Favourite players 1 - Chris Wilkins

As I've said elsewhere, I started watching Derbyshire in 1967.
It wasn't much fun.

Batsmen didn't bat against the clock so much as the sundial. "He'll never die of a stroke" said my Dad about more than one regular. Attrition was the order of the day, an occasional shot being a relief from the ongoing tedium.
I'd make honourable exception for Peter Gibbs, who came from University to play shots we weren't used to seeing, especially through the covers. You wouldn't, however, go home saying you'd just seen an amazing innings by Ian Hall/Derek Morgan/David Smith et al. Worthy players all, Morgan especially valuable as an all rounder, but they didn't get you too excited.
Then came Chris Wilkins.
Derbyshire were late on the overseas market and didn't sign one until the 1970 season. Only they and Yorkshire held firm. The latter because they had a very good team, didn't need one and - well, were Yorkshire. Us because we were not very well off and perhaps a little insular.
Essex had Keith Boyce, Glamorgan had Majid Khan, Gloucestershire had Mike Procter, Hampshire had Barry Richards - the list went on. Nottinghamshire signed the big cheese himself , the great Sobers.
And we signed a South African no one had heard of called Chris Wilkins.
To be fair, "good judges" called him "better than Barry Richards". That was not a fair comment, as there have been few in the history of the game batted better than the imperious South African opener. And when Wilkins appeared over here and was swathed in sweaters at photo calls that made him look the size of Colin Milburn we wondered what we had let ourselves in for.
The first few weeks did little to dispel doubters. Wilkins opened and struggled against the moving ball, making few scores above 30. It was decided to move him down the order to number four. And then it happened.
Wilkins showed himself to be a brilliant striker of a ball. You would turn up for matches hoping that Gibbs and Smith might make a start but that Smith wouldn't stay too long as he wasn't (to me) very exciting. Then Mike Page might get going and get a few. But you hoped, really hoped, that they'd see enough shine off the new ball for Wilkins to come in and play his shots.
I considered myself his lucky mascot, as I never saw him make less than 35. There was an "ooh" when the second wicket went down, but then you would see people sitting up in their seats, people being woken up and putting down newspapers as we waited for Wilkins to make his way from the pavilion.
The great thing was, and it could be his downfall, Chris Wilkins was as likely to go for the bowling first ball as any other time. In his superb book on cricket captaincy, Mike Brearley recounted how Wilkins required mid off and mid on to go deeper. I remember several innings by him, one on a turning wicket at Chesterfield where Northants spinners (Breakwell, Swinburne and Steele) were causing problems. Wilkins twice went down the track and hit off spinner John Swinburne into the boating lake and made it look all too easy, finally perishing after a very brisk 68. he exceeded this in the second innings with the fastest century of the season, from 70-odd balls.
At Derby in the John Player League he made a flawless 50 with one six over mid-wicket that just missed Dad's Ford Anglia. At Buxton, we were slaughtered by Jack Bond's marauding Lancashire, with Frank Hayes, Faroukh Engineer and John Sullivan putting them way out of our reach.
Still, Wilkins went down fighting. That day he hit Clive Lloyd's medium pace for a straight six that is still the biggest I have ever seen. It was still rising as it left the arena, and another ball was required.
Wilkins was not the best overseas player we've had by a long way. His average was OK (30-40) but nothing spectacular. You couldn't play in that style and average 60 though. C'est magnifique mais ce n'est pas le cricket...
Don't get the idea he was like Shahid Afridi, all slog and no substance. He could play, but often chose to go with the flow and regularly chose the aerial route. He was a useful right arm medium pacer (he got Boycott once on 99 - how many have done that?!), a brilliant fielder in the covers, an excellent first slip and a stop gap keeper. He also once dismissed Zaheer Abbas while bowling slow left arm...
Two more memories to close. At Ilkeston we were chasing a Hampshire score of around 170 in the 40-over John Player League and weren't too confident. Hants had a fair side and their opening bowlers were "Butch" White, a lively handful for any side, and the legendary Derek Shackleton, one of the game's most economical bowlers.
This was the day that David Smith went berserk. After a slow start where we despaired of any sort of challenge, he took on Shackleton and hit him to all parts. Well, mainly over midwicket, with pulls, sweeps, hoiks and cow shots. He made 80 in the time he'd usually reserve for reaching double figures, then got out with only ten needed.
In came Wilkins. Bam! Bam! One four, one six, two balls, game won...
Finally the Sunday televised game against Hampshire. Barry Richards made a quite breathtaking 80.
So did Chris Wilkins. We won on the last ball. And that good judge was right. On that afternoon, there really was nothing between them...