Feet moved fractionally, head hardly at all, but the bat swung the ball for six over long leg and they fetched it back from the seats under the gasholder.

Dexter was educated at Norfolk House, Beaconsfield, and Radley College, where he played in the first XI from 1950 to 1953, initially as a wicket-keeper and as captain in 1953, and was nicknamed "Lord Ted" by his coach Ivor Gilliat for his aloof self-confidence.

After an indifferent summer against India the decision to take him to the Caribbean in 1959–60 was much criticised, but "Lord Ted" made his name thrashing the fast bowlers Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith with his powerful drives.

Few hundreds have filled such a yawning gap...Dexter so dominated a stand with Barrington that more than two-thirds of the 161 runs came from his masterful bat before he was stumped trying to lift Simpson's leg-break on to some distant fairway.

Maybe this was the reason he was drawn to horse racing; a dull day stalking the covers might be enlivened for him by thoughts of how his money was faring on the 3:15 at Ascot or Goodwood.

With a weakened team (Fred Trueman and Brian Statham also refused to tour) Dexter beat Pakistan 1–0 but lost to India 2–0,[14] their first series victory over England.

Cowdrey withdrew from the final Gentleman v Players match at Lord's because of kidney stones even though he had been appointed captain, which usually indicated the selectors' intentions.

Dexter was put back in charge (and drew against Fred Trueman's Players), but found another rival in the old Sussex captain the Reverend David Sheppard, who was willing to take a sabbatical from his church mission in the East End in order to tour Australia.

The general opinion was that England had a good batting side, but their bowling was unvaried, would struggle to dismiss Australia and that the tourists would be lucky to avoid another defeat.

In the tour match between the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and an Australian XI Dexter hit 102 in 110 minutes, including 2 sixes and 13 fours.

[21] Dexter continued his good run of form to equal Patsy Hendren's England record of six consecutive Test 50s (85 and 172 against Pakistan and 70, 99, 93 and 52 against Australia), which he soon shared with Ken Barrington and more recently Alastair Cook.

We had a disastrous start, with Charlie Griffith blasting out both our openers very cheaply, and Ted unleashing one of his finest displays of controlled aggression I have ever witnessed.

As captain against Frank Worrell's West Indian cricket team in England in 1963 Dexter was able to loosen up after the Ashes and they played an exciting Test series.

In the second innings Colin Cowdrey came out to bat with a broken arm with victory, defeat or a tie still possible in the last two balls, but David Allen blocked them for a draw.

Dexter took the new ball and gave it to Fred Trueman who bowled a series of bouncers which Peter Burge hooked and pulled to 160, hoisting Australia to 389 and a 7 wicket win.

Although the change made sense as the new batsman Neil Hawke was fragile against fast bowling and Trueman, the greatest wicket-taker in the world at the time, was playing on his home ground Dexter was heavily criticised for a decision which obviously lost the series.

It was the first time that two teams had made 600 runs in an innings in a Test, and their fortunes gripped the cricketing nation, but the inevitable draw meant that Australia retained the Ashes.

His Jaguar car ran out of petrol in west London, and he was pushing it to safety when it pinned him to a warehouse door, breaking his leg.

[28][29][30] He left Sussex and played occasional Sunday games with the International Cavaliers, and made 104 when they defeated the 1966 West Indians by 7 wickets.

Sponsored by a brewery, application forms were sent to pubs to encourage young men, but most were filled in by jokers and drunks and only a few potential candidates were discovered.

These were trained with javelin throwing and other exercises to strengthen their back and arm muscles, but the only bowler in the scheme who played first-class cricket had been signed up by Warwickshire before its inception.

The Ratings steadily gained credibility, and were formally adopted by the International Cricket Council in 2003, and have become the official ICC Player Rankings.

His cause was not helped by the announcement of the Mike Gatting's rebel tour of South Africa in the middle of the series, which removed more than fifteen England players from contention.

In the First Test at Headingley Dexter selected four fast bowlers and no spinners for the team, advised Gower to put Australia in to bat, only to see them make 601/7 and win by 210 runs.

Dexter was a natural one-day player, where his big hitting, tidy bowling, keen fielding and lively captaincy gave Sussex their first two trophies – the inaugural Gillette Cup in 1963 and again in 1964.

She was the daughter of a former Kent cricketer Tom Longfield, whom he met at a party at Cambridge University while still an undergraduate and decided to marry on sight.

[28][46] In Australia in 1962–1963 he played a foursome with Norman Von Nida, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player (with Colin Cowdrey as his caddy) and they offered to take him to America to become a tournament golfer, but Dexter declined.

[50] Dexter launched his own PR company, which ran for many years and briefly became a television cricket commentator, alongside Richie Benaud and Denis Compton.

He carried a then rare portable television to watch races in cricket dressing rooms and once declared a Sussex innings from Brighton Racecourse.

He co-wrote with Clifford Makins the crime novel Testkill (1976) where an Australian bowler is murdered during play at a Test match against England at Lord's.