Peter Bowler (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Peter Duncan Bowler is a former English
-born Australia
n cricket
er who played for Leicestershire
in 1986, Tasmania in 1986/87, Derbyshire
from 1988 to 1994 and for Somerset
from 1995 to 2004.
In 1986, Bowler made a century on his Leicestershire debut. Though he played in Australia during the following season, he came back to England in 1988, playing for Derbyshire and, fourteen times in the ensuing seventeen seasons, top-scored in the season with an innings exceeding 100. In 1988, his first season with Derbyshire
, he scored 1725 runs, a record which stood for three years until broken by Mohammad Azharuddin
.
Bowler's top score in a league match came in 1990, as he made an innings of 210, having just a month previously made 241 against Hampshire in the NatWest Trophy. Even in 1992, when he possessed his highest season average, of nearly 66 runs, he failed to get a call-up by the England selectors, particularly at a time when Derbyshire's wickets were more suspect to being felled by clever seam bowlers.
However, come 1994, he had a very poor season, playing for Somerset, soon following this up with a 1997 and 1998 season where his problems were only exacerbated. He made something of a comeback in Derbyshire's second placing of 2001, before they were relegated the following season. He spent two years in Division Two before retiring from the game. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler, who also occasionally played as a wicket-keeper.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born 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...
n 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 who played for 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....
in 1986, Tasmania in 1986/87, 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...
from 1988 to 1994 and for 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...
from 1995 to 2004.
Playing career
Bowler played three youth Test matches during a 1982 tour of Pakistan; he made 82 on his debut, also making a 76 on the tour.In 1986, Bowler made a century on his Leicestershire debut. Though he played in Australia during the following season, he came back to England in 1988, playing for Derbyshire and, fourteen times in the ensuing seventeen seasons, top-scored in the season with an innings exceeding 100. In 1988, his first season with 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...
, he scored 1725 runs, a record which stood for three years until broken by Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin also known as Azhar, is an Indian politician and former cricketer. He was an accomplished batsman and captained the Indian cricket team for much of the 1990s, until his involvement in a match-fixing scandal forced him into retirement...
.
Bowler's top score in a league match came in 1990, as he made an innings of 210, having just a month previously made 241 against Hampshire in the NatWest Trophy. Even in 1992, when he possessed his highest season average, of nearly 66 runs, he failed to get a call-up by the England selectors, particularly at a time when Derbyshire's wickets were more suspect to being felled by clever seam bowlers.
However, come 1994, he had a very poor season, playing for Somerset, soon following this up with a 1997 and 1998 season where his problems were only exacerbated. He made something of a comeback in Derbyshire's second placing of 2001, before they were relegated the following season. He spent two years in Division Two before retiring from the game. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler, who also occasionally played as a wicket-keeper.
External links
- Peter Bowler at Cricket Archive