Derek Raymond Pringle: the Essex gentle giant

Derek Pringle is a former English Test and One Day International player, who are presently working as a cricket journalist. Derek Pringle was born in Kenya in the month of September 18^th in 1958. He hails from a cricketing family.  His father, Don, was a well-known cricketer who had played for East Africa in the 1975 World Cup. The son, Derek, played the 1987 World Cup for England. They were the first father-son pair to play for the World Cup cricket.

Education 

Derek had his early education at St. Mary’s School, Nairobi. Then he joined Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He was only in school when his talent was recognized, and he got selected for a tour to India by English Schools Cricket Association. His performance was excellent in the tournament. He made 122 and took six wickets for 65 against North Zone.

College days

His talent in the Fitzwilliam College was again recognized, and he made his First-Class debut at the age of 19. He struggled with England’s all-rounder like Ian Botham to earn his place in the English team. Pringle played 30 Tests, the last he played was in 1992. He scored 695 runs and took 70 wickets. He has also played 44 One Day Internationals between 1982 to 1993. Pringle got a chance to play 2 World Cups, and he was a member of England’s team in the 1992 World Cup finals.

Test debut

He made his debut in the Test Cricket in 1982, playing against touring India and Pakistan, but Ian Botham shadowed him. Being the fast bowler, Botham got given more chances than Pringle, who was a spin bowler. In 1983, the English team toured Australia, but Pringle could not hold his place. Botham was banned from the team for three months in 1986. Pringle elevated to take his role. But 1986 was proved to be one of the worst seasons for the English Test cricket. Pringle’s bowling in the first three summer series was perfect, but he could not do much with his batting. He got dropped from the team with the return of Botham.

Pringle couldn’t make for the 1986-87 tour to Australia. He was again included in the team for the winter’s tour to India and Pakistan for the 1987 World Cup, as Botham had refused to participate. Pringle’s bowling was not successful on dead Asian pitches. He scored 83 runs against West Indies in Gujranwala and got deprived of another tournament game.

His last days in the career

He lost his place to aspiring all-rounder David Capel. Again, he got called to play a home series against West Indies in 1988. He took five wickets in the Texaco Trophy series and made a crucial 39 in the second game. He got not included in the team on the 1992-93 tour to India. Pringle was not successful in making the Test cricket side, so he decided to take retirement.

After his retirement, he became a cricket correspondent with The Independent and later with The Daily Telegraph. He also worked as a Technical Advisor to the Oman cricket team in 2015.

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