Mike Turner, 'the pioneer of One Day cricket', dies aged 80

Mike Turner turned around the fortunes of Leicestershire with his outstanding vision

Mike Turner who is widely regarded as the pioneer of One Day cricket has died, ESPNcricinfo reports. Turner was a visionary who transformed the fortunes of Leicestershire during his time as an administrator and was awarded the MBE in 1994 for his services to cricket.

Turner didn’t enjoy much success as a cricketer, featuring in only ten first-class matches over nine years for the Foxes. It was however after his playing career that Turner made his mark. He had a 43-year association with the Grace Road club and stepped up the ladder in various administration roles.

Turner though will be most remembered as the person who introduced One Day cricket at a professional level. Turner was appointed club secretary at Leicestershire in 1960 aged just 25. In just his second year in charge, Turner introduces the Midlands Knockout Trophy, a 65-over competition involving the four clubs from the region – Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire.

Though the event didn’t turn out to be a grand success, Turner’s vision had managed to draw in investors and the tournament was telecasted by regional television channels. More importantly though, the idea behind the event served as the forerunner to the Gillette Cup, the first national level one-day competition which was introduced the following year.

Turner’s contribution is widely acknowledged and the man himself was proud of serving the game he loved. Here are some excerpts from an interview he did with Spin magazine back in 2009.

"You have to remember the context," Turner said. "The game was in the doldrums at the time. There had been a post-war boom but, by the 1960s, spectator numbers were falling. Membership numbers were falling. We were worried about the game's future.

"I saw an opportunity. All the county secretaries were at The Oval drawing up the fixture list for the 1962 season. I just happened to notice that several midlands clubs had a gap in their schedule. So I invited Derbyshire, Northants and Nottinghamshire to take part in a limited-overs, knock-out competition.”

"It was very revolutionary. There had been talk of one-day cricket, but this was the first limited-overs cricket. Most league cricket was played on one day, but involved a tea-time declaration, while the Rothmans Cavaliers' games were also declaration affairs. But mid-week league cricket had been played over 20-overs for years and had always been very popular.

"The attendance was relatively good and we received very good coverage in the press. Crucially Gordon Ross (an influential journalist) came to the game and took a great deal of interest. He soon became the PR man for Gillette."

"It wasn't just the spectators that one-day cricket attracted," Turner said. "It was the sponsorship. The Gillette Cup was the first major county sponsorship and was soon followed by the John Player League. As a game was televised every Sunday by the BBC, it meant we suddenly had advertising around county grounds. It was a great deal for the game.”

Leicestershire lose their biggest legend

Turner’s love affair with Leicestershire started way back in 1951 as a junior professional and made his official debut two years later. During his spell as club secretary, he negotiated a price with his school headmaster for their ground which still is the county’s home ground – Grace Road. He carried out renovation work to convert into county level with outstanding facilities.

The transformation enabled the club to attract talent from across the country, but none greater than Ray Illingworth. The club enjoyed their most successful spell under Illingworth’s captaincy thus enhancing Turner’s credentials.

As a recognition of Turner’s outstanding contribution, a newly built indoor centre at Grace Road was named after him. He stepped down as secretary in 1993 but was made vice president a year later. His last official post with the county was as director, which he served for a four-year period between 2003 and 2007.

Leicestershire chairman Paul Haywood paid tribute to their legend saying: "Mike was instrumental in revitalising Leicestershire with the signings of Tony Lock, Ray Illingworth and Brian Davison as well as bringing the younger players through. He brought a great deal of success to the club, particularly in the 1970s.”

"Mike was a great innovator and introduced one-day cricket to this country through the Midlands Knockout Cup. On behalf of myself, the board of directors, and the whole club, I would like to pass on our deepest condolences to Mike's family," the statement on Leicestershire’s official website read.