I WOULD not mention that the first time I came across the current England captain was 22 yards away at Fenner's, Cambridge, with a ball in my hand, but for the fact that shortly afterwards be became one of the 107 sorry souls who have fallen to my rarely-employed leg-spin. To prove it was no fluke, nor misplaced undergraduate arrogance, but rather that he was - then - a poor player of leg-spin, I repeated the feat three years later when playing for Lancashire, admittedly via a dubious caught behind.
So you see, it was while batting with him, which we first did for England against New Zealand in 1990, rather than bowling at him, that I realised how good a player he was. Angus Fraser loves telling me I am a natural mistimer of the ball and I surely felt it at Trent Bridge that day, as I struggled away for hours only for Alec to announce himself with a couple of now trademark sweetly-timed drives. Ever since I've put that down to upbringing: me, a northerner, brought up on shot-defying, slow, damp wickets; him a 'southern softie' driving on the up on a belter at the Oval. That's my excuse, anyway.
In time, we established ourselves as team-mates in the England dressing-room. When it was clear that Graham Gooch was going to stand down, we became seen to be rivals for the England captaincy. This rivalry was largely a media-driven vehicle, based loosely upon the fact that we had both been vice-captains, upon our different backgrounds and on a curious run-out incident in Bombay. I was seen as the 'establishment' choice - public school and Cambridge University educated, fresh-faced with no dirt on me, or in my pocket for that matter. Alec, being the vice-captain, was more closely linked with the perceived football style ethos of Graham and Alec's father, Micky. His 'oik' to my 'toff', if you like. All nonsense, of course, but a good story at the time.
The rivalry reached its apotheosis with the two of us stranded rather foolishly at one end during a Test match in Bombay, with Alec given run out. The press version was that I was miffed by non-selection during the winter, refused Alec's call for a long single, stood my ground as an act of defiance and ran him out, Boycott fashion. Actually, Alec called for a suicidal single, I immediately called 'no', he was ball-watching and couldn't hear my call (Bombay's a noisy place) and was duly run out. His version of events is somewhat different again. Suffice to say it was an old-fashioned cock-up, the kind that happens when the series is already lost on an ill-fated tour.
When I was made captain, Alec was my vice-captain for much of the time. He was loyal and supportive and if there was any uneasiness about being overlooked it never showed. On top of the vice-captaincy we asked him to perform many roles. Opening the batting, of course, which he did consistently and successfully until his 'popadom' fingers (they break rather easily) let him down in Australia in 1995.
Then there was the vexed question of wicketkeeping, which we asked him to do on any number of occasions. Don't believe all that nonsense I used to trot out about the need for a balanced side. I mean, have you seen him in the field lately? We wanted to prevent him from being embarrassed about the strength (or lack of it) in his throwing arm from the outer. We didn't really want to see his knees-up, showpony running style and we thought that by giving him the gloves we might occasionally see him with grass stains on his whites.
It has clearly been a vexed question for some time. To keep or not to keep? The selectors seemed to have solved the conundrum by asking him to keep and bat in the middle order this summer. Initially his wicketkeeping was regarded as a bit suspect by some. My opinion, the little that it is worth on wicketkeeping, is that he has fantastic hands, is nimble and agile and drops very few chances. Batting, keeping and captaincy will be tough but if anyone can, 'The Gaffer' can.
Having read with some amusement Lord MacLaurin's job description for the England captaincy in this newspaper a month ago, it is clear that 'The Gaffer' was a natural choice. The gum-chewing, occasionally unshaven look, and the bad hair days that so drove the likes of Ray Illingworth and Lord MacLaurin to distraction I can tell you will be no problems with Alec. He presents himself absolutely meticulously.
I am reliably informed by the last person to room with him on an England tour that you can't get near the bathroom of a morning and when you do it is completely cluttered with his brushes, face creams, gels and vitamin tablets.
In total contrast to me he has more creases around his eyes than on his slacks and cricket whites. He is a fully paid-up member, captain and president of the county cricketers' 'perfectionist' club that includes other stalwarts such as Mike Watkinson, Martyn Moxon and the young tyro, Darren Maddy.
He has even put aside that early abrasiveness which was thought to count against him. Twice this year I have seen him tuck his bat under his arm as quick as you like and march off to the pavilion, when clearly the fielder has dropped the ball or the wicketkeeper has failed to gather it properly. This worrying trend really must stop!
It is only a shame that Lord MacLaurin did not include a guide to captaincy-speak in his requirements. Graham Thorpe has already started a spread index on the number of clichˇs the captain will utter and how many times he will begin a sentence with ``to be fair'' or, for emphasis, ``to be honest''.
'Squeakiness' aside, Alec will bring other and, to my mind, more important attributes to the job. Throughout his career as an England player he has played with pride, ambition, desire, competitiveness and no small amount of class. His job will be, among other things, to try to bring more consistency to the team than I achieved. His tenure has been variously described as 'stop-gap' or 'short-term' but there is no reason why it should be. He is a year younger than when Gooch took on the job and recently Alec has been just as dedicated a trainer as Gooch ever was. Given a modicum of luck with injuries, a run of good form and good performances from his team, his could be a long reign.
He starts with a cracking challenge. A home series against the type of team England should expect to perform well against. Recent Test series against South Africa have been close-fought, with South Africa just ahead on points. Home advantage and the impetus that a new captain invariably brings should even that up. South Africa's Texaco success showed us little we did not already know. Their bowling and fielding are first-rate and their batting equally as vulnerable. To stand up to the first and exploit the second should be the England captain's main aim this summer.
From my experience, respect within the dressing-room, as a player and as a decision-maker, is vital for any captain. This is where Alec has a huge advantage. His long England career and the nature of it means he has respect as a player in abundance. His decision-making will inevitably attract close scrutiny and it is my guess that in this he will add to his reputation also.
One thing is certain, when 'The Gaffer' walks out at Edgbaston in four days' time, with a few more butterflies than usual in those rippling stomach muscles, all of England will surely wish him well.