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Larkins, the hard-hitting Northamptonshire opening batsman, might
have played more Test cricket if he had not joined the rebel England
tour of South Africa in 1981-82 at a time when he was very much in the
selectors thoughts. So impressed had they been by his attacking play he
had been put straight into the 1979 World Cup squad with no experience.
Indeed, most people will remember Wayne Larkins for the battering his
medium pace bowling was subjected to by Collis King in the World Cup
Final.
His two overs went for 21 runs, but he should never have bowled,
Mike Brearley turned to him in desperation when King and Viv Richards
had already demolished the more experienced 'fill-in' bowling of Boycott
and Gooch. Larkins actually made his England debut in the World Cup
semi-final against New Zealand, scoring 7. He was out for a duck in the
final. He toured Australia in 1979-80, scoring a promising 25 at
Melbourne.
In South Africa he made 95 in the third unofficial Test in
Cape Town, but the subsequent ban put him out of Test cricket until
Graham Gooch wanted his help in West Indies in 1989-90. He made 46 and
29 not out in Kingston, scoring the winning runs and 54 in Port of
Spain, but could not compensate for the loss of Gooch through injury in
the last Tests. In Australia in 1990-91 he had his best-ever Test match
with 64 and 54 in the Melbourne game. (Bob Harragan)
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