Christopher Martin-Jenkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Christopher Martin-Jenkins
|
|
|---|---|
Martin-Jenkins at the Adelaide Oval, during the England tour of Australia in 2006–07
|
|
| Born |
Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins
20 January 1945 Peterborough, England
|
| Died | 1 January 2013 (aged 67) Rudgwick, West Sussex, England
|
| Nationality | British |
| Other names |
|
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Cricket journalist and broadcaster |
| Years active | 1967–2012 |
| Known for |
|
Christopher Martin-Jenkins, often called CMJ, was a famous British cricket journalist and radio commentator. He was also the president of the MCC, a very important cricket club. He worked for BBC Radio's Test Match Special (TMS) for a very long time, starting in 1973. He was a much-loved voice in cricket until he became ill in 2012. He lived from January 20, 1945, to January 1, 2013.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Christopher Martin-Jenkins was born in Peterborough, England. He was the second of three brothers. His family moved around a bit because his father was in the army. Later, his father worked at a shipping company. His mother was a doctor.
He went to St Bede's prep school and then to Marlborough College. He started playing for the school cricket team in 1962. The next year, he became the captain of the school team. He even wrote to famous commentator Brian Johnston to ask for advice on becoming a cricket commentator. Johnston invited him to the BBC and told him to practice his commentating skills using a tape recorder.
University and Cricket Dreams
CMJ went to Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge. He studied Modern History there. He was good at sports and won awards for Rugby fives, which is a bit like squash.
Even though he was a keen cricketer, he didn't play for the main University cricket team. However, he was the captain of the University's second team, called the Crusaders. He also led his college team very successfully.
He had a special talent for copying voices and actions, which is called mimicry. He even tried out for the famous Cambridge University Footlights comedy group.
Playing Cricket
Christopher Martin-Jenkins played one professional-level match for Surrey in 1971. Later, he played in some friendly one-day games for a team called the Sir Paul Getty XI. He even played his last game at the age of 61!
A Career in Media
After finishing university in 1967, CMJ started working for The Cricketer magazine. In 1970, he joined the BBC Radio Sports News team. He did his first cricket commentary in 1972 for a match between England and Australia. His last commentary was 40 years later, in 2012.
He joined the Test Match Special (TMS) team in 1973. He became the main cricket reporter for the BBC, and later for newspapers like The Daily Telegraph and The Times. He also worked as a BBC TV commentator for a few years before going back to radio.
People loved his radio commentary. One writer said that "Nobody excelled him... in what he regarded as the first duty: that of giving a precise, clear, well-informed and accurate account of every ball that was bowled and every stroke that was played." Another said he was great because he combined the knowledge of an expert with the excitement of a student.
CMJ was known for being a bit vague about everyday things. His colleague Jonathan Agnew once told a funny story about him arriving at the wrong cricket ground for a match! He also found modern technology tricky, sometimes pressing the wrong buttons on his phone or computer.
Author and Cricket Leader
Martin-Jenkins wrote or edited 25 books about cricket. One of his most famous books was The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers. He also wrote his own life story, called CMJ – A Cricketing Life.
He was also the editor of The Cricketer magazine for a time. He was the President of the Cricket Society for ten years.
Awards and Special Honours
In 2009, Christopher Martin-Jenkins was given an award called Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to cricket.
He became the President of the MCC for 2010–11. This was a very special honour for a journalist. During his time as president, he invited Kumar Sangakkara, a famous cricketer, to give the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture. This was special because Sangakkara was still actively playing cricket at the time.
Family Life
CMJ met his wife, Judy Hayman, at Cambridge University. They got married in 1971 and had two sons, James and Robin, and a daughter, Lucy. His son Robin Martin-Jenkins even played county cricket for Sussex.
His Final Years
In 2012, Christopher Martin-Jenkins was diagnosed with cancer. He had to stop his commentating work for Test Match Special because of his illness. He passed away peacefully at his home on January 1, 2013, at the age of 67.
His family said they were very proud of how he shared his love of cricket with the world through his words. A special memorial service was held for him at St Paul's Cathedral in London, where many people, including famous cricketers, came to remember him.
See also
In Spanish: Christopher Martin-Jenkins para niños
