| David Steele, grey haired and bespectacled, was an unlikely hero for
England in 1975. New captain Tony Greig called him in to fight off the
speed of Lillee and Thomson, which had left England's batting in
tatters. Steele marched down the steps from the Lord's dressing room for
the first time and found himself in the toilet. Out in the middle
things were not much better, he soon found England at 49 for four and
his captain coming out to join him. Steele hooked, pulled and drove the
fast bowlers, cheered on by the crowd. He made 50 in that innings,
followed by 45. He even got a wicket in that match, even though he only
bowled four balls. In his second Test he was even better, as he made 92,
followed by 39 and 66 in the next. Awards were showered on David
Steele. His local butcher had even sponsored him for a chop a run and
the Steele's freezer overflowed with meat. There was no England tour
that winter, so Steele went with D.H. Robin's XI to South Africa,
scoring 60 against an African XI in Soweto and 110 not out against
Western Province in Cape Town. England were still being battered by
young fast bowlers in 1976, this time the West Indians Roberts, Holding
and Daniel. Steele made 106 in the first Test at Trent Bridge, and 64 at
Lord's, but the West Indians found they could exploit his trademark
hook and began to get him caught at fine leg off the bouncer. He made 20
and 15 in a low scoring match at Old Trafford and only 4 and 0 when he
was asked to open at Headingley. He returned to form with 44 and 42 at
the Oval, but some tortuous thinking by the selectors saw the hero of
England left out of the winter tour. He never played for England again. (Bob Harragan) |
.
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David Steele pictured in 1976 playing for Northampton CCC. Photo George Herringshaw. ©
| |
Date |
Test |
Venue |
Opp. |
1st Inns |
2nd Inns |
Batting |
Ct |
Result |
| |
31/07/75 |
2 |
Lord's |
Aus |
0.4-0-1-1 |
9-4-19-1 |
50 & 45 |
0 |
Draw |
| |
14/08/75 |
3 |
Leeds |
Aus |
dnb |
dnb |
73 & 92 |
2 |
Draw |
| |
28/08/75 |
4 |
The Oval |
Aus |
2-1-1-0 |
dnb |
39 & 66 |
2 |
Draw |
| |
03/06/76 |
1 |
Nottingham |
WI |
dnb |
dnb |
106 & 6 |
1 |
Draw |
| |
17/06/76 |
2 |
Lord's |
WI |
dnb |
dnb |
7 & 64 |
0 |
Draw |
| |
08/07/76 |
3 |
Manchester |
WI |
dnb |
dnb |
20 & 15 |
1 |
Lost |
| |
22/07/76 |
4 |
Leeds |
WI |
dnb |
dnb |
4 & 0 |
1 |
Lost |
| |
12/08/76 |
5 |
The Oval |
WI |
3-0-18-0 |
dnb |
44 & 42 |
0 |
Lost |
Summary of all matches
| M |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
100s |
50s |
W |
BB |
Ave |
5w |
Ct |
| 8 |
673 |
106 |
42.06 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
1-1 |
19.50 |
0 |
7 |