Peter Lever: the former launcher of Lancashire and England dies 84 years old
BBC’s cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew
When I was 11 years old, my father took me to a final of Gillette Cup from Lord’s between Lancashire and Kent, and I saw a fast bowl player ran from the end of the nursery school. I had never seen anything like this. I turned to my father and said: “It’s what I want to be”. It was Peter Lever.
There was something in the way he launched. Energy, the race. He turned on a spark under me and, from that moment on, I was Peter Lever. My father wanted me to be a spinner, like him, but there was no possibility after seeing Peter Bowl. I copied his action and was everywhere in my life while I grew up.
When I was about 15 years old I went to stay with my grandmother in Cheshire and paid for a little coaching in the Lancashire networks at Old Trafford. Since I was reasonably fast, I was promoted to launch to the first team. I was so nervous. Peter was on the net next to it. It was like a dream that became reality.
I followed him religiously. For a quick bowl player, he was an incredibly kind character.
In 1965, when South Africa visited England and played against Lancashire in a game of tours, Peter refused to play against them because of apartheid.
So, in the first test against New Zealand in Auckland in 1975, he had the horrendous experience of hitting the house number 11 Ewen Chatfield with a bouncer. Chatfield is almost dead. He almost destroyed Peter.
A few years later, in a famous game between Derbyshire and Lancashire in Buxton, it snowed and left the field as a sort of lottery. Peter refused to launch because he thought he was too dangerous.
The bond forged between his former England captain Raymond Illingworth and Peter continued after their days of play. When Raymond was responsible for the England team as head coach and selector of the Supreme, Peter made the Bowling coach to Peter.
Peter moved with his wife Ros to Devon, immersing himself in the local community. He trained at the Lewdown Cricket Club and planted wild flowers around the village.
In 2017, Andrew Strauss organized a dinner of “Club in England” from Lord’s for everyone, men and women, who had ever played for England. I was asked to host in the evening and accepted only on condition that I could sit next to Peter. They gave us all the special caps to recognize our time to play for England. I introduced him to Peter and he introduced me to mine. It was a good time.
He had a massive influence on my life as a cricket. They say you should never meet your heroes. I am so lucky that I met mine.
