In the August issue of All Out Cricket – which hits the shops on Thursday July 7 – former England tearaway Devon Malcolm recalls some of the standout moments from his colourful career over a couple of pints with Jo Harman in our regular ‘A Drink With…’ feature. Here’s a sneak peak.
Was pace always your priority?
I always wanted to bowl as quickly as I could but if you speak to a lot of batsmen, whether at first-class or Test level, they’ll tell you I got the majority of my wickets not just with speed, but because I could swing the ball. If the ball wasn’t swinging I’d revert back to sheer pace but if there was a little bit of movement I usually used the conditions well.
Were there some batsmen you didn’t bother bouncing?
I didn’t use the bouncer to go maiming or hurting people, just to get guys coming forward tentatively. Then I would pitch the ball up and get them nicking off. Often I just wanted to get the tailenders backing off a bit, to get them out of line, but ended up bowling the perfect bouncer and hitting them. It’s crazy like that! What I did like was bowling a short-pitched ball, beating the batsman for pace and getting them caught on the hook. I used to love bowling at Michael Bevan of Australia. He couldn’t play the short ball and whenever he came in I’d go round the wicket, put it up his nose, and he’d be caught in the gully. He’d look at me and say, ‘Dev, you bastard!’ He told me I ended his Test career.
Who were some of the personalities you most enjoyed touring with?
My first tour to the Caribbean in 1990 was my most enjoyable. Allan Lamb appointed himself as the entertainment manager and he showed us around the islands, organised drinks and all that business. Each night a couple of us would have to put on a show to entertain the boys. It really bonded the lads and we had a great team spirit. I remember running into bowl in one of the Tests and Lamby shouting, ‘Come on Dev, release the handbrake!’ I didn’t know what he was talking about. I was bloody bowling as quick as I could and I asked him if he was calling me slow. He said, ‘No Dev, I’m just getting at the batsman, I want him to think you’ve got more in the tank’. We didn’t have a massive amount of banter at Derbyshire, so I wasn’t used to it!
To read the full interview pick up the August issue of All Out Cricket, in shops Thursday July 7.
Chance to Shine ambassador Devon Malcolm was speaking at a Canary Wharf Group event to promote the JohnJac Concertina Cricket Net System
