Derek Randall

Photos: Derek Randall

Happy Birthday, Derek Randall!

Derek Randall Biography

The word that characterises Derek Randall is ‘sparkling’. His career progressed like a sequence of brilliantly formed colourful bubbles, a large number of which perhaps remained short-lived, but none of which ever failed to delight.

How do we accurately describe him?

With those incredible cartwheels executed to perfection between deliveries as he stood at cover? Those impish moments of mimicry when the severe authority of the Indian policeman patrolling the boundary finished helpless against the titters of laughter — with the madman from Retford carelessly looking away when the officer turned suspiciously towards him?

Or do we recall the magical innings during the Centenary Test at Melbourne? In front of the hundreds of past Ashes greats and in the presence of the Queen — when he scored 174 in defiance of the supreme Australian bowlers, was struck on the head by a Dennis Lillee bouncer but continued to bat, and doffed his hat when Lillee bounced again?

What about the handspring at Headingley? His way of celebrating the Ashes win of 1977. Standing in the covers, loose-limbed, with a low centre of gravity, blessed with incredible anticipation and penchant for hurling himself around, he was talked of in the same breath as Colin Bland and Neil Harvey. And when the side triumphed, he was prone to celebrate in a way that added an extra item to the day’s entertainment.

Perhaps the career of Randall can be summarised with a description of his feats at Melbourne in January 1979. In the first innings, Randall had perished to a hook essayed off the second ball. England, facing a deficit of 142 runs, started the second innings disastrously. Geoff Boycott fell first ball. David Gower, Bob Willis and Ian Botham were variously ill or injured. And Randall picked up his 2 lb 7 oz bat with its extra layer of rubber on the handle, murmuring, “come on, Rags, England needs you.” He stayed at the wicket for the little short of 10 hours, continuously chattering to himself. “Wake up, Rags, concentrate. Get stuck in. You idiot, Rags. Concentrate, Rags, come on, come on. Come on England.” He batted with a technique of his own, underlined by his famed shuffle, sometimes moving across to hide all three stumps. He hardly played two balls the same way. And he made 150, prevailing over the Australian bowlers and the Sydney temperatures of 105 degrees.

He was mostly a buoyant character on the cricket ground, but when the situation demanded he could sometimes turn hard as nails — nails that were chiselled and crafted with exquisite artistry. Unfortunately, that did not happen too often, but when it did, even the stiffest upper lips would spread into delighted smiles.

Of a slight build, and just about five feet eight inches, Randall prowled in size 11 boots. He was named Arkle after the famous racehorse. He was by far the most gifted athlete among cricketers of his era. He often lost his way while out on a training run before the cricket season, but nevertheless always managed to arrive back before anyone else.

His batting was not copybook, the shuffle a bit too pronounced, the movement at the crease almost distracting. He nibbled a bit too much at the balls outside the off-stump. A nervous starter, he often looked as if he was uncomfortable holding the bat. However, when the ball started hitting the sweet spot, he was one of the most rewarding sights at the crease. He also had the ability to often hit unbelievable shots off deliveries that other batsmen would have be content to defend or leave alone.

Prowling at cover all his life, Randall was known to save at least 20 runs a day with his interceptions. He was seen galloping in as the bowler approached the crease. His long limbs and large hands ensured quick and safe pick-ups and the expertly honed throw rattled the stumps with unerring accuracy.

Arunabha Sengupta

Derek Randall Batting & Fielding Averages

Career	M	In	R	NO	HS	Avg	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
Test	47	79	2470	5	174	33.37	5594	44.15	7	12	256	5	31	0
ODIs	49	45	1067	5	88	26.67	1702	62.69	0	5	82	7	25	0
T20s	0	--	--	--		--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	5	5	64	1	42*	16.00	91	70.32	0	0	2	1	1	0

Derek Randall Bowling Averages

Career	M	B	R	W	Avg	EC	SR	5WI	10WM	BBI	BBM
Test	47	12	3	0	--	1.500	--	0	0	0/1	0/1
ODIs	49	2	2	1	2.000	6.000	2.000	0	0	1/2	1/2
T20s	0	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
World Cup	5	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--		1/2

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