Former England left-arm swing bowler, John Lever, began and ended his Test career against India. In an international career from the 1976-77 tour of India to the English summer of 1986, Lever played in 21 Tests for 73 wickets, 45 of which were against India. He also went on a rebel tour of South Africa and was banned for three years.
Lever remains etched in Indian cricket fans' memory for the infamous Vaseline controversy in his debut Test series against Bishan Bedi’s India, in Chennai. He was in India with a group of English supporters for the first two Tests of the ongoing series. Excerpts from a chat with the 74-year-old.
You started your Test career against India in 1976-77 and ended against the same opposition in 1986 in Headingley...
I served a three-year-ban for going to South Africa after the 1981-82 series in India. It was not a great series. India won the first Test match and the pitches were flat. When the opportunity came (to go to South Africa), I said ‘yes’. Such were the financial implications. We were poorly paid cricketers those years. After returning from South Africa, I got quite a few wickets in county cricket. When India was in England in 1986, Mike Gatting was captain. It normally swings in Headingley and I was still getting wickets. I was more nervous in that Test than any of the others. It was a little bit of consolation to be asked to play after three good years playing county cricket.
Do you regret the Vaseline incident? Your captain Tony Greig later said it should not have happened…
I was the one who suggested putting Vaseline above the eyebrows because of sweat in Madras. It was hot and I needed to keep sweat off my eyes. We had gauze. Bob (Willis) had it on. It was not just me. He bowled the first ball and had enough of it (gauze). I was an outswing bowler. I wanted to be quick like Dennis Lillee. To bowl quick, you tend to lose that wrist falling away (shows his wrist position). I had to go to the nets, staying up straight, keeping the wrist behind the ball, I thought I learnt to swing it. Dear old Bish was under a bit of pressure. The thing that hurt me was to hear him say ‘he never swung like that in England’. I got close to 1,750 first-class wickets in England and did not get them by bowling straight balls. I was upset with Bish. I felt he was questioning my art. Vaseline doesn’t swing the ball. If anything, it stops you from gripping it.
How did you succeed bowling swing in India?
We brought our Twort ball (brand name) with us. And, in local games, we played with SG balls. They all swung quite a bit. I had a bit of success with that. Our manager Ken Barrington asked ‘would you fancy if you played?’ I said ‘yeah, definitely’. In that particular first innings (Delhi, he took 7/46 and 3/24 on debut), we might have changed the ball once or twice because it was going out of shape. The third ball really swung quite a bit. I was lucky to get the ball to do the right things. I learnt my art as a swing bowler.
How have you seen India as an opposition over the years?
Brilliant. There was a question mark of how you play quicker bowlers. Every pitch here turned, was slow. As soon as you were out of your country, there was a big dearth. Sunil Gavaskar was the best I played against in that era. He was really a top player and of course Sachin Tendulkar came along. Virat Kohli now-a-days, you pay money to watch him. It is a great improvement.
How useful is a left-arm pacer?
Big. The only reason I got so many wickets was I was left-arm. Not particularly quick but batters don’t play the swing. I started playing first-class cricket in 1967, batsmen did not play left-armers. It is a completely different angle and a different method with the bat-pad coming in quite a bit. The left-arm over the wicket is going to leave a mark on the wicket.
Who was the best left-arm pacer you have seen?
Obviously Garfield Sobers. No, actually Wasim Akram was. Sobers was lively but not of Akram’s pace. I played against Akram when he was with Lancashire and we had a little chat. He said ‘you are swinging with the new ball, I struggle to swing the new ball. I am happy when it starts to reverse and I can swing it then.’
(Author is a Mumbai-based freelance sports journalist)
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