Fans applaud Dexter exit as England lose another Test
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.TED DEXTER, the chairman of the England cricket selectors, resigned yesterday as the team suffered their ninth defeat in 10 matches.
The news was released during the closing stages of England's eight-wicket defeat by Australia in the fifth Test at Edgbaston and prompted a bizarre final scene to end Dexter's unhappy period as chairman. As the news was relayed on Radio 3's Test Match Special the crowd of about 1,000 - many of whom were listening to the commentary - broke into a round of spontaneous applause.
This brought mystified looks from the players and officials, and play was momentarily held up until the noise died down. Enlightenment came 45 minutes later from the public address announcer, who said: 'For those of you wondering what that round of a applause was, it was to mark the resignation of Ted Dexter.' The players were were given the news officially during the lunch interval.
The result put Australia 4-0 ahead in the series, to give England a record of having won nine and lost 21 of their 44 matches under his chairmanship. Dexter, 58, will step down as chairman of the England cricket committee in three weeks, six months early. He will be in charge of selection for the final Test, which starts in a fortnight.
As well as having to carry the can for England's run of poor results, Dexter's public image has been tarnished by his habit of making foolish statements, most recently regarding Micky Stewart's support of his son Alec during the selection process for a new captain.
A successor will be appointed after the specification of Dexter's job has been re-examined.
Mark Lawson, page 16
Lunar tunes, page 28
Air of resignation, page 30
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments