To mark the 50th anniversary of overseas players coming to county cricket in large numbers, we’ve asked an expert on each county to pick their top three for that club. Here’s Derbyshire, as selected by Kim Barnett, former Derbyshire captain and now the club’s cricket advisor.
1. MICHAEL HOLDING
West Indies (1983-89)
Michael was my first overseas player when I was captain. He was a mentor to many of the bowlers we produced in subsequent years, like Devon Malcolm, Phil DeFreitas, and Dominic Cork came through later. That seam-bowling unit we built up to compete at county level was part and parcel of Michael being there and setting the bar high.
2. JOHN WRIGHT
New Zealand (1977-88)
We had more prolific scorers, like Peter
Kirsten and Mohammad Azharuddin, but John was someone who could bat on all pitches and churn the runs out.
3. EDDIE BARLOW
South Africa (1976-78)
Eddie was with Derbyshire at the end of his career but he was a larger-than-life character who rejuvenated the way we played our cricket. He led by example.
