Peter Lever
Encyclopedia
Peter Lever is a former English
cricket
er, 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. Towards the end of his career, during a Test match against New Zealand
, he almost killed debutant Ewen Chatfield
with a bouncer.
and Tasmania in a successful first-class
career of 301 matches from 1960 until 1976, which yielded Lever 796 wickets and 3,534 runs. The inclusion of John Snow
, Jeff Jones
, David Brown and Ken Higgs
in the England team delayed Lever's debut until, when aged 30, he played against Australia at Perth
on 1 December 1970. He managed two with the bat, but took one wicket in each innings.
Lever could deliver a dangerous bouncer, despite his gentle nature. Both were in evidence when he poleaxed New Zealander Ewen Chatfield
, whose life was saved by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage
at Eden Park
, Auckland
. Lever, in abject horror, fell to his own knees, and had to be helped off the pitch by his team-mates. Lever went on to take 41 wickets in international cricket, at 36.80 and including best bowling figures of 6/38, before his final Test ended on 5 August 1975 during another Ashes tour
, Australia facing England at Lord's
.
Lever also played ten One Day Internationals, including the 1975 Cricket World Cup
, taking 11 wickets but scoring only 17 runs. His ODI debut was also against Australia, at Melbourne
on 5 January 1971, and his last match was at Headingley
, Leeds
, again against Australia, on 18 June 1975. This gives Lever the unusual distinction of having played both his debut, and last match, against Australia during Ashes tours, in both the Test and one day form of the game.
His domestic career continued to 1976 in first-class cricket, and until 1983 in List-A. He then went on to become a coach at his old domestic club, Lancashire.
He now helps coach all teams at Lewdown Cricket Club.
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, who played in seventeen 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 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. Towards the end of his career, during a Test match against 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...
, he almost killed debutant Ewen Chatfield
Ewen Chatfield
Ewen John Chatfield is a former cricketer who played 43 Tests and 114 One Day Internationals for New Zealand. A medium-pace bowler, his chief weapon was his accuracy, giving him economical bowling figures, although he occasionally would come in for punishment in the late stages of limited overs...
with a bouncer.
Career
Lever, along with his cricket playing brother Colin, played for LancashireLancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
and Tasmania in a successful 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...
career of 301 matches from 1960 until 1976, which yielded Lever 796 wickets and 3,534 runs. The inclusion of John Snow
John Snow (cricketer)
John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
, Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones (cricketer)
Jeff Jones is a former Welsh cricketer, who took forty-four wickets in fifteen Tests for England from 1964 to 1968....
, David Brown and Ken Higgs
Ken Higgs
For the American basketball player, see Kenny Higgs.Ken Higgs was an English fast-medium bowler, who was most successful as the opening partner to Brian Statham with Lancashire in the 1960s...
in the England team delayed Lever's debut until, when aged 30, he played against Australia at Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
on 1 December 1970. He managed two with the bat, but took one wicket in each innings.
Lever could deliver a dangerous bouncer, despite his gentle nature. Both were in evidence when he poleaxed New Zealander Ewen Chatfield
Ewen Chatfield
Ewen John Chatfield is a former cricketer who played 43 Tests and 114 One Day Internationals for New Zealand. A medium-pace bowler, his chief weapon was his accuracy, giving him economical bowling figures, although he occasionally would come in for punishment in the late stages of limited overs...
, whose life was saved by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. Lever, in abject horror, fell to his own knees, and had to be helped off the pitch by his team-mates. Lever went on to take 41 wickets in international cricket, at 36.80 and including best bowling figures of 6/38, before his final Test ended on 5 August 1975 during another Ashes tour
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
, Australia facing England at Lord's
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...
.
Lever also played ten One Day Internationals, including the 1975 Cricket World Cup
1975 Cricket World Cup
-Group B:-Knockout stage:-Semifinals:In the best World Cup performance to date by a bowler, Gary Gilmour took six wickets as England were bowled all out for 93 , after falling to 37/7...
, taking 11 wickets but scoring only 17 runs. His ODI debut was also against Australia, at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 5 January 1971, and his last match was at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, again against Australia, on 18 June 1975. This gives Lever the unusual distinction of having played both his debut, and last match, against Australia during Ashes tours, in both the Test and one day form of the game.
His domestic career continued to 1976 in first-class cricket, and until 1983 in List-A. He then went on to become a coach at his old domestic club, Lancashire.
He now helps coach all teams at Lewdown Cricket Club.
External links
- Peter Lever at CricInfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...