Out of his depth By choosing to penalise no fewer than six Indian Test stars, including the hitherto blameless Sachin Tendulkar, the match referee for the South Africa-India series, one Mike Denness - he celebrates (if that is the word) his 61st birthday next Saturday - has been caught, as it were, with his pants down. It should be noted, though, that this is not the first time he has been caught in this compromising situation. To be sure, the first time it happened was in his hometown of Ayr in Scotland where he grew up. A local girl, Molly, whose father ran the local menswear shop, caught him in only his underpants when he was using her office as a changing room. No serious damage was done. He knew Molly, who was six months older, since they had once been classmates at the local school, Ayr Academy. The upshot of this intimacy was that Denness, who was working in Glasgow in 1964 as an insurance salesman, asked Molly out. Within a few months, they were married. This time, however, being caught, metaphorically, in a state of undress may end less happily for Denness. He isn't English at all but Scottish which carries its own baggage in England. Scotsmen are meant to be dour and at the receiving end of English jokes (for instance, 'the Scotsman keeps the Sabbath - and anything else he can lay his hands on'). He has triggered the biggest crisis in the world of cricket for several years by picking on six Indians but there is nothing in his past to suggest that he has done it out of racist motives. Quite the contrary, in fact. When he was captain of Kent between 1972-76, he never had a problem getting on with his non-white colleagues, including notably the West Indian fast bowler Bernard Julien and the brilliant Pakistani, Asif Iqbal. A 'nice chap' is how he is remembered. 'The decisions he took as match referee has nothing to do with anything racial,' is the assurance given by those who shared the same dressing room with him for up to 10 years. 'He was just following the rules. His sacking is no reflection on Mike's personal qualities.' The only explanation offered is that the crisis has been caused by Malcolm Speed, the no-nonsense Australian lawyer who took over recently as the chief executive of the International Cricket Council. It is the ICC that appoints match referees and the assumption is that Speed must have indicated to Denness that it was time to crack down on bad behaviour on the field. The job of match referee was not to be treated as a paid holiday. Denness, who probably needs the money, must have taken the hint and faithfully echoed his master's voice. Now that he has been removed, he must hope that Speed will look after him. Ever since Denness made his mark on cricket, he has been a respected figure in English cricket. He is not a flamboyant celebrity in the Ian Botham mould. When he went on tour abroad, the tabloids did not do stories on him bonking barmaids or smoking pot in foreign hotels. His friends remember him as an 'attractive' opening batsman. Indeed, with Brian Luckhurst, he formed just about the best opening pair the English game had to offer in his day. A 'very good county player' is how he is described. As a cricketer, he showed talent at a precocious age. He was born on December 1, 1940, at Bellshill, near Glasgow. When he was seven, his family moved to Ayr where he learnt his cricket. At eight, he joined the junior team at the Ayr Cricket Club and spent hours at the nets. A kindly coach, Charlie Oakes, an old Sussex player, gave him a sense of style and timing. He made his way into the Ayr First Eleven and made history in 1959 as the first schoolboy to be capped for Scotland against Ireland. His batting, fluent and full of easy strokes - much later he would employ his footwork against Indian spinners - was noticed by Jim Allan, a Kent all rounder. On the latter's recommendation, Denness was given a trial at Kent by Les Ames, in 1961. In 1962, he appeared for Kent for the first time against Essex. Unfortunately, he faced Jim Laker on a turning wicket and got a duck in the first innings and three in the second. But in the second game against Surrey, he top scored with 51 and quickly established himself. Though a whippersnapper in 1961, he was not above criticising the great Colin Cowdrey. Kent, he suggested, would be better off with another captain. He had to hastily explain that what he had really meant that it was Kent's misfortune that Cowdrey was a world class player and frequently absent on England duty. 'I am going to write to Cowdrey and tell him what I really said,' he commented apologetically. 'In future, I shall have to stroke my t's and dot my i's.' When Denness did succeed Cowdrey as Kent captain in 1969, he had the good fortune to lead the strongest side in the game. Kent then fielded not only field Bernard Julien and Asif Iqbal but also Allan Knott, Derek Underwood and Brian Luckhurst. Under Denness, Kent swept away the Sunday League championship three times, the Benson & Hedges Cup twice and the Gillette Cup once. Though Geoff Boycott was recognised as the best opening batsman in England, the Yorkshireman was not considered suitable material to lead his country. 'No crystal ball is needed to see Denness as a future England captain,' thundered Michael Melford, the Sunday Telegraph's influential cricket correspondent. Denness toured India in 1972-3 as MCC vice-captain and in the opening game in Hyderabad against the President's Eleven, missed a century by five runs. The Daily Telegraph's late and legendary cricket correspondent purred with pleasure: 'Denness is apparently batting better than anyone else.' In 1973, although he had played only nine Tests and had yet to hit a hundred (he had scored plenty in county games), Denness replaced the old pro, Ray Illingworth, as England captain. Alas, his ascent to the top job marked the start of his downfall. It was his bad luck that he was confronted by a rampant West Indies and Australia. In battle, he lacked bottle. Swanton spotted his weaknesses. 'He has a mind of his own to the extent that, like many in his generation, he does not find it easy to take advice.' In Australia in 1974-75, he was traumatised by the pace of Lillee and Thomson. In the fourth Test, he took the unprecedented step of standing down, a cowardly act which could have done nothing to boost troop morale. It was the shameful equivalent of a general abandoning his frontline soldiers. When England went on to New Zealand after the Australian tour, Denness behaved badly by questioning the qualifications of the local umpires when lbw decisions did not go England's way. A match referee, had one existed then, might well have slapped a one-Test ban on him and docked 75 per cent of his match fee. By the summer, he was sacked as captain and replaced by the gregarious Tony Greig. In 19 Tests under Denness, England had managed six wins and five defeats. In all, he played 28 Tests, with an average of 39.69 and a top score of 188. By 1977, his relationship with Kent had soured as well and he moved to Essex in 1980. In all, he played 501 games, with an average of 33.48 (highest score 195). His wife, Molly (from whom he has now parted) - she brought up their children, Lizanne, now 35, Jane, 33, and Craig, 26 - acknowledged he had faced criticism as England captain. 'He accepts constructive criticism but he regards the rest as part and parcel of the job,' she once said. 'But I'm afraid it does get to him.' His 'fairness and consistency' as match referee have been praised by Malcolm Speed but the evidence suggests that in modern cricket, Denness is out of his depth. He is personally a good man who should have called it a day after county cricket.