Biography

Although Allan Donald was given the title of ‘White Lightening’, the same could very well have been patented by Craig McDermott, who had the same white sun tan cream going across his face, and definitely bowled at some pace. His 291 Test wickets could have come at less than what he went for, almost 29 runs, but for the spate of injuries he suffered throughout his career.

An outswing bowler with a side-on action, McDermott made his Test debut against the West Indies at a tender age of 19, and ended up picking up 30 wickets on his first Ashes tour. As a young man with boyish looks he was given the nickname of ‘Billy’, the Kid. However, this is when injuries stuck, a twisted bowel and a broken ankle ravaging his career. McDermott obviously fought back, to even pick up the most number of wickets in the 1987 World Cup and played no small part in the Aussie victory. His record against arch rivals England was impeccable, 84 wickets in 17 Tests, at 26 apiece. He broke down one final time in the 1996 World Cup in India and called it quits after that.

McDermott’s batting was nothing to write home about, but he was involved with the bat in two of the closest games Australia lost, one against West Indies by a solitary run, and the other against South Africa by 5 runs.