3 weeks ago
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Former Lancashire and England fast bowler Peter Lever has died at the age of 84 following a short illness.
Lever was part of the England team that won the Ashes in Australia in 1970-71 under captain Raymond Illingworth, the tour in which he made his Test debut.
On the same trip, Lever also played in the very first one-day international, a hastily arranged 40-over match between England and Australia when the third Test in Melbourne was washed out.
He actually first played for England earlier in 1970, against a Rest of World XI, matches that were eventually stripped of Test status.
Overall, Lever took 41 wickets in 17 Tests and 11 more in 10 one-day internationals.
He played for Lancashire between 1960 and 1976, claiming almost 800 wickets in 301 first-class matches.
His wife Ros said: "It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that Peter Lever has passed away peacefully today. A beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
"An enormous thank you to everyone that has been caring and considerate in supporting Peter through these difficult recent times."
BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew
When I was aged 11, my dad took me to a Gillette Cup final at Lord's between Lancashire and Kent, and I saw a fast bowler running in from the Nursery End. I'd never seen anything like it. I turned to my dad and said: "That's who I want to be." It was Peter Lever.
There was something about the way he bowled. The energy, the run-up. It lit a spark under me and, from that moment on, I was Peter Lever. My dad wanted me to be an off-spinner, like him, but there was no chance after I'd seen Peter bowl. I copied his action and he was everywhere in my life as I grew up.
When I was about 15 I went to stay with my grandmother in Cheshire and paid to have some coaching in the Lancashire nets at Old Trafford. Because I was reasonably quick, I got promoted to bowl to the first team. I was so nervous. Peter was in the net next door. It was like a dream come true.
I followed him religiously. For a fast bowler, he was an incredibly gentle character.
In 1965, when South Africa visited England and played against Lancashire in a tour match, Peter refused to play against them because of apartheid.
Then, in the first Test against New Zealand in Auckland in 1975, he had the horrendous experience of hitting the home number 11 Ewen Chatfield with a bouncer. Chatfield almost died. It nearly destroyed Peter.
A few years later, in a famous game between Derbyshire and Lancashire at Buxton, it snowed and left the pitch as something of a lottery. Peter refused to bowl because he thought it was too dangerous.
The bond forged between his former England captain Raymond Illingworth and Peter continued after their playing days. When Raymond was in charge of the England team as the supremo head coach and selector, he made Peter the bowling coach.
Peter moved with his wife Ros to Devon, immersing himself in the local community. He coached at Lewdown Cricket Club and planted wild flowers around the village.
In 2017, Andrew Strauss arranged a 'Club England' dinner at Lord's for everyone, men and women, who had ever played for England. I was asked to host the evening and accepted only on the condition I could sit next to Peter. We were all given special caps to recognise our time playing for England. I presented Peter's to him and he presented mine to me. It was a lovely moment.
He had a massive influence on my cricketing life. They say you should never meet your heroes. I'm so lucky that I got to know mine.
