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Derek Randall
Derek William Randall (born 24 February 1951) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a part of the English squad that finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Known to cricketing colleagues and fans as "Arkle" after the racehorse, but always "Rags" to himself, he was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1980. The cricket writer Colin Bateman said, "The Retford imp was, and still is, one of the most fondly admired figures in the game ... the rolling gait and big sad eyes make him Chaplinesque – and like all clowns, there is pathos behind the public image ... At times, genius sat on Randall's shoulders – the only trouble was it would not stop fidgeting". Randall played 47 Tests and 49 One Day International matches for England as a right-handed batsman before retiring to become a coach and cricket writer.
Randall first came to note as a cover fielder, as one-day cricket forced fielding standards to improve. His run out of Gordon Greenidge in the 1979 Cricket World Cup final highlighted this, and his partnership with David Gower was a feature of the successful England team of the immediate era after Kerry Packer had announced the onset of World Series Cricket. Known for his eccentric movement at the crease, Randall was a determined batsman, specialising in hooks, pulls, cuts and cover drives, the first being used most memorably[citation needed] against Dennis Lillee in the Centenary Test in Melbourne in 1977 when he made 174. This was the highest Test score by any Nottinghamshire batsman playing for England (a record Randall held until Tim Robinson made an innings one run higher at Headingley against Australia in 1985).
After learning his cricket at Retford Cricket Club, Randall made his Nottinghamshire second XI debut in 1969, and his first-class debut against Essex at the end of May 1972, scoring 78 from number eight in the batting order, joint top-scoring with captain Brian Bolus, with the next highest score being Garry Sobers' 32. He won plaudits for his talent in the covers, won his Nottinghamshire cap in 1973 and went on to score 28,456 runs in all first-class cricket. Randall batted for the successful Nottinghamshire team of the 1980s, twice winning the County Championship in 1981 and 1987.
With his team needing eighteen to win from the final over of the 1985 NatWest Trophy final, he hit sixteen from the first five balls, only to be caught in the outfield from the final delivery. He did finish on the winning side in the final of the same tournament two years later, and in the final of the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1989.
He compiled fifty-two hundreds in all, and made 209 and 146 in the same game against Middlesex in 1979, a feat unequalled at Trent Bridge. He scored 1,000 runs in a season eight times, took 361 catches and 13 wickets at 31.00. He was popular with the crowds, who found his enthusiastic fielding and comic antics entertaining. He was famous for running, rather than walking, towards the batsman in the covers as the bowler delivered the ball and was responsible for many run-outs.
He retired from first-class cricket in 1993, appearing that year in a testimonial match for an England XI against an Australian XI at Nottingham, a match featuring many players whom he played with and against in Ashes cricket (including in the Centenary Test). The match ended in a tie. Later he turned out in Minor Counties cricket for Suffolk, playing in the NatWest Trophy at the age of 49, and in a match for "Old Suffolk" in 2004.
Randall made his one-day international debut against West Indies in 1976, and his Test debut in India a few months later. He made his first Test century during the Centenary Test, his fifth test at Melbourne. Randall here scored his highest test score, 174, against an Australian attack led by Dennis Lillee. He famously doffed his cap to Lillee, after narrowly evading a savage bouncer, stating, "No point in hitting me there, mate, there's nothing in it." When finally dismissed he left the ground by the wrong gate, and found himself climbing up towards the Royal enclosure where Queen Elizabeth II was watching the day's play. "She was very nice about it", he told the BBC. "She smiled. Someone else quickly put me right."
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Derek Randall
Derek William Randall (born 24 February 1951) is an English former cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire and Tests and ODIs for England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a part of the English squad that finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Known to cricketing colleagues and fans as "Arkle" after the racehorse, but always "Rags" to himself, he was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1980. The cricket writer Colin Bateman said, "The Retford imp was, and still is, one of the most fondly admired figures in the game ... the rolling gait and big sad eyes make him Chaplinesque – and like all clowns, there is pathos behind the public image ... At times, genius sat on Randall's shoulders – the only trouble was it would not stop fidgeting". Randall played 47 Tests and 49 One Day International matches for England as a right-handed batsman before retiring to become a coach and cricket writer.
Randall first came to note as a cover fielder, as one-day cricket forced fielding standards to improve. His run out of Gordon Greenidge in the 1979 Cricket World Cup final highlighted this, and his partnership with David Gower was a feature of the successful England team of the immediate era after Kerry Packer had announced the onset of World Series Cricket. Known for his eccentric movement at the crease, Randall was a determined batsman, specialising in hooks, pulls, cuts and cover drives, the first being used most memorably[citation needed] against Dennis Lillee in the Centenary Test in Melbourne in 1977 when he made 174. This was the highest Test score by any Nottinghamshire batsman playing for England (a record Randall held until Tim Robinson made an innings one run higher at Headingley against Australia in 1985).
After learning his cricket at Retford Cricket Club, Randall made his Nottinghamshire second XI debut in 1969, and his first-class debut against Essex at the end of May 1972, scoring 78 from number eight in the batting order, joint top-scoring with captain Brian Bolus, with the next highest score being Garry Sobers' 32. He won plaudits for his talent in the covers, won his Nottinghamshire cap in 1973 and went on to score 28,456 runs in all first-class cricket. Randall batted for the successful Nottinghamshire team of the 1980s, twice winning the County Championship in 1981 and 1987.
With his team needing eighteen to win from the final over of the 1985 NatWest Trophy final, he hit sixteen from the first five balls, only to be caught in the outfield from the final delivery. He did finish on the winning side in the final of the same tournament two years later, and in the final of the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1989.
He compiled fifty-two hundreds in all, and made 209 and 146 in the same game against Middlesex in 1979, a feat unequalled at Trent Bridge. He scored 1,000 runs in a season eight times, took 361 catches and 13 wickets at 31.00. He was popular with the crowds, who found his enthusiastic fielding and comic antics entertaining. He was famous for running, rather than walking, towards the batsman in the covers as the bowler delivered the ball and was responsible for many run-outs.
He retired from first-class cricket in 1993, appearing that year in a testimonial match for an England XI against an Australian XI at Nottingham, a match featuring many players whom he played with and against in Ashes cricket (including in the Centenary Test). The match ended in a tie. Later he turned out in Minor Counties cricket for Suffolk, playing in the NatWest Trophy at the age of 49, and in a match for "Old Suffolk" in 2004.
Randall made his one-day international debut against West Indies in 1976, and his Test debut in India a few months later. He made his first Test century during the Centenary Test, his fifth test at Melbourne. Randall here scored his highest test score, 174, against an Australian attack led by Dennis Lillee. He famously doffed his cap to Lillee, after narrowly evading a savage bouncer, stating, "No point in hitting me there, mate, there's nothing in it." When finally dismissed he left the ground by the wrong gate, and found himself climbing up towards the Royal enclosure where Queen Elizabeth II was watching the day's play. "She was very nice about it", he told the BBC. "She smiled. Someone else quickly put me right."
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