"I'd sooner watch him for ten minutes than the rest of them for a day"
So spoke my old man on one of our frequent visits to see Derbyshire in 1974, the year of Rowe.
We'd listened enthralled as he butchered England's bowlers in the Caribbean the previous winter, the highlight being 302 in Barbados. This from a man they reckoned couldn't bat away from his home of Kingston, Jamaica.
That winter brought a feast of runs and the bowlers were powerless to do anything.
He just had so much time to play shots, and you never saw him rushed. We speculated on how many runs he might make in the coming English season. 2,000? Maybe even 3,000 in those days when Championship cricket was king and 20-over slogs but a surreal nightmare...
On his debut at Derby he came up against Sussex and renewed his acquaintance with England stars John Snow and Tony Greig. His first innings was insignificant, but in the second innings he made a delightful 94 that gave the bowlers time to bowl out Sussex for the win.
It was to remain his highest score for Derbyshire.
So what went wrong? Throughout the season he played sublimely for 40's, 50's and 60's. he made a couple of superb 80's, but he couldn't get that elusive ton.
He was unlucky with injuries, but stories circulated that he was a little "precious" about his fitness. John Wright in his autobiography recalls being told that Rowe had a fitness net at Derby on a green and hostile track against Mike Hendrick and Alan Ward, both revelling in the conditions. Batsmen were hit on the gloves, few were comfortable and the bowlers were ruling the roost. Rowe looked like he were batting against kids, and everything hit the middle of his bat. Then he walked out and said "Sorry, I'm not fit".
He had eye trouble too. An allergy to grass didn't help, but an eye exam that winter showed he could only see the top two lines of the opticians chart with his left eye. That explained a few things.
He didn't hit the ball, he caressed it. All his shots were done with balance, poise and elegance. Locals still talk about his 175 at the MCG in Australia, when they reckoned only Bradman and Sobers had ever batted better. That was how good Lawrence "Yagga" Rowe could be.
A Test average of 43 suggests an OK player. Rowe was much better than that. He was just unlucky.
Chesterfield 1974. Derbyshire v Yorkshire, ground full. Peter Gibbs goes early, Rowe looks set.
Chris Old bowls - four through the covers, elegant. Bowls again, elegant, four off his toes through midwicket. End of the over.
Next ball he's run out at the non-striker's end, backing up too far as the bowler touches a shot onto the stumps.
It sums up his Derbyshire career really. Unfulfilled talent. When he came back with the West Indies tourists in 1976, the sun shone and Rowe scored runs for fun, like most of his colleagues.
If only we'd seen it at Derbyshire. Still, what a player.
We'd listened enthralled as he butchered England's bowlers in the Caribbean the previous winter, the highlight being 302 in Barbados. This from a man they reckoned couldn't bat away from his home of Kingston, Jamaica.
That winter brought a feast of runs and the bowlers were powerless to do anything.
He just had so much time to play shots, and you never saw him rushed. We speculated on how many runs he might make in the coming English season. 2,000? Maybe even 3,000 in those days when Championship cricket was king and 20-over slogs but a surreal nightmare...
On his debut at Derby he came up against Sussex and renewed his acquaintance with England stars John Snow and Tony Greig. His first innings was insignificant, but in the second innings he made a delightful 94 that gave the bowlers time to bowl out Sussex for the win.
It was to remain his highest score for Derbyshire.
So what went wrong? Throughout the season he played sublimely for 40's, 50's and 60's. he made a couple of superb 80's, but he couldn't get that elusive ton.
He was unlucky with injuries, but stories circulated that he was a little "precious" about his fitness. John Wright in his autobiography recalls being told that Rowe had a fitness net at Derby on a green and hostile track against Mike Hendrick and Alan Ward, both revelling in the conditions. Batsmen were hit on the gloves, few were comfortable and the bowlers were ruling the roost. Rowe looked like he were batting against kids, and everything hit the middle of his bat. Then he walked out and said "Sorry, I'm not fit".
He had eye trouble too. An allergy to grass didn't help, but an eye exam that winter showed he could only see the top two lines of the opticians chart with his left eye. That explained a few things.
He didn't hit the ball, he caressed it. All his shots were done with balance, poise and elegance. Locals still talk about his 175 at the MCG in Australia, when they reckoned only Bradman and Sobers had ever batted better. That was how good Lawrence "Yagga" Rowe could be.
A Test average of 43 suggests an OK player. Rowe was much better than that. He was just unlucky.
Chesterfield 1974. Derbyshire v Yorkshire, ground full. Peter Gibbs goes early, Rowe looks set.
Chris Old bowls - four through the covers, elegant. Bowls again, elegant, four off his toes through midwicket. End of the over.
Next ball he's run out at the non-striker's end, backing up too far as the bowler touches a shot onto the stumps.
It sums up his Derbyshire career really. Unfulfilled talent. When he came back with the West Indies tourists in 1976, the sun shone and Rowe scored runs for fun, like most of his colleagues.
If only we'd seen it at Derbyshire. Still, what a player.
Cheers for the preview peak, and good luck on the blog. I'll add your link to TU.
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