Dermot Reeve
Encyclopedia
Dermot Alexander Reeve OBE (born 2 April 1963, Kowloon
, Hong Kong
) is an English
former cricket
er, best known as an unorthodox all-rounder
and, until recently, coach of the New Zealand
side, Central Districts
.
Reeve played in three tests
and twenty nine ODIs for England. He played English county cricket
for Sussex
, Warwickshire
and Somerset
. He is a former Hong Kong sports personality of the year, gained for his cricketing efforts in that country.
Young Cricketers - an academy of up and coming young players between the ages of 18-20, who are based at Lord's cricket ground
. He played for Hong Kong
in the 1982 ICC Trophy
, averaging 34.50 with the bat and 15.71 with the ball. He signed for Sussex
for the 1983 English season, and took 42 wickets in the County Championship
at 29.35 apiece, although he was less successful with the bat and did not reach fifty in his 20 innings that year. He remained with Sussex for six seasons, his most successful being 1987, when he managed a batting average
of over 40 and took 42 wickets at under 30.
He moved to Warwickshire
in 1988, and it was here that he gained his greatest successes. In the batsman-friendly summer of 1990, he averaged 54, making his highest first-class
score of 202 not out, and making two other centuries on the way to a total of 1,412 runs. Reeve was made captain
in 1993, and in 1994 led the county to an unprecedented domestic treble, winning the County Championship, the AXA Equity and Law League
and the Benson & Hedges Cup
, only being defeated in the final of the NatWest Trophy. This achievement came despite well-publicised differences of opinion with Warwickshire's star batsman, Brian Lara
, vividly described a few years later by Reeve in his book Winning Ways.
One of his improvisations against left-arm spinner, Rajesh Maru
, of Hampshire
was to drop his bat to avoid being caught out by the close fielders.
The following season, Warwickshire retained their Championship and NatWest Trophy crowns, but Reeve left Warwickshire after playing until halfway through the 1996 season. Reeve made over £500,000 tax free during his benefit year
with Warwickshire. Reeve was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1996, and received the OBE
for services to cricket that same year. He moved on to become coach to Somerset
(for whom he also played several games in one-day cricket in 1998), and also began to work in television cricket commentary for Channel 4
.
es for England, but his improvising style was better suited to One Day Internationals and he made twenty nine appearances in this form of the game, appearing in both the 1992 and 1996 World Cup
s. However, he never scored highly in ODIs, and his batting average would have been considerably lower, but for his high proportion of not-out innings.
to show England Tests in the UK
. Duties included fronting the studio discussions with pundits, commentary, introducing and presenting awards after televised matches, and interviewing both present and past players. In May 2005, Reeve admitted that he had an addiction to cocaine
, and had used the drug prior to commentating on the 2004 first Test between England and New Zealand
at Lord's. Reeve duly quit Channel Four after working for five years as part of their commentary team. He also admitted to using marijuana whilst he was an active player for Warwickshire but only out of season.
In more recent years, Reeve has worked as a commentator on the BBC radio
show. Test Match Special
.
"Following his cocaine revelations in 2005, Reeve's family, who have no involvement in his memorabilia business, built a lucrative new life in Australia and New Zealand. Their assets included a $4 million waterfront mansion at Clontarf.Reeve also built a reputation as a prolific seller of memorabilia on the online auction site eBay."
Further scandal was to follow Reeve at the end of 2009, when he was exposed as a seller of highly dubious Donald Bradman "signatures" on plain card and limited edition Weet-bix cards which were later confirmed by the Bradman Museum to be poor copies of the original Legend's signature. Reeve had been selling these "poorly mimicked and inconsistent" copies of signatures on the website eBay for 3 years at prices ranging from AUSD $100 to AUSD $1500 to hundreds of unsuspecting buyers. Reeve explained that he had bought the contested autographs from a source in the UK, however his eBay feedback account showed that he had bought a high quantity of unsigned packs of Bradman Weet-bix collectors cards from other eBay traders between 2005-2008.
These cards (now duly signed, despite Bradman dying in 2001) reappeared on commerative bats and other associated Bradman cricket memorabilia.
Several complaints were made to the guardian of Bradman's name, reputation and copyright, the Bradman Museum, by a number of concerned collectors who knew the items to be highly questionable but no action appeared to be taken until a well known memorabilia collector, John Alvarez challenged Reeve and exposed him to the media. At the time of writing, Reeve has decided to cease his lucrative but unethical practice via eBay. Reeve believed that by issuing a Certificate of Authenticity to buyers (confirming his opinion that the signature was genuine) meant that his status as a former International cricketer would add extra credibility to the scam. Several well known authenticators throughout the world issued press releases to collectors informing them of Reeve's activities in the Bradman memorabilia market.
, Australia
.
.
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, best known as an unorthodox all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
and, until recently, coach of the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
side, Central Districts
Central Districts Stags
The Central Districts Stags are a New Zealand first class cricket team based in central New Zealand. It competes in the State Championship first class competition and the State Shield domestic one day competition...
.
Reeve played in three tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and twenty nine ODIs for England. He played English county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
for Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
. He is a former Hong Kong sports personality of the year, gained for his cricketing efforts in that country.
Domestic career
Reeve first played cricket in England as a member of the MCCMarylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
Young Cricketers - an academy of up and coming young players between the ages of 18-20, who are based at Lord's cricket ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. He played for Hong Kong
Hong Kong cricket team
The Hong Kong cricket team represents Hong Kong in international cricket. It played its first match in 1866 and has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1969....
in the 1982 ICC Trophy
ICC Trophy
The ICC World Cup Qualifier is an international one-day cricket tournament run under the auspices of the International Cricket Council. Any Associate or Affiliate member of the ICC may attempt to qualify for the ICC Trophy by means of a system of regional qualifying events. The test-playing Full...
, averaging 34.50 with the bat and 15.71 with the ball. He signed for Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
for the 1983 English season, and took 42 wickets in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
at 29.35 apiece, although he was less successful with the bat and did not reach fifty in his 20 innings that year. He remained with Sussex for six seasons, his most successful being 1987, when he managed a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of over 40 and took 42 wickets at under 30.
He moved to Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
in 1988, and it was here that he gained his greatest successes. In the batsman-friendly summer of 1990, he averaged 54, making his highest first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
score of 202 not out, and making two other centuries on the way to a total of 1,412 runs. Reeve was made captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
in 1993, and in 1994 led the county to an unprecedented domestic treble, winning the County Championship, the AXA Equity and Law League
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
and the Benson & Hedges Cup
Benson & Hedges Cup
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals....
, only being defeated in the final of the NatWest Trophy. This achievement came despite well-publicised differences of opinion with Warwickshire's star batsman, Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
, vividly described a few years later by Reeve in his book Winning Ways.
One of his improvisations against left-arm spinner, Rajesh Maru
Rajesh Maru
Rajesh Jamandass Maru is a Kenyan born former English cricketer. Maru was a right-handed batsman who bowled slow left-arm orthodox spin....
, of Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
was to drop his bat to avoid being caught out by the close fielders.
The following season, Warwickshire retained their Championship and NatWest Trophy crowns, but Reeve left Warwickshire after playing until halfway through the 1996 season. Reeve made over £500,000 tax free during his benefit year
Benefit (sports)
A benefit or testimonial is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question.There have been occasions when a...
with Warwickshire. Reeve was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1996, and received the OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to cricket that same year. He moved on to become coach to Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
(for whom he also played several games in one-day cricket in 1998), and also began to work in television cricket commentary for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
International cricket
Reeve played only three Test matchTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
es for England, but his improvising style was better suited to One Day Internationals and he made twenty nine appearances in this form of the game, appearing in both the 1992 and 1996 World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
s. However, he never scored highly in ODIs, and his batting average would have been considerably lower, but for his high proportion of not-out innings.
TV commentator and controversy
Following his retirement from cricket, Reeve was involved with the Channel 4 broadcasting coverage of cricket from the start when the channel won the rights from the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to show England Tests in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Duties included fronting the studio discussions with pundits, commentary, introducing and presenting awards after televised matches, and interviewing both present and past players. In May 2005, Reeve admitted that he had an addiction to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, and had used the drug prior to commentating on the 2004 first Test between England and New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at Lord's. Reeve duly quit Channel Four after working for five years as part of their commentary team. He also admitted to using marijuana whilst he was an active player for Warwickshire but only out of season.
In more recent years, Reeve has worked as a commentator on the BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
show. Test Match Special
Test Match Special
Test Match Special is a British radio programme covering professional cricket, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , Five Live Sports Extra and the internet to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world...
.
"Following his cocaine revelations in 2005, Reeve's family, who have no involvement in his memorabilia business, built a lucrative new life in Australia and New Zealand. Their assets included a $4 million waterfront mansion at Clontarf.Reeve also built a reputation as a prolific seller of memorabilia on the online auction site eBay."
Further scandal was to follow Reeve at the end of 2009, when he was exposed as a seller of highly dubious Donald Bradman "signatures" on plain card and limited edition Weet-bix cards which were later confirmed by the Bradman Museum to be poor copies of the original Legend's signature. Reeve had been selling these "poorly mimicked and inconsistent" copies of signatures on the website eBay for 3 years at prices ranging from AUSD $100 to AUSD $1500 to hundreds of unsuspecting buyers. Reeve explained that he had bought the contested autographs from a source in the UK, however his eBay feedback account showed that he had bought a high quantity of unsigned packs of Bradman Weet-bix collectors cards from other eBay traders between 2005-2008.
These cards (now duly signed, despite Bradman dying in 2001) reappeared on commerative bats and other associated Bradman cricket memorabilia.
Several complaints were made to the guardian of Bradman's name, reputation and copyright, the Bradman Museum, by a number of concerned collectors who knew the items to be highly questionable but no action appeared to be taken until a well known memorabilia collector, John Alvarez challenged Reeve and exposed him to the media. At the time of writing, Reeve has decided to cease his lucrative but unethical practice via eBay. Reeve believed that by issuing a Certificate of Authenticity to buyers (confirming his opinion that the signature was genuine) meant that his status as a former International cricketer would add extra credibility to the scam. Several well known authenticators throughout the world issued press releases to collectors informing them of Reeve's activities in the Bradman memorabilia market.
New Zealand
In July 2008, Reeve was named the coach of the Central Districts and had relocated with his family to New Zealand two years prior. Despite leading the side to the Plunket Shield four-day final in 2008-09 before winning the 2009-10 Twenty20 competition, his tenure as coach was at times controversial, one particular incident seeing him fined and censured for accusing England international Ravi Bopara of ball-tampering during a domestic one-day match. On 7 April 2010, he ended his stint as coach of the Stags by mutual consent to spend time with his family, now living in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Indian Premier League
Currently he serves as an assistant coach for the Pune Warriors India in the Indian Premier LeagueIndian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
.