Former England bowler Peter Lever passes away

NEW DELHI: Former England and Lancashire player Peter Lever passed away following a short illness at 84. He served as England’s bowling coach under Ray Illingworth and was inducted into the Lancashire Hall of Fame last year, as per a report by ESPNcricinfo.

During his career in the 1960s and ’70s, Lever claimed nearly 1,000 wickets for Lancashire. He earned 17 Test caps for England and also played 10 one-day internationals.

Initially, Lever’s opportunities with England were restricted due to intense competition from seam bowlers, and he had to wait until he was 30 for his official debut. He had played for England against the Rest of the World in the summer of 1970, taking 7 for 83, which included the dismissals of Graeme Pollock, Garry Sobers, and Clive Lloyd—but those matches subsequently lost their Test status.

He played in five Tests during the 1970-71 Ashes series, taking 13 wickets, as England triumphed 2-0 to reclaim the title. He was also selected for the inaugural ODI due to the cancellation of the Melbourne Test.

Though his participation afterward was irregular, Lever toured Australia and New Zealand once more in 1974-75. In the Auckland Test, Lever bowled the delivery that hit Ewen Chatfield on the side of the head, necessitating mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for the New Zealand No. 11 on the field.

Lever was part of the England team that reached the semi-finals of the first men’s World Cup later that year, but he only made one additional Test appearance before retiring in 1976.

He played 17 test matches, where he took 41 wickets with an average of 36.80 and an economy of 2.53. Lever played ten One Day Internationals in which he took 11 wickets with an average of 23.72 and an economy of 3.55. His best figures for 6/38 came against Australia. He has two five-wicket hauls to his name. (ANI)