The life and times of Malcolm Devon, an improbable hero who can't bat and can't field but bowls like a demon. Sometimes

BEYOND THE BOUNDARY

Cricket has inspired a lot of books, but not much fiction. The only cricket novel that comes to mind is Testkill, by Ted Dexter and Clifford Makins. (It's said to be good, but proper novels do not have two authors.) The reason isn't hard to find. Sport is itself a kind of fiction - artificial, dramatic, in a world of its own. And this is more true of cricket than most games, because it takes longer, has more twists and turns, and gives more scope for character. Who needs fiction when reality has all the best plots?

Take Devon Malcolm. (Go on, take him - the England selectors don't want him.) His story, when you think about it, is wildly improbable.

Chapter One: Benign, bespectacled Jamaican arrives in Derby, via Sheffield. He can't bat or field but he can bowl fast. He is picked for England by the co-author of Testkill, who calls him Malcolm Devon.

On his first day in an England sweater, Australia make 301 for 0. He finishes the innings with 1 for 166 (Steve Waugh for a duck). England lose by an innings. Malcolm misses the next Test through injury, and scrapes a tour place only because the co-author of Testkill has a fanciful notion of fighting fire with fire.

Chapter Two: Playing in Jamaica, Malcolm feels so at home, he pulls off a run-out, which triggers a collapse. He gets Viv Richards out in both innings, beating him for pace. Against all odds, England win.

Chapter Three: In the next Test, Malcolm takes 10 for 137. There are a lot of headlines involving cream. Then it rains. Against all odds, England don't win. In the next match, Malcolm takes 0 for 188. The series is lost. Malcolm finishes with 19 wickets (and 17 runs).

Chapter Four: England play New Zealand. Malcolm is picked for a one-day match, something that will seldom be risked; he opens with 35 dot balls. In the Tests he is fast and accurate and finishes with 15 wickets at an average of 17 (and four runs at two). He gets out to the last ball Sir Richard Hadlee bowls in Tests, and he gets a wicket with the last ball Sir Richard Hadlee faces in Tests.

Chapter Five: England play India. Malcolm is fast and inaccurate. There are a lot of remarks involving radar. He finishes with seven wickets at 62, but makes up for it with 28 runs at 28.

Chapter Six: England tour Australia. Malcolm's partner and foil, Fraser Angus, breaks down. Malcolm is used as a stock bowler. His stock falls (16 wickets at 41). The batting doesn't go too well either. Promoted to No 10, he is soon back in his rightful place.

Chapter Seven: The West Indies again, at home this time. Another famous victory, but Malcolm gets only one wicket. After two Tests he has 3 for 180 off 42 overs. For the first time, he is dropped. The role of the wayward paceman is handed to Lawrence David, who helps pull off the next famous victory.

Chapter Eight: While Malcolm languishes in the A team, Lawrence breaks his kneecap. Malcolm is recalled for half the series against Pakistan. He is England's leading wicket-taker (13 wickets at 29) and his batting average of 1.2 is not the worst in the side (Pringle Derek pips him with 0.66).

Chapter Nine: England go to India and Sri Lanka. Malcolm goes to pieces (three wickets at 80).

Chapter 10: England play Australia. Seven fast bowlers are used in the first five Tests, but not Malcolm. With the score at 0-4, the co-author of Testkill writes himself out of the story, but not before writing Malcolm in again. Reunited at last with Fraser Angus, he takes 6 for 170. The victory is a famous one.

Chapter 11: Back in Jamaica, Malcolm reduces the West Indies to 23 for 3 and has a young batsman called Lara in trouble. Lara escapes to make 83. While batting, Malcolm is flattered to receive a barrage of bouncers, which he takes mostly on the backside. He misses the rest of the series through injury (to a knee). Lara breaks the world record.

Chapter 12: England entertain New Zealand. They start with an innings victory, but Malcolm takes only two wickets. He is dropped to make room for Taylor Paul. Recalled again for the final Test of the summer, against South Africa, he is hit on the helmet.

He allegedly announces: "You guys are history." It is his first recorded utterance. He takes 9 for 57, and becomes perhaps the first Wisden Cricketer of Year to be chosen on the strength of one performance.

Chapter 13: England go to Australia. Malcolm catches chicken-pox. There are remarks about him doing well to hold on to it. He misses one Test, bowls well without luck in the next two and helps win the fourth. In the fifth, he bowls so fast, the slips can't hold the edges.

Chapter 14: At home, against the West Indies, Malcolm is picked in conditions made for Fraser, who is not picked. He takes a wicket first ball, then gets hit around by Lara. Because England have not made enough runs, he is barely used. Recalled when everyone else has been hit around too, he bowls tightly. He is dropped.

To be continued (I hope)...