Keith Andrew
Wisden's obituary for Keith Andrew
15-Apr-2011
ANDREW, KEITH VINCENT, who died on December 27, 2010, aged 81, was recognised
for most of his career as the best wicketkeeper in England. This was stated so often in the
1950s and 1960s by small boys and distant newspaper readers that it came to seem more
like a proven fact than a matter of opinion. Nonetheless, it was believed by the best judges.
too. "Keith was my schoolboy hero," said Bob Taylor, before pausing. "No, that's not
right. Godfrey Evans was my schoolboy hero. When I became a pro, I changed my
allegiances." However, Andrew played two Tests to Evans's 91. Beyond question, Evans
was a far better batsman (first-class career average 21 v 13), but the undemonstrative style
that made Andrew so much admired was a drawback in catching selectors' eyes. He also
suffered from the unfortunate circumstances of his Test debut and, perhaps, because he
played for put-upon Northamptonshire. But he had a remarkable career as keeper, captain
and pioneering coach and, throughout, was one of the most admired and best-loved men
in cricket.
An only child, abandoned by his father, Andrew was spotted in a school playground in
Oldham and began keeping wicket for Oldham Boys when the previous incumbent was
injured. He played in the Central Lancashire League for Werneth, and in 1949 made a
brilliant stumping off the Australian George Tribe, then pro-ing for Milnrow, to dismiss
Winston Place in a League representative match against Lancashire. This was to prove
highly significant four years later, after Andrew had completed National Service, when
Northamptonshire were looking for someone to keep to Tribe, their almost unreadable
new signing. He was to make another important stumping, Ian Craig off Freddie Brown,
in his first major appearance for the county, against the Australians in 1953. More
characteristic was his ball-by-ball competence and, when he qualified and became the
county's regular No. 1 the following year, he won immediate admiration.
Brown had just retired both as Northamptonshire captain and chairman of the Test
selectors, but still had influence at Lord's, which may explain why both Andrew and his
team-mate Frank Tyson became shock selections for the 1954-55 Ashes tour before they
had even completed their first full season. Tyson came back from Australia a star. For
Andrew, chosen as reserve to Godfrey Evans, it was a different story. He got married in
the short gap between the end of the season and setting sail, leaving his bride for six
months. The captain, Len Hutton, was obviously baffled by his presence, which would not
have mattered had not Evans fallen ill on the eve of the First Test at the Gabba. Hutton put
Australia in, and in the third over Arthur Morris offered a hard chance off the inside edge
- no more than a quarter-chance, according to many observers - which Andrew failed to
take. Morris scored 153, Australia passed 600, the England fielding became woefully
ragged, they lost by an innings, and Hutton needed a scapegoat. Most accounts suggest
Andrew kept well, but the nervous novice did not have Evans's cheerleading qualities, and
his moment in the sun was over. "Neat and efficient in an ordinary way," sniffed Wisden
as he returned to the county circuit.
But as the years passed, his reputation grew for being neat and efficient in an
extraordinary way. "He made it look so easy, just used to catch the ball and send it back,"
said Bob Taylor, who quickly acquired a pair of Andrew's comfy Australian gloves, with
no webbing. "I remember Keith standing up to Brian Crump, who was a nippy little
skidder, and he would take it with no trouble at all time after time. That's the hard part,
standing up, and he was the master." "I can't ever remember Keith diving," said his county
colleague Jim Watts. "He didn't dive. He anticipated." But over the next nine years half
the keepers in England got a turn as Evans's deputy or successor before Andrew returned
to the Test team. He was chosen at Old Trafford in 1963, a reaction to the scrappiness in
the field that had cost England the Ashes the previous winter. England were outmatched
by West Indies and, though Andrew was his usual unruffled self, with nine years' more
experience, and also proved a sturdy nightwatchman, England rapidly returned to the
comfort of Jim Parks at No. 7 rather than Andrew at 10, and to hell with the purists.
So Andrew went back to Northampton, where no one had to be impressed. In 1962, he
had become county captain, leading a team on the way up again, and he did an outstanding,if idiosyncratic, job. The young players thought he was dotty, forgetting their names,making bizarre bowling changes. Batsmen were often bewildered as he muttered from behind the stumps: "You don't want to play this fella from the crease," David Lloyd
recalled him saying, "you need to get down the wicket." Another stumping, thank you. He
could indeed be a bit vague, but it was mostly an act. Instinctively he was a touch defensive (Watts credits him with inventing short third man as a run-saving position). And he
thought of everything, including probability theory when related to the toss - and the
players' feelings. In 1965 he took the county agonisingly close to the Championship. And
all the while his keeping never wavered: he had an eight-match spell that summer when
opponents scored more than 2,000 runs without a bye. He retired a year later and moved
into coaching. Freddie Brown pushed him to take charge of the north in the embryonic
national coaching set-up, and Andrew then became a key figure at Lord's for 15 years,
first as national director of coaching and then as chief executive of the National Cricket
Association until 1994. He was a devoted, beloved figure in coaching; less predictably, he
was also an incisive administrator. His marriage, after its unpromising start, was long and
loving, and Keith and Joyce's son Neale became a successful sculptor. And always he
believed - article of faith No. 1 - that England should pick the best wicketkeeper without
thinking of his batting.