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John Lever - known as 'J.K.' to everyone - came late to Test cricket as a
seasoned county pro. Despite some excellent performances and the
variety of his left arm over seam and swing he could rarely displace
Chris Old and Mike Hendrick, who were often vying for one spot in the
team themselves. Lever was often selected in an England squad and left
out on the morning. His most effective performances came in his first
Tests on Tony Greig's Indian tour of 1976-77, when sharp swing from an
unusual angle in unexpected conditions unnerved the Indian top order.
There was some controversy when the England bowlers were found to be
using Vaseline to keep the sweat out of their eyes and the match ball
had to be sent off for scientific tests. Lever not only took 7-46 in the
first innings of the Delhi Test and 3-24 in the second but he also
weighed in with 53 runs as well. In the Madras Test that followed he
took 5-59 and 2-18. His success in India kept him in the England team
for the Centenary Test in Melbourne, when he opened the bowling with Bob
Willis. In the first Test of the 1977 Ashes series he took 3-60 at Old
Trafford, but played only one more match in the series.
He toured
Pakistan with Brearley and took five wickets in the first Test in New
Zealand that followed. After that he had to compete with the up and
coming Ian Botham as well as the other seamers. He played in Perth in a
1978-79 Ashes series, taking 4-25 in the second innings and took 4-111
in Melbourne in 1979-80. He had one match against West Indies in 1980
before joining the rebel tour of South Africa in 1981-82, when he took
6-86 in the second unofficial Test in Cape Town, having Graeme Pollock
caught by Knott for a duck. (Bob Harragan)
John played 529 matches for Essex between 1967 and 1989. He took 1,722 wickets at an average of 24.24 with a best of 8-37. His batting average was 10.53 but his highest score was 91.
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