Though a moderate cricketer himself, Derek Malcolm cannily skippered – Mike Brearley-style – a strong and successful Guardian 11, for which I “guested” over several seasons. Derek led the side on tours to India and Sri Lanka, and opponents back home included a team raised annually by that other great cricket aficionado, Harold Pinter.
When Derek was named critic of the year in the mid-1970s, I sent him a telegram. He replied: “Thank you, but would rather have been cricketer of the year.”
Clyde Jeavons
In the early 1980s, I nervously joined the critics’ throng at the start of each week in usually subterranean Soho cinemas. Although many years my senior, Derek Malcolm proved one of the most approachable.
He told me of taking a Guardian cricket team in 1974 to India, where they lost eight matches to rather more distinguished opposition in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. Their being the first genuine club side from England to visit made the trip extra special to such a fan of contemporary Indian cinema as Derek.
Quentin Falk
