Former England Fast Bowler Peter Lever Passes Away at 84, Leaving a Legacy of Sadness

Peter Lever, the former fast bowler for England and a key member of the victorious 1970-71 Ashes team, has sadly passed away at the age of 84.

The news was confirmed by his former club, Lancashire, on Thursday.

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Peter Lever at the age of 84,” said Lancashire on X. “Peter was inducted into our Hall of Fame last year after a remarkable career spanning 301 First-Class matches from 1960 to 1976, during which he took 796 wickets. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Lever represented England in 17 Test matches and 10 One Day Internationals, including the very first one-day match in 1971.

Just a few days after delivering one of the most iconic fast bowling performances in Test history in 1975, he was involved in a near-fatal incident with New Zealand batsman Ewen Chatfield. This would be Lever’s final Test appearance for some time after that harrowing event.

His international career began in the summer of 1970 when he faced a Rest of the World XI at the Oval, impressively taking 7 wickets for 83 runs, claiming the scalps of legends such as Garry Sobers, Mushtaq Mohammad, Graeme Pollock, Clive Lloyd, and Mike Procter. Although the match had Test status, it was later revoked.

Lever made his official England debut at the age of 30 at the end of that same year during the Ashes opener in Perth. That series saw England achieve a unique feat of defeating Australia on home soil for the first time since 1955.

Upon returning to Australia in 1975, Lever recorded his best-ever bowling figures of 6-38 in Melbourne, where he claimed four of the top five batsmen for just two runs on the opening day. This innings victory marked England’s only triumph in the six-match series.

The tour continued in New Zealand, where during a match, debutant Chatfield was struck in the head by a bouncer from Lever, causing him to collapse. Chatfield’s heartbeat stopped, and many players, including a visibly shaken Lever, feared the worst.

Fortunately, he was revived thanks to CPR administered by England’s physiotherapist Bernard Thomas, which concluded the match in Auckland. Lever later expressed to Chatfield in the hospital that he contemplated retirement due to the incident.

Lever played one final Test match during that summer at Lord’s, taking two wickets in a drawn game, followed by one more first-class season with Lancashire.