Devon Malcolm

Devon Malcolm
Personal information
Full name
Devon Eugene Malcolm
Born (1963-02-22) 22 February 1963 (age 61)
Kingston, Jamaica
Height189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight arm fast
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 539)10 August 1989 v Australia
Last Test23 August 1997 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 107)25 May 1990 v New Zealand
Last ODI16 February 1994 v West Indies
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1984–1997Derbyshire
1998–2000Northamptonshire
2001–2003Leicestershire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 40 10 304 185
Runs scored 236 9 1,985 313
Batting average 6.05 3.00 7.84 5.21
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/2 0/0
Top score 29 4 51 42
Balls bowled 8,480 526 53,284 8,982
Wickets 128 16 1,054 249
Bowling average 37.09 25.25 30.33 27.61
5 wickets in innings 5 0 46 2
10 wickets in match 2 0 9 0
Best bowling 9/57 3/40 9/57 7/35
Catches/stumpings 7/– 1/– 45/– 21/–
Source: Cricinfo, 11 November 2009

Devon Eugene Malcolm (born 22 February 1963)[1] is a Jamaican-born English former cricketer. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Malcolm played in 40 Test matches and 10 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team.

Malcolm was one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket, with his career best performance of nine wickets for 57 runs against South Africa being one of the best innings performances in Test history. However, his playing style was also notable for his short-sightedness and poor catching, his powerful throwing arm, his perceived profligacy with the ball and his undoubted ineptitude with the bat, with his batting and fielding being described as of "court-jester standard".[2]

A graph showing Malcolm's Test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

His under-average ability as a batsman, however, seemed to add to his popularity.[3] He was often cheered when he went out to bat, more often than not at number eleven, a position for which he was often in competition with Phil Tufnell. He hit some huge sixes for both England and Derbyshire and was a particular favorite of commentator Brian Johnston.

As the cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted, "Malcolm, incredibly wholehearted with an easy charm off the field, became a national hero."[4]

  1. ^ Bateman, Colin (1993). If The Cap Fits. Tony Williams Publications. p. 115. ISBN 1-869833-21-X.
  2. ^ Cric info – Lawrence Booth
  3. ^ Cricinfo – The Jack of all rabbits
  4. ^ "Marches League Awards Evening 2021 | Herefordshire Cricket".