Lee Irvine
Encyclopedia
Brian Lee Irvine, born on 9 March 1944 in Durban
, South Africa
was a cricket
er who played four Tests
for South Africa in 1969-70 in the last Test series played by South Africa before official sporting links were broken over the apartheid policy.
Irvine was a hard-hitting left-handed middle-order batsman, a fine outfielder who became a regular wicketkeeper and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. He played one first-class
match as an 18-year-old for a Western Province XI against the International Cavaliers
– he turned 19 during the match. But he did not then reappear in first-class cricket until he became a regular in the Natal side in the 1965-66 season.
After two seasons of modest batting, Irvine made a big advance in the 1967-68 season, scoring 504 runs in the South African domestic season and hitting his first two centuries. He was, however, pretty much an unknown quantity when he was signed by Essex
as an overseas player for the 1968 English cricket season, the first season when limited numbers of overseas players were allowed to be registered without a period of qualification or a special dispensation.
Irvine proved a success in county cricket. In his first season for Essex, he scored 1,439 runs, and though he did not score a century, he made his runs fast and hit a lot of sixes. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
for 1969 recorded that "rarely did he emerge from a match without hitting at least one six, and in fact he was responsible for more sixes than any other player in first-class cricket". He was awarded his county cap in his first season.
His record in South African domestic cricket for Natal in 1968-69 was very similar to his English record: a lot of runs but no centuries. He returned to Essex for 1969, and increased his batting average, though Wisden remarked that he was less forthright in his batting. He finally scored a century for Essex in the match against Glamorgan
at the end of the season.
In South Africa in 1969-70, Irvine transferred to Transvaal
. His batting immediately moved up a notch in terms of averages and aggregates and he also started to keep wicket regularly for the team. In that season, South Africa played the last of the pre-apartheid Test matches against a touring team from Australia
, and Irvine was selected for all four Tests as a batsman only. He batted at No 6 in the first two matches and then, in the third match at Johannesburg, made 79 out of 117 in the first innings and a quick-fire 73 in the second innings as South Africa took a decisive 3-0 lead in the series. In the final match, batting at No 5, he made 102 in the second innings as South Africa sought, successfully, to bat Australia out of the match. With 353 runs in the four-match series, Irvine finished with a Test average of more than 50.
Irvine did not play Test cricket again and in fact never played cricket outside the domestic South African competitions after this brief taste of Test cricket. The South Africans had been due to tour England in 1970, but the tour was called off, and though other players, such as Barry Richards and Mike Procter
returned to their English counties for the season, Irvine did not go back to Essex. He played regularly for Transvaal for the next seven seasons, making a lot of runs and also acting as the regular wicketkeeper for the first five years. He was Transvaal captain in 1974-75 and 1975-76. He retired after the 1976-77 season.
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
was a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played four Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for South Africa in 1969-70 in the last Test series played by South Africa before official sporting links were broken over the apartheid policy.
Irvine was a hard-hitting left-handed middle-order batsman, a fine outfielder who became a regular wicketkeeper and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. He played one first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
match as an 18-year-old for a Western Province XI against the International Cavaliers
International Cavaliers
The International Cavaliers were an ad hoc cricket team made up of famous cricketers in order to encourage local cricket. Their teams included many prominent cricketers from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as many retired veterans and talented young players were in the team at one point or another...
– he turned 19 during the match. But he did not then reappear in first-class cricket until he became a regular in the Natal side in the 1965-66 season.
After two seasons of modest batting, Irvine made a big advance in the 1967-68 season, scoring 504 runs in the South African domestic season and hitting his first two centuries. He was, however, pretty much an unknown quantity when he was signed by Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
as an overseas player for the 1968 English cricket season, the first season when limited numbers of overseas players were allowed to be registered without a period of qualification or a special dispensation.
Irvine proved a success in county cricket. In his first season for Essex, he scored 1,439 runs, and though he did not score a century, he made his runs fast and hit a lot of sixes. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
for 1969 recorded that "rarely did he emerge from a match without hitting at least one six, and in fact he was responsible for more sixes than any other player in first-class cricket". He was awarded his county cap in his first season.
His record in South African domestic cricket for Natal in 1968-69 was very similar to his English record: a lot of runs but no centuries. He returned to Essex for 1969, and increased his batting average, though Wisden remarked that he was less forthright in his batting. He finally scored a century for Essex in the match against Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
at the end of the season.
In South Africa in 1969-70, Irvine transferred to Transvaal
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
. His batting immediately moved up a notch in terms of averages and aggregates and he also started to keep wicket regularly for the team. In that season, South Africa played the last of the pre-apartheid Test matches against a touring team from Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, and Irvine was selected for all four Tests as a batsman only. He batted at No 6 in the first two matches and then, in the third match at Johannesburg, made 79 out of 117 in the first innings and a quick-fire 73 in the second innings as South Africa took a decisive 3-0 lead in the series. In the final match, batting at No 5, he made 102 in the second innings as South Africa sought, successfully, to bat Australia out of the match. With 353 runs in the four-match series, Irvine finished with a Test average of more than 50.
Irvine did not play Test cricket again and in fact never played cricket outside the domestic South African competitions after this brief taste of Test cricket. The South Africans had been due to tour England in 1970, but the tour was called off, and though other players, such as Barry Richards and Mike Procter
Mike Procter
Michael John Procter is a former South African cricketer. A fast bowler and hard hitting batsman, his chances for a long and productive test career were wrecked by South Africa's banishment from world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s...
returned to their English counties for the season, Irvine did not go back to Essex. He played regularly for Transvaal for the next seven seasons, making a lot of runs and also acting as the regular wicketkeeper for the first five years. He was Transvaal captain in 1974-75 and 1975-76. He retired after the 1976-77 season.