John Lever
John Lever MBE (born John Kenneth Lever, 24 February 1949) is an English former cricketer, who played in 21 Tests and 22 ODIs for England from 1976 to 1986. Lever was a left-arm fast-medium bowler, who predominantly swung the ball into the right-handed batsmen, to try to outwit them.
Cricket correspondent Colin Bateman, remarked, "for 23 years he plied his trade with Essex, becoming the finest left-arm pace bowler in the country. Tough, astute, and entertaining in the dressing room, Lever was, as the title of his autobiography suggests, A Cricketer's Cricketer".
Life and career
Born 24 February 1949, Stepney, London, Lever is sometimes remembered for the vaseline incident. It was one of the first publicised 'doctoring' (using unfair means to enhance the swing or seam abilities) of the cricket ball by a bowler, when Lever reportedly rubbed vaseline onto one side of the ball so it would swing better. The claim was later rejected and Lever was cleared of any wrongdoing. In that Test against India in Delhi, Lever recorded the best Test bowling figures for an English debutant (7–46), a record that stood until Dominic Cork beat it by three runs on his debut against the West Indies in 1995. Lever finished the match with bowling figures of 10–70, another English debutant's record, which he enhanced with a half century while giving banter.
John Lever (disambiguation)
John Lever is a cricketer.
John Lever may also refer to:
Famous quotes by John Lever:
Jean
Jean
Oliver
From the 1969 film "The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie" starring Oscar-winner
Maggie Smith
Written by Rod McKuen
Peak chart position # 2 in 1969
Jean, Jean, roses are red
All the leaves have gone green
And the clouds are so low
You can touch them, and so
Come out to the meadow, Jean
Jean, Jean, you're young and alive
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will, to the top of the hill
Open your arms, bonnie Jean
Till the sheep in the valley come home my way
Till the stars fall around me and find me alone
When the sun comes a-singin' I'll still be waitin'
For Jean, Jean, roses are red
And all of the leaves have gone green
While the hills are ablaze with the moon's yellow haze
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean
(Jean, Jean)
Jean, you're young and alive!!
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will to the top of the hill
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean
Jean
La-la-la-la, etc.