LONDON: Former England bowler Mike Hendrick has died aged 72, his old county Derbyshire announced on Tuesday.

“Derbyshire County Cricket Club is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Mike Hendrick, one of the county’s finest post-war cricketers,” said a statement on the club’s website.

Hendrick had been suffering from bowel and liver cancer for some time.

In an article published in The Times earlier this month to coincide with the 40th anniversary of England’s 1981 Ashes series win, Hendrick said he was “in the departure lounge but the flight has not quite left yet”.

Hendrick only played two Tests in that series but was more heavily involved in England’s 1977 and 1978-9 Ashes successes against arch-rivals Australia.

Renowned for his accuracy, Hendrick took 87 wickets in 30 Tests at an average of 25.83 from 1974 to 1981 at a time when he faced competition for an England place from the likes of John Snow, Bob Willis, Chris Old, John Lever and Graham Dilley in attacks boasting all-rounders of the calibre of Tony Greig and Ian Botham.

He several times took four wickets in a Test innings, with a best of 4-28 against India at Edgbaston in 1974.

His England career was effectively ended in 1982 when Hendrick received a three-year ban for taking part in a ‘rebel’ tour of South Africa.

He also played in 22 ODIs and was the leading bowler at the 1979 World Cup, with 10 wickets from five matches. For his native Derbyshire, he took 497 first-class wickets at 20.05.

Published in Dawn, July 28th , 2021