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Yorkshire are mourning Graham Stevenson, who has died at the age of 58 shortly after the 34th anniversary of his stunning international debut for England in Sydney.
Stevenson, then a 25-year-old on the back of a fine season in county cricket, had already taken four for 33 – including the distinguished trio of Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Greg Chappell in quick succession – as Australia were dismissed for 163 in a 50-over match. But England appeared doomed to defeat at 129 for eight when he walked into bat at No10 to join his Yorkshire team-mate David Bairstow.
Legend records that Bairstow welcomed Stevenson to the crease with the unforgettable words: "Evening lad – we can piss this." They did, winning by two wickets with more than an over to spare, Stevenson ending unbeaten on 28 from 18 balls.
Surprisingly, after such a spectacular start, he played only three more one-day internationals. He was handed a Test debut the following month when England had moved on to Mumbai to face India in a match to commemorate the golden jubilee of the Board of Control for Cricket on India, which is remembered as one of Ian Botham's finest hours – although Stevenson supported Botham's six-wicket first-innings performance by having Dilip Vengsarkar and Karsan Ghavri caught behind, then made a very handy unbeaten 27 (from 28 balls, with four fours and a six) to secure a 54-run lead.
But he only made one more Test appearance after that, against West Indies in Antigua the following winter, when he was bowled for a single by Colin Croft but took the wickets of Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd and Andy Roberts for figures of three for 111 in 33 overs in a rain-affected draw.
He continued to serve Yorkshire until 1986, having made his debut against Middlesex at Bradford Park Avenue in September 1973, ending with 464 first-class wickets at an average of 28.56, and 3,856 runs including two centuries.
He also played in 216 matches in county cricket's various limited overs competitions and often saved his best performances for Roses matches against the old enemy, Lancashire – taking eight for 65 to set up a victory inside two days at Headingley in 1978, and another eight wickets in the return match at Old Trafford later in the season.
David Warner, who covered Stevenson's career from the press box, also recalls him taking the first eight wickets of a Northamptonshire innings for 57 at Headingley in 1980. "He was on for all 10, but he then left the field, and we assumed he must have been injured. But when we got to Scarborough that night and asked Illy [Raymond Illingworth, then the Yorkshire captain] he raised his eyes and told us he'd only gone off to change his shirt. That was typical Stevo. He was a very good cricketer, and a real character, who was very popular at Yorkshire as a light-hearted contrast to all the politics that was going on behind the scenes."
He was a huge favourite of Geoffrey Boycott, who had recommended him to Yorkshire – they were from the same area of the county, between Wakefield and Barnsley – and once shared a last-wicket partnership of 149 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston with Stevenson, who thrashed an unbeaten 115, then a record for a No11.
He had a season with Northamptonshire after leaving Yorkshire, whose decision not to renew his contract cost him a benefit, and was rarely seen at Headingley in recent years, having suffered a form of cancer. He then had a stroke last autumn, and died in hospital on Tuesday.
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