John Kenneth Lever was born on 24 February 1949 and is an English former international cricketer who played Test and One Day International cricket for England.
10 Facts About John Lever
1.
2.
John Lever is sometimes unfairly remembered for the Vaseline incident during his debut tour of India in 1976.
3.
The claim was later rejected and John Lever was cleared of any wrongdoing.
4.
In that Test against India in Delhi, John Lever recorded the best Test bowling figures for an English debutant, a record that stood until Dominic Cork beat it by three runs on his debut against the West Indies in 1995.
5.
John Lever made his first-class debut for Essex in 1967 and would represent the county until 1989, in one of the most successful periods in the club's history.
6.
John Lever was involved in the rebel tour to South Africa in 1982 during the apartheid era, where he formed strong links in the country.
7.
The discovery came as a surprise to John Lever, who had bowled with a sore back for the best part of a decade.
8.
However, with an exercise regime in place to strengthen the back, John Lever would recover in time to be available for the first unofficial Test match.
9.
In India's first innings, John Lever had Dilip Vengsarkar caught behind on 61, then trapped captain Kapil Dev in front next ball.
10.
John Lever was appointed an MBE in the 1990 Birthday Honours for his services to cricket.