Brian Sellers, chairman of Yorkshire and the one who had berated Close in 1949 for saying "Thank you, Billy", then made matters worse for Close by sending an apology to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). In 1967 England touring sides were still MCC sides rather than "England" sides, and the MCC took the opportunity to overrule the selectors who picked Close as captain. Close, whose "temperament had been shown lacking", did not go to the West Indies. On the Wednesday before the third and final Test against Pakistan, he was told he had been stripped of the captaincy; the replacement captain was Colin Cowdrey.