Name:

Lewis, Anthony Robert

Nickname:

Tony

Date of Birth:

06 Jul 1938

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Swansea, Wales

Career:

Test: 1972 - 1973

Teams:

Glamorgan (Regional)
England (Country)

Shaun Pollock - 'Duckworth and Lewis aren't on my Christmas card list yet'

Tony Lewis (Anthony Robert Lewis CBE; 6 July 1938 – 20 May 2020) was a distinguished Welsh cricketer who combined an accomplished playing career with later success as a broadcaster and administrator.

A stylish right-handed batter and occasional wicketkeeper, Lewis made his first-class debut for Glamorgan County Cricket Club in 1955 before studying at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he captained Cambridge University Cricket Club. He later led Glamorgan to the 1969 County Championship title, enjoying a first-class career that yielded more than 30,000 runs and over 50 centuries.

Lewis earned a unique place in cricket history when he was appointed captain of the England cricket team for the 1972–73 tour of India and Pakistan despite having never previously played a Test. He remains the last uncapped player to captain England in a Test match.

On his debut in Delhi, he scored an unbeaten 70 to help England secure their first Test victory in India for more than two decades, before producing a superb 125 at Kanpur. Across nine Tests, Lewis scored 457 runs at an average of 32.64, including one century and three half-centuries.

Following his retirement, Lewis became one of cricket’s most respected broadcasters, presenting the BBC’s cricket coverage throughout the 1990s before moving into influential administrative roles. He served as President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and chaired the MCC World Cricket Committee, helping shape discussions on the game’s future. 

Lewis, a mathematician from Cambridge University, collaborated with English statistician Frank Duckworth to create cricket's revolutionary rain-interruption formula. Officially adopted by the International Cricket Council in 1999, their groundbreaking system laid the foundation for the modern Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) method.