LONDON (AP) — Former England fast bowler Peter Lever, a member of the triumphant 1970-71 Ashes side, has died at 84.
His former Lancashire club made the announcement on Thursday.
“We are deeply saddened by the news that Peter Lever has passed away, aged 84,” Lancashire posted on X. “Peter was inducted into our Hall of Fame last year after playing 301 First-Class matches between 1960 and 1976 — taking 796 wickets. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Lever played 17 tests and 10 one-day internationals, including the inaugural one-dayer in 1971.
Just days after giving one of the greatest spells of pace bowling in test history in 1975, he nearly killed New Zealand tailender Ewen Chatfield. Lever played only one more test after that near tragedy.
Lever first appeared for England in the summer of 1970 against a Rest of the World XI at the Oval and took 7-83, including the wickets of Garry Sobers, Mushtaq Mohammad, Graeme Pollock, Clive Lloyd and Mike Procter. The match had test status but it was withdrawn.
Still, it earned Lever an official England debut at age 30 at the end of the year in the Ashes opener in Perth. In that series, Australia was blanked at home for the only time and England won in Australia for the first time since 1955.
He returned to Australia in 1975 and claimed career-best figures of 6-38 in Melbourne. On the first day, he dismissed four of the top five batters for only two runs. The innings win was England's sole success in the six-test series.
The tour moved to New Zealand, where last-man Chatfield, on debut, deflected a bouncer by Lever into his helmet-less left temple and collapsed. Chatfield's heart stopped and some England players, including a distraught Lever, thought he died. But he was revived by CPR from England physiotherapist Bernard Thomas. That ended the match in Auckland. Lever told Chatfield in hospital he felt like retiring.
He played one more test, the second Ashes game at Lord's that summer, and took two wickets in a draw. Then he played one more first-class summer for Lancashire.
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The Associated Press
