Lord and Master: why Sir Jack Hobbs loved to go to watch Ted Dexter
30.03.26, 11:51 Updated 30.03.26, 15:47 5 Minute Read
Paul Weaver
England’s greatest batsman, and Surrey legend, spent his last years living on the south coast and watching one of Sussex's greats.
There was a time, indeed, at Hove, when the master came to pay homage to the lord. 'The Master', for that was the title given by his awe-struck contemporaries, was Sir Jack Hobbs, popularly considered to be the finest batsman in the history of English cricket.
'The Lord' was Ted Dexter, nicknamed Lord Edward, the most dynamic batsman in England. And the time was 1963, the year of Profumo which also saw the beginning of sexual intercourse according to Philip Larkin in his poem, Annus Mirabilis: “Between the end of the Chatterley ban and the Beatles’ first LP”.
Hobbs retired as a player 92 years ago, in 1934, but has still scored more runs (61,237) and more centuries (197) than anyone else in the history of first-class cricket.
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