Editing Christopher Martin-Jenkins

{{short description|English cricketer, broadcaster and journalist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]]
| image       = Christopher Martin-Jenkins.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = Martin-Jenkins at the [[Adelaide Oval]], during the [[English cricket team in Australia in 2006-07|England tour of Australia in 2006–07]]
|birth_name        = Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1945|01|20|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Peterborough]], England
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|2013|1|01|1945|01|20|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Rudgwick]], West Sussex, England
| nationality = British
| other_names = {{Plainlist|
* CMJ
* The Major<ref name=guardian_obit/>
}}
| known_for   = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Test Match Special]]''
* ''[[The Cricketer]]''
* President of [[Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC]]
}}
| education = [[Marlborough College]]
| alma_mater  = [[Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge|Fitzwilliam College]], Cambridge
| occupation  = Cricket journalist and broadcaster
| years_active= 1967–2012
}}
'''Christopher Dennis Alexander Martin-Jenkins''', [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (20 January 1945 – 1 January 2013),<ref name=guardian_obit/> also known as '''CMJ''', was a British [[cricket]] journalist and a President of [[Marylebone Cricket Club|MCC]]. He was also the longest serving commentator for ''[[Test Match Special]]'' (TMS) on [[BBC Radio]], from 1973 until diagnosed with terminal cancer in March 2012.

==Early life==
Christopher Martin-Jenkins was born at his grandmother's house in [[Peterborough]], the second of three boys.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/theweek/article1188453.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055508/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/theweek/article1188453.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2016 |title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins and Bob Munden |work=The Sunday Times | location=London}}</ref> His father, a [[lieutenant colonel]] in the army at the time, relocated the family to Glasgow where he was stationed. After demobilisation he returned to his job at the shipping firm [[Ellerman Lines]] where he subsequently became chairman.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/christopher-martinjenkins-cricket-journalist-who-worked-on-test-match-special-for-39-years-8434717.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Stephen | last=Fay | title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins: Cricket journalist who worked on Test Match Special for 39 years | date=2 January 2013}}</ref> His mother was a radiologist and GP, working in the Gorbals during the war.

==School==
He went to St Bede's Prep School in [[Eastbourne]] and then to [[Marlborough College|Marlborough]]. He first played for the school team in 1962 under the captaincy of future Sussex captain (1968–1972) and chairman of MCC (2012–2013), [[Mike Griffith (cricketer)|Mike Griffith]]. The following year, after becoming captain of the school cricket XI, Martin-Jenkins wrote to [[Brian Johnston]] asking him how to become a cricket commentator. Johnston invited him to Broadcasting House, took him out to lunch and told him to develop his ability and review his performance by practising his commentating skills by using a tape recorder.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jan/01/christopher-martin-jenkins | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Peter | last=Baxter | title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins obituary | date=1 January 2013}}</ref> That year he also scored a valiant 99 in Marlborough's second innings in the annual fixture against [[Rugby School]] at [[Lord's]], but despite this they still lost by 22 runs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/291/291271.html|title=The Home of CricketArchive|work=cricketarchive.co.uk}}</ref>

==University==
He went to [[Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge]], where he read Modern History and graduated with an upper second in 1967. During his time at Cambridge he won two half-[[blue (university sport)|blues]] for [[Rugby fives]] but never played for the University cricket first XI, although he narrowly missed out on gaining his blue after he was named 12th man for the 1967 [[The University Match (cricket)|Varsity match]] at Lord's.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article3645121.ece |title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins |work=[[The Times]] |location=London}}</ref> Nevertheless, he skippered the Crusaders (the University 2nd XI) during 1966 and 1967 and was also a successful captain of his college XI.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.petersfraserdunlop.com/Authors/christopher-martin-jenkins|title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins|work=Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD)|access-date=3 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825045250/http://www.petersfraserdunlop.com/authors/christopher-martin-jenkins|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He had a great talent for mimicry, which enabled him to progress to final auditions for the Cambridge University [[Footlights]], where his performance was adjudicated by a panel that included [[Germaine Greer]], [[Eric Idle]] and [[Clive James]].<ref name="telobit">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9774049/Christopher-Martin-Jenkins.html |title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins |date=1 January 2013 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>

==Cricketer==
He played one [[Second XI Championship]] match for [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] against [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] at [[the Oval]] in 1971. Thereafter he appeared for the [[Sir Paul Getty]] XI in ten one-day games at [[Wormsley]] between 1992 and 2002, with a valedictory appearance, aged 61, against the Heartaches team run by [[Tim Rice]] in 2006.

==Media career==
Following his graduation in 1967 Martin-Jenkins joined ''[[The Cricketer]]'' magazine as deputy editor under [[E. W. Swanton]]. In March 1970 he left to join the BBC Radio Sports News department and subsequently commentated on his first match, a one-day international between England and Australia, in 1972.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/christopher-martin-jenkins-dies|title=Cricket journalist Christopher Martin-Jenkins dies|work=Channel 4 News|date=January 2013 }}</ref> His last commentary, 40 years later, was for ''TMS'' on England's third Test against [[Pakistan]] in [[Dubai]] in February 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/cricket/article/cmj-through-the-years-5cx26sl2qq7 |title=CMJ through the years |work=[[The Times]] |location=London}}</ref>

He joined the ''TMS'' team in 1973 and was appointed cricket correspondent in succession to Brian Johnston in 1973 and worked as cricket correspondent for the [[BBC]] (1973–1980, 1985–1991), ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' (1990–1999) and ''[[The Times]]'' (1999–2008). [[Mike Atherton]] replaced him as ''[[The Times]]'' Chief Cricket Correspondent on 1 May 2008 although CMJ continued contributing to the ''Times'' cricket pages, filing his last article on the death of [[Tony Greig]] on 31 December, the day prior to his own death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cricket/article3643720.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231070221/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cricket/article3643720.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 December 2012 |title=Courage under pressure was one of Tony Grieg's greatest attributes |work=[[The Times]] |location=London}}</ref> He was also a BBC TV commentator for their cricket coverage between 1981 and 1985, before returning to radio.

In ''The Daily Telegraph'', his obituarist wrote of his radio commentary that: "Nobody excelled him... in what he regarded as the first duty: that of giving a precise, clear, well-informed and accurate account of every ball that was bowled and every stroke that was played."<ref name="telobit"/> [[Scyld Berry]] wrote: "What made him so good as a radio commentator, apart from his precise and unforced diction, was that he came closer than anyone to combining the knowledge of an expert with the enthusiasm of a student."<ref name="berry">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/9774087/Nobody-has-broadcast-on-cricket-for-so-long-and-so-lucidly-as-Test-Match-Specials-Christopher-Martin-Jenkins.html |title=Nobody has broadcast on cricket for so long and so lucidly as Test Match Special's Christopher Martin-Jenkins |date=1 January 2013 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>

By temperament conciliatory, he was rarely involved in controversy. However, during a Test on England's 1989–90 tour of the West Indies he criticised the umpire [[Lloyd Barker (umpire)|Lloyd Barker]], claiming that he had allowed himself to be pressurised by the West Indies captain, [[Viv Richards]], into wrongly giving [[Rob Bailey (cricketer)|Rob Bailey]] out caught down the leg side. Barker threatened to sue, believing incorrectly that Martin-Jenkins had called him a cheat. The case was settled by the BBC without going to court.<ref name = "memorial"/>

He was renowned among his broadcasting colleagues for a certain vagueness regarding practical matters. [[Jonathan Agnew]] described how on one occasion he arrived at Lord's for a match which unfortunately was due to be played on the other side of London at [[the Oval]].<ref>[https://www.thetimes.com/sport/cricket/article/christopher-martin-jenkins-words-delivered-with-clarity-belied-a-life-lived-in-chaos-g6qjwddjnh0 Article in ''The Times'' by Jonathan Agnew]</ref> He also struggled with modern technology, once mistaking the television remote control in his hotel room for his mobile phone.<ref name="berry"/> When attempting to email a report to his newspaper, he would occasionally press the Delete button rather than the Send button, causing him much consternation.<ref name="telobit"/>

==Author==
Martin-Jenkins was the author of ''The Complete Who's Who of Test Cricketers''. Altogether he wrote or edited 25 books including ''The Wisden Book of County Cricket'' (1981); ''Bedside Cricket'' (1981); ''Twenty Years On: Cricket's years of change'' (1984); ''Cricket: a way of life'' (1984); ''Grand Slam'' (1987); ''Cricket Characters'' (1987); ''Sketches of a Season'' (1987); and ''Ball by Ball: The Story of Cricket Broadcasting'' (1990) and finally concluding with his autobiography, ''CMJ – A Cricketing Life''.

He edited ''The Cricketer'' from 1980 and was President of [[the Cricket Society]] from 1998 to 2008.

==Awards and honours==
He was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=58929 |date=31 December 2008 |page=18 |supp=y}}</ref>

He was President of MCC for 2010–11, a rare honour for a journalist. His time in office was a difficult one, as it coincided with the £400 million redevelopment plan for Lord's being dropped in favour of something better suited to the difficult economic situation. This led to an as yet unresolved split in the membership between those in favour of the new plan and those who still support the old one.<ref name = "memorial"/>

In 2007 he was invited to deliver the annual [[Colin Cowdrey#Cowdrey Lecture|MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture]], becoming the only career journalist and broadcaster to do so.<ref name="berry"/> As MCC President, in 2011 he invited [[Kumar Sangakkara]] to deliver the same lecture, the only actively playing cricketer to have delivered a Cowdrey Lecture.

==Personal life==
He met Judy Hayman at Cambridge and they married in April 1971. They had two sons, James and Robin, and a daughter, Lucy.  [[Robin Martin-Jenkins]] played county cricket for [[Sussex CCC|Sussex]] before retiring in 2010, while elder brother James played club cricket for Radley Rangers from 1993 to 2006.

==Death==
During 2009 and 2010 his health seemed to be declining when he had a bad bout of pneumonia, followed by acute hepatitis. He was subsequently diagnosed with terminal cancer in March 2012, shortly after returning from commentating duties in the [[UAE]], and was forced to step down from ''[[Test Match Special]]'' due to his illness. He died of [[lymphoma]], at his home in [[Horsham]], on the morning of 1 January 2013, at the age of 67.<ref name = "memorial">''Daily Telegraph'', 17 April 2013, "Six England captains bid farewell to CMJ" by [[Derek Pringle]], pp S12-3.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/20881346 |title=Test Match Special's Christopher Martin-Jenkins dies |work=BBC Sport |date=1 January 2013 |access-date=1 January 2013}}</ref>

A statement from his family said: "Christopher died peacefully at home this morning after his brave resistance to cancer. The family is extremely proud of all that he did to pass on his love of cricket worldwide with his gift of communicating through the spoken and written word. He was above all a much loved husband, brother, father and grandfather."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/20881346 |title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins, TMS commentator, dies aged 67 |date=1 January 2013 |work=BBC Sport}}</ref>

A memorial service was held in [[St. Paul's Cathedral]] on 16 April 2013, attended by 2,000 people including at least six former England captains. The service included readings by his sons, James and Robin, and tributes by [[Tim Rice|Sir Tim Rice]] and [[Jonathan Agnew]]. After the service there was a reception at [[Lord's]].<ref name = "memorial"/>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|colwidth=25em|refs=

<ref name=guardian_obit>{{cite news|last=Baxter|first=Peter|title=Christopher Martin-Jenkins obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jan/01/christopher-martin-jenkins|access-date=1 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=1 January 2013|author-link=Peter Baxter (radio producer)|location=London}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|1445861}}
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/test_match_special/presenter_profiles/2976221.stm BBC profile of CMJ]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/7405686.stm CMJ's 'Aggers & Johnners' moment]. See also [[Jonathan Agnew#"Leg over" incident|legover]].
*[http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/m/1762/Christopher+Dennis.aspx Debrett's People of Today]
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9774049/Christopher-Martin-Jenkins.html Daily Telegraph obituary]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin-Jenkins, Christopher}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:BBC sports presenters and reporters]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English sportswriters]]
[[Category:English cricket commentators]]
[[Category:Cricket writers]]
[[Category:The Daily Telegraph people]]
[[Category:Deaths from lymphoma in England]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Marlborough College]]
[[Category:Cricketers from Peterborough]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club]]
[[Category:The Times journalists]]
[[Category:English autobiographers]]
[[Category:People from Rudgwick]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]