Devon Malcolm
Encyclopedia
Devon Malcolm is a former English
cricket
er.
Malcolm was one of England's few genuinely fast bowlers
of the 1990s. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he settled in England, making his first-class
debut for Derbyshire
in 1984, and qualifying to play for England in 1987. He played in 40 Test match
es for his adopted country, but took part in just ten One Day Internationals. On his day he was one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket, but his playing style was also notable for his short-sightedness and poor catching, his powerful throwing arm, his perceived profligacy with the ball and his undoubted ineptitude with the bat.
His under-average ability as a batsman seemed however to add to his popularity, and he was often given a big cheer when he went out to bat, more often than not at number eleven, a position for which he was often in competition with Phil Tufnell
. He hit some huge sixes for both England and Derbyshire and was a particular favourite of commentator Brian Johnston
.
As the cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Malcolm, incredibly wholehearted with an easy charm off the field, became a national hero".
during the 1989 Ashes series, thereby disqualifying themselves from selection for the rest of the series. He was lucky to make his first international appearance in the Fifth Test of against an Australian cricket team
already 3-0 up in the series, and his first day in international cricket ended wicketless. But then, so did all his team-mates, for this was the occasion on which Mark Taylor
and Geoff Marsh
batted together unbeaten throughout the first day. On the second day of the match, Malcolm finally managed his first scalp at this level, and it was that of Steve Waugh
for a duck - although it made little difference to the outcome, and Australia crushed England by an innings. Malcolm scored 14 runs in his two innings at the bottom of the order, including a four and a six, which perhaps raised false hopes as to his batting ability. He also scored his top Test score of 29 off only 18 balls in a later series against Australia, which included three fours and two successive sixes off Shane Warne
. Other "high" Malcolm scores included 18 against the West Indies despite being hit by several short deliveries, and 15 not out against India in a last wicket stand with Eddie Hemmings
including a powerfully struck six.
On the West Indies tour in 1989/90, Malcolm excelled as England won the First Test, took ten wickets in the Second Test and, with nineteen scalps in four Tests, returned as England's leading wicket-taking bowler of the trip.
On 20 August 1994, playing for England against South Africa
at The Oval
, Malcolm was hit on the helmet by a bouncer while batting against Fanie de Villiers
. He was incensed by this, exclaiming to the South African slip cordon the now famous words "You guys are history", and hit back with his greatest spell of international bowling, ripping through the South African batting order to finish with figures of 9-57, at the time the sixth-best innings analysis in the history of Test cricket. His performance was subsequently ranked 91st in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002. It was also the best bowling analysis, in Test cricket, by an English fast bowler in the 20th century. Malcolm was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1995.
Malcolm's relationship with the then England team manager Ray Illingworth
became strained and culminated in a row during the following series against South Africa in 1995-96. He was also reported to have had disagreements with England's then bowling coach, Peter Lever
. Malcolm bowled poorly with the second new ball in the final Test which allowed Dave Richardson and Paul Adams
to make 73 for the last wicket.
Malcolm's eight-year England career came to a close in the final Test of the 1997 Ashes series at The Oval. His international career thus ended as it had begun - in a losing Ashes side - albeit this time on the winning team in the match itself. It was an undistinguished goodbye; Malcolm took just one wicket in the 14 overs he was allowed (with the third ball of Australia's second innings, trapping Matthew Elliott leg before), and was out without scoring in both innings. Although he took over 100 wickets for his country, his final Test bowling average
- over 37, as against under 30 for Derbyshire - told its own story.
He remained a highly effective bowler in county cricket
, however, and in 1998 Malcolm moved to play for Northamptonshire
. Two years later moved again, this time to Leicestershire
, for whom he played his final first-class match in 2003. In his final season Malcolm claimed over 60 wickets and achieved one 10-wicket haul. He passed 1,000 first-class wickets with Leicestershire.
Having retired from the first-class game, Malcolm continued to play for Brixworth Cricket Club, in the Northamptonshire Cricket League Premier Division, and also played for Suffolk
in the Minor Counties Championship.
He authored a book entitled, You Guys Are History and also made a guest appearance on The Weakest Link
- although he did not win, he survived several elimination rounds.
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...
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.
Malcolm was one of England's few genuinely fast bowlers
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
of the 1990s. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he settled in England, making his 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...
debut for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
in 1984, and qualifying to play for England in 1987. He played in 40 Test match
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...
es for his adopted country, but took part in just ten One Day Internationals. On his day he was one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket, but his playing style was also notable for his short-sightedness and poor catching, his powerful throwing arm, his perceived profligacy with the ball and his undoubted ineptitude with the bat.
His under-average ability as a batsman seemed however to add to his popularity, and he was often given a big cheer when he went out to bat, more often than not at number eleven, a position for which he was often in competition with Phil Tufnell
Phil Tufnell
Philip Clive Roderick Tufnell is a former English cricketer turned television personality. A slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler, "Tuffers" as he was known played 42 Tests and 20 One Day International matches for England, as well as playing for Middlesex from 1986 to 2002...
. He hit some huge sixes for both England and Derbyshire and was a particular favourite of commentator Brian Johnston
Brian Johnston
Brian Alexander Johnston CBE, MC was a cricket commentator and presenter for the BBC from 1946 until his death.-Early life and education:...
.
As the cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Malcolm, incredibly wholehearted with an easy charm off the field, became a national hero".
Life and career
Malcolm's chance to play for England came when several members of the then current Test team announced their intention to take part in a rebel tour to South AfricaSouth African rebel tours
The South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...
during the 1989 Ashes series, thereby disqualifying themselves from selection for the rest of the series. He was lucky to make his first international appearance in the Fifth Test of against an Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
already 3-0 up in the series, and his first day in international cricket ended wicketless. But then, so did all his team-mates, for this was the occasion on which Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor (cricketer)
Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
and Geoff Marsh
Geoff Marsh
Geoffrey Robert Marsh is a former Australian cricketer, coach and selector. He played 50 Test matches and over 100 One Day Internationals for Australia as an opening batsman...
batted together unbeaten throughout the first day. On the second day of the match, Malcolm finally managed his first scalp at this level, and it was that of Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...
for a duck - although it made little difference to the outcome, and Australia crushed England by an innings. Malcolm scored 14 runs in his two innings at the bottom of the order, including a four and a six, which perhaps raised false hopes as to his batting ability. He also scored his top Test score of 29 off only 18 balls in a later series against Australia, which included three fours and two successive sixes off Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
. Other "high" Malcolm scores included 18 against the West Indies despite being hit by several short deliveries, and 15 not out against India in a last wicket stand with Eddie Hemmings
Eddie Hemmings (cricketer)
Edward Ernest Hemmings is a former English cricketer, who played in sixteen Tests and thirty three ODIs for England from 1982 to 1991. He made his England debut relatively late in his career, at the age of 33, having predominantly represented Nottinghamshire in the County Championship...
including a powerfully struck six.
On the West Indies tour in 1989/90, Malcolm excelled as England won the First Test, took ten wickets in the Second Test and, with nineteen scalps in four Tests, returned as England's leading wicket-taking bowler of the trip.
On 20 August 1994, playing for England against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, Malcolm was hit on the helmet by a bouncer while batting against Fanie de Villiers
Fanie de Villiers
Petrus Stephanus de Villiers , South Africa), was a cricketer who played 18 Tests and 83 One Day Internationals for South Africa as a right arm fast-medium bowler and right hand batsman between 1992 and 1998.De Villiers debuted in first-class cricket in 1985-86 for Northern Transvaal B...
. He was incensed by this, exclaiming to the South African slip cordon the now famous words "You guys are history", and hit back with his greatest spell of international bowling, ripping through the South African batting order to finish with figures of 9-57, at the time the sixth-best innings analysis in the history of Test cricket. His performance was subsequently ranked 91st in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments in 2002. It was also the best bowling analysis, in Test cricket, by an English fast bowler in the 20th century. Malcolm was named as one of the five 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 1995.
Malcolm's relationship with the then England team manager Ray Illingworth
Ray Illingworth
Raymond Illingworth, CBE is a former English cricketer, cricket commentator and cricket administrator. He was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in First class cricket, and the last one to do so...
became strained and culminated in a row during the following series against South Africa in 1995-96. He was also reported to have had disagreements with England's then bowling coach, Peter Lever
Peter Lever
Peter Lever is a former English cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and ten ODIs for England from 1970 to 1975. He was a successful wicket taker, taking 41 victims from those seventeen Tests, and a handy batsman with a top score of 88 not out...
. Malcolm bowled poorly with the second new ball in the final Test which allowed Dave Richardson and Paul Adams
Paul Adams (cricketer)
Paul Regan Adams is a former South African cricketer, a chinaman bowler who played for the national team sporadically since the 1990s. Meanwhile, his first class cricket career registered 412 wickets....
to make 73 for the last wicket.
Malcolm's eight-year England career came to a close in the final Test of the 1997 Ashes series at The Oval. His international career thus ended as it had begun - in a losing Ashes side - albeit this time on the winning team in the match itself. It was an undistinguished goodbye; Malcolm took just one wicket in the 14 overs he was allowed (with the third ball of Australia's second innings, trapping Matthew Elliott leg before), and was out without scoring in both innings. Although he took over 100 wickets for his country, his final Test bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
- over 37, as against under 30 for Derbyshire - told its own story.
He remained a highly effective bowler in 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:...
, however, and in 1998 Malcolm moved to play for Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
. Two years later moved again, this time to Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
, for whom he played his final first-class match in 2003. In his final season Malcolm claimed over 60 wickets and achieved one 10-wicket haul. He passed 1,000 first-class wickets with Leicestershire.
Having retired from the first-class game, Malcolm continued to play for Brixworth Cricket Club, in the Northamptonshire Cricket League Premier Division, and also played for Suffolk
Suffolk County Cricket Club
Suffolk County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Suffolk....
in the Minor Counties Championship.
He authored a book entitled, You Guys Are History and also made a guest appearance on The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
- although he did not win, he survived several elimination rounds.