Vic Marks's Blog

While he could be funny, he was also firm and players knew where they stood with umpire who became as famous as them

Dickie Bird may well have been the most consistent, the most famous and the most loved umpire in cricket history and yet when he pitched up at the grounds of ambitious county teams in the 1970s and 80s there would often be groans in the home dressing room.

Dickie’s presence was bound to enliven the game but it would also make it harder to win. Dickie was a cautious umpire, who required certainty before he raised his finger to send a batsman back to the pavilion (often with a bellowed “That’s Out”). To win games, which usually meant taking 20 wickets, the bold captain would prefer one of the more cavalier umpires on the circuit, who might later boast of his hundred victims by the end of May, to be officiating.

Gloucestershire fast bowler who was the first British-born black cricketer to play for England

David “Syd” Lawrence, the Gloucestershire and England cricketer who has died aged 61, a year after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, knew only one way to bowl. It was to charge up to the crease and hurl the ball down as fast as he could – whether it was eleven o’clock in the morning or six in the evening after a long day in the field. He became the first British-born black cricketer to play for England on his Test debut in 1988.

For Gloucestershire he united with Courtney Walsh, the great West Indian paceman, who would soon become a friend. They would also enjoy themselves as revellers at the St Paul’s carnival in Bristol each year. Together they formed a formidable, contrasting pair of opening bowlers. Walsh was the more calculating cricketer, bowling fast one day and relying on accuracy, cunning and late movement the next. Lawrence just kept racing in with abandon, a spectacular, uplifting sight unless you happened to be the batsman at the other end.

Lancashire and England opening bowler who played in the victorious England Ashes side of 1971

Peter Lever, who has died aged 84, was a fast-medium bowler for Lancashire for 17 years and for England in 17 Test matches. In many ways he was the epitome of the staunch English professional cricketer, dedicated, modest and devoted to the game he loved. And yet throughout his career he experienced moments way beyond the norm, one of which was harrowing in the extreme.

He toured Australia twice, under the captaincy of Ray Illingworth in 1970-71 when England regained the Ashes with Lever playing in five of the six Tests, and then on the less successful expedition under Mike Denness four years later, during which an unsuspecting England team was confronted by the combination of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson for the first time. It was just after that series when a battered England side had moved on to New Zealand that Lever had the most traumatic experience of his life.

Test record for England reflected left-hander’s remarkable ability to adapt and he flourished against the very best

Graham Thorpe was one of those cricketers – and there have been quite a few – who seemed most in control of his life when at the crease with a bat in his hand during a tense Test match. Off the field, he experienced more than his fair share of turmoil; on it, he was calm and clinical, attributes that Test captains eagerly crave.

Thorpe is one of 17 to play 100 Tests for England and in that time he scored 6,744 runs at an average of 44.66, the figures of a great batter. He was not one of those beautiful, silky left-handers, but, by modern standards, he was pleasingly orthodox, uncomplicated and very clever, whatever the format.

Having witnessed the paceman’s England bow, there is plenty still to admire in the warhorse as he gears up to say goodbye

He’ll finish where he started: at Lord’s with Rob Key looking on admiringly and a Labour prime minister residing in Downing Street. Some 21 years ago, when Tony Blair was in charge and Key was batting at No 5 for England, a shy, young whippersnapper from Burnley, James Anderson, made his Test debut against Zimbabwe.

It’s a long time ago and quite a lot has changed since then: on that weekend at the end of May 2003, Paul McCartney was performing in front of 100,000 fans in Moscow’s Red Square, preparations were in hand for the first ever Twenty20 matches on the county circuit and Phil Tufnell was about to win I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! What remains is the prospect of Anderson bowling for England in a Lord’s Test match – one last time.

‘Deadly’ was the antithesis of the international superstar sportsman – until he set off on his run-up

Derek Underwood once described himself as a “low-mentality bowler”. It was a typically self-effacing remark from England’s most prolific spinner in Test cricket (with 297 victims). Underwood was a hero from another age but you would never have guessed so when wandering into the bar after playing against Kent. He would be there with a beer in one hand and a fag in the other and that self-deprecating smile on his lips. He would happily talk cricket – and spin bowling – often seeking the opinion of others as if they knew better than him (which was ridiculous). Here was the antithesis of the international superstar sportsman until, with his feet splayed at 1o to two, he set off on his run-up.

That reference to his “low mentality” partially explains his success. Underwood was, in fact, a free thinker. It was natural for him to bowl quicker than his peers but crucially he had the nous not to change his style. Generally he shunned the fancy variations that the armchair pundits and a few old coaches craved. Instead the human metronome trundled up to the crease and landed the ball on a length around off-stump at his pace time and time again. And so the strangulation process began.

‘Deadly’ was the antithesis of the international superstar sportsman – until he set off on his run-up

Derek Underwood once described himself as a “low-mentality bowler”. It was a typically self-effacing remark from England’s most prolific spinner in Test cricket (with 297 victims). Underwood was a hero from another age but you would never have guessed so when wandering into the bar after playing against Kent. He would be there with a beer in one hand and a fag in the other and that self-deprecating smile on his lips. He would happily talk cricket – and spin bowling – often seeking the opinion of others as if they knew better than him (which was ridiculous). Here was the antithesis of the international superstar sportsman until, with his feet splayed at 1o to two, he set off on his run-up.

That reference to his “low mentality” partially explains his success. Underwood was, in fact, a free thinker. It was natural for him to bowl quicker than his peers but crucially he had the nous not to change his style. Generally he shunned the fancy variations that the armchair pundits and a few old coaches craved. Instead the human metronome trundled up to the crease and landed the ball on a length around off-stump at his pace time and time again. And so the strangulation process began.

Great cricketing all-rounder who played seven Test matches for his native South Africa and 14 seasons for Gloucestershire

The South African cricketer Mike Procter, who has died aged 77 following complications from surgery, was one of the game’s greatest all-rounders. He could match the leading players of his era – from Garry Sobers at the start of his career to Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Kapil Dev towards the end.

The one point of difference was that Procter was able to demonstrate his prowess in only seven Test matches for South Africa, while the others clocked up 500 Test appearances between them. Yet no one who played cricket at that time has any doubts that Procter belongs in such company.

The former England captain enjoyed five more years at Essex after retiring from Test duty, a rare feat among internationals

Sir Alastair Cook’s exit from first-class cricket was not so spectacular as his departure from the international game. Five years ago, he signed off with a century against India in front of a full house at the Oval. His farewell to domestic cricket last month was at a damp, autumnal, sparsely inhabited Northampton in a match that his beloved Essex, in a forlorn pursuit of the County Championship title, lost by an innings. But he’s not the type to fret about that. He has never pursued the limelight and he’s been around long enough not to expect another perfectly choreographed farewell.

Even so, this is a moment. One of England’s greatest openers and this country’s highest runscorer in Test cricket has come to the end of a brilliant – and unusual – career. Cook played 161 Tests and was never dropped (the likes of Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting and Joe Root all endured that). He missed just one game through injury back in 2006. Even more unusual is the fact that he kept playing for Essex for another five years after withdrawing from Test cricket.

The former England captain enjoyed five more years at Essex after retiring from Test duty, a rare feat among internationals

Sir Alastair Cook’s exit from first-class cricket was not so spectacular as his departure from the international game. Five years ago, he signed off with a century against India in front of a full house at the Oval. His farewell to domestic cricket last month was at a damp, autumnal, sparsely inhabited Northampton in a match that his beloved Essex, in a forlorn pursuit of the County Championship title, lost by an innings. But he’s not the type to fret about that. He has never pursued the limelight and he’s been around long enough not to expect another perfectly choreographed farewell.

Even so, this is a moment. One of England’s greatest openers and this country’s highest runscorer in Test cricket has come to the end of a brilliant – and unusual – career. Cook played 161 Tests and was never dropped (the likes of Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting and Joe Root all endured that). He missed just one game through injury back in 2006. Even more unusual is the fact that he kept playing for Essex for another five years after withdrawing from Test cricket.