Tony Lewis facts for kids

Tony Lewis, born on July 6, 1938, is a famous Welsh former cricketer. He was a captain for the England cricket team. After his cricket career, he became a journalist. Many people knew him as the main presenter for BBC Television's cricket shows from 1986 to 1998. He also became the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), a very important cricket club.

Tony Lewis: Early Life and School Days

Tony Lewis was born in Swansea, Wales. He was the first of two children. His family moved to Neath after the Second World War. His father, Wilfrid Lewis, worked in insurance and then for the government.

Tony went to Gnoll School and Neath Grammar School for Boys. He was very good at playing the violin. He even played first violin for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. Tony also played cricket and rugby for his school. He played cricket for the Welsh Secondary Schools team against England for five years. He was captain for three of those years.

Rugby and University Life

In rugby, Tony played his first professional game for Neath when he was 19. He then played a full season for Gloucester. He also played for the Royal Air Force, Cambridge University, and Pontypool. For cricket, he played for the Royal Air Force and Combined Services.

Tony studied History at Christ's College, Cambridge. He earned both a BA and an MA degree. In his first year at university, he was a "double blue." This means he was excellent in two sports: rugby union and cricket. He was also chosen to lead important sports clubs at Cambridge.

Tony Lewis: A Cricket Star

Tony Lewis started his professional cricket career in 1955. He was only 17 years old. He played for Glamorgan against Leicestershire. At that time, he was still in grammar school. For his first ten years with Glamorgan, he played as an amateur. This meant he wasn't paid for playing.

Becoming a Professional Player

In 1955, he was also chosen as a first violinist for the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. After serving in the Royal Air Force, he became a top cricket player in 1960. In his first year at Christ's College, he scored 1307 runs for Cambridge University. He then scored 616 runs for Glamorgan later that season.

He became captain of Cambridge in 1962. That year, he scored 2188 runs in all matches. He made five centuries, which means he scored 100 runs or more five times. In 1966, he scored over 2000 runs again, making 2190 runs. This included his highest score of 223 runs against Kent. He led Glamorgan from 1967 to 1972. In 1969, he led them to win their second championship without losing a single game.

Captaining England

Tony Lewis is the last person to captain England in his very first Test match. He led England on a long five-month trip in 1972-73. They played in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. He scored 70 runs in his first Test match in Delhi. This helped England win their first Test match in India since 1951.

England lost the next two Test matches. But Tony then scored his first Test century (125 runs) in the Fourth Test in Kanpur. He was named "Man of the Match" in both the Delhi and Kanpur games. He captained England eight times in total. He won once, lost twice, and drew five times. After the India series, his team drew with Pakistan in a three-Test series.

He played in nine Test matches in total. He captained England in the first eight. His last Test match was in 1973 against New Zealand. He was asked to lead the England team in the West Indies in 1973-74. However, he had injuries in 1973 and decided to focus on writing and broadcasting instead.

Special Achievements

Tony Lewis is one of only two England cricket captains from Neath Grammar School. The other was Cyril Walters. Tony is the only Glamorgan player to captain England. He is also the only one to lead England on a big Test tour overseas. Tony Lewis and Allan Watkins are the only Glamorgan players to score a century in a Test match for England.

From 1968, he was a founding member of the Sports Council for Wales for three years. He also served on many important committees for the MCC and ECB. In 2006, he started the MCC's World Cricket Committee. He led this committee until 2011. The MCC made him an Honorary Life Vice President in 2011. He was also the MCC's President for two years, from 1998 to 2000.

Life After Cricket: Broadcasting and Beyond

Tony Lewis also played rugby union for Neath and Gloucester. He earned a "blue" for Cambridge in 1959. He had ongoing knee problems, which ended his rugby career. He retired from cricket at age 34.

A Career in Media

Writing and broadcasting became his main focus from 1965. He started writing rugby reports for The Daily Telegraph. In 1975, he became the cricket and rugby writer for The Sunday Telegraph. He was a founding member of the Sports Council for Wales in 1968. He also served Glamorgan County Cricket Club for a long time as chairman and later as president.

His broadcasting work included Test Match Special. He was the main presenter for all of BBC television's cricket coverage from 1975 to 1999. He was also the first presenter for the popular Radio 4 show, Sport on Four, for ten years.

Leading Cricket Forward

Tony worked for cricket at Lord's from 1967 to 2011. He created and led the MCC World Cricket Committee for five years, from 2006 to 2011. He always spoke out against cricket decisions based on money, race, or religion. He started research into using white and pink balls for day/night Test matches.

As MCC President (1998-2000), he helped allow women to become full members of the club. This happened ten years before the Equality Act 2010 became law. He also led the research for the Television Review System (DRS). In 2011, the MCC gave him their highest honor. They made him the 31st Honorary Life Vice-President.

Helping Wales and Other Roles

Tony used his fame in cricket and broadcasting to help Wales' tourism. As Chairman of the Wales Tourist Board for three terms, he made a big change. He noticed American tourists often skipped Wales when visiting the UK. He pushed for "event-led tourism" in Wales. This quickly led to Wales hosting the Rugby World Cup in 1999.

He also personally led the successful bid for Wales to host the 2010 Ryder Cup for the first time. This major golf event took place at Celtic Manor, Newport, in 2010. He worked as a consultant for the University College of Wales, Newport, for five years. In 2012, he became captain of the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.

Tony served eight years as chairman of the Wales Tourist Board. He was also a member of the British Tourist Authority. For three years, he was Chairman of the Welsh National Opera Company. He was also a founding Trustee of the Wales Millennium Centre.

He was the High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan for 1998. He received the CBE in 2004. This award was for his services to cricket, broadcasting, and Wales. He is also an honorary Fellow at several Welsh universities. These include Cardiff, Swansea, and University of Glamorgan.

Since 2003, Tony has been a consultant for University College of Wales, Newport. He moved back to Porthcawl in 2010. He became Captain of Royal Porthcawl Golf Club and President of Wales for the Lord's Taverners charity. He continues to write, including a weekly column for the Western Mail Magazine since 2015.

In 1962, Tony married Joan Pritchard. They have two daughters, Joanna and Anabel. Both daughters are full members of the MCC. Mrs. Lewis is one of the few lady Honorary Members of the MCC.