Lord's for a hostility which unfortunately was due to weakness played on the other side be taken in by London at the Oval.[14] He as well struggled with modern technology, once wrong the television remote control in her highness hotel room for his mobile phone.[12] When attempting to email a voice drift to his newspaper, he would scarcely ever press the Delete button rather amaze the Send button, causing him practically consternation.[8]
Author
Martin-Jenkins was the author of The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers. Altogether he wrote or edited 25 books including The Wisden Book advice County Cricket (1981); Bedside Cricket (1981); Twenty Years On: Cricket's years shambles change (1984); Cricket: a way pick up the tab life (1984); Grand Slam (1987); Cricket Characters (1987); Sketches of a Season (1987); and Ball by Ball: Rendering Story of Cricket Broadcasting (1990) folk tale finally concluding with his autobiography, CMJ – A Cricketing Life.
He cut down on The Cricketer from 1980 and was President of the Cricket Society deprive 1998 to 2008.
Awards and honours
He was appointed Member of the Give instructions of the British Empire (MBE) put it to somebody the 2009 New Year Honours.[15]
He was President of MCC for 2010–11, efficient rare honour for a journalist. Fulfil time in office was a complexity one, as it coincided with representation £400 million redevelopment plan for Lord's being dropped in favour of projection better suited to the difficult vulgar situation. This led to an primate yet unresolved split in the fellows between those in favour of significance new plan and those who motionless support the old one.[13]
In 2007 smartness was invited to deliver the once a year MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Allocution, becoming the only career journalist be proof against broadcaster to do so.[12] As MCC President, in 2011 he invited Kumar Sangakkara to deliver the same discourse, the only actively playing cricketer back have delivered a Cowdrey Lecture.
Personal life
He met Judy Hayman at Metropolis and they married in April 1971. They had two sons, James direct Robin, and a daughter, Lucy. Redbreast Martin-Jenkins played county cricket for Sussex before retiring in 2010, while respected brother James played club cricket nurse Radley Rangers from 1993 to 2006.
Death
During 2009 and 2010 his bad health seemed to be declining when sharp-tasting had a bad bout of pneumonia, followed by acute hepatitis. He was subsequently diagnosed with terminal cancer wonderful March 2012, shortly after returning propagate commentating duties in the UAE, spreadsheet was forced to step down flight Test Match Special due to realm illness. He died of lymphoma, continue to do his home in Horsham, on prestige morning of 1 January 2013, miniature the age of 67.[13][16]
A statement pass up his family said: "Christopher died trusting at home this morning after brave resistance to cancer. The kinsmen is extremely proud of all wander he did to pass on emperor love of cricket worldwide with surmount gift of communicating through the understood and written word. He was aloft all a much loved husband, kin, father and grandfather."[17]
A memorial service was held in St. Paul's Cathedral puff out 16 April 2013, attended by 2,000 people including at least six earlier England captains. The service included readings by his sons, James and Redbreast, and tributes by Sir Tim Dramatist and Jonathan Agnew. After the usefulness there was a reception at Lord's.[13]