Robin Jackman


Robin David Jackman is a former English cricketer, who played in four Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals for the England cricket team between 1974 and 1983. He was a seam bowler and useful tail-end batsman. During a first-class career lasting from 1966 to 1982, he took 1,402 wickets. He was a member of the Surrey side that won the County Championship in 1971, and also played for Western Province in South Africa in 1971-72, and for Rhodesia between 1972–73 and 1979-80.
On 6 November 2012 Jackman was diagnosed with cancer, and is undergoing treatment.

Life and career

During England's 1980-1 tour of the West Indies, the Guyanese government revoked his visa because of his links with the then apartheid South Africa. Although the England party travelled to Guyana, they never made it out of the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown and the Second Test, due to be played at the Georgetown Cricket Club, was cancelled. Cricket writer Colin Bateman commented that "few players have made a more dramatic impact on international cricket that Robin Jackman, although his actual playing career was brief and unspectacular". Bateman added "a magnificent trier with a theatrical appeal, Jackman was a fine county fast-medium bowler who finally had his England chance at 35 when Bob Willis broke down in the West Indies in 1981".
His appearance in Guyana was popular with English supporters and players, but not appreciated by the local politicians. Being married to a South African, Jackman had naturally made several visits to that, then outlawed, country, and was duly served a deportation order by the Guyanese authorities. The second Test was cancelled, with the whole tour hanging in the balance, until Jackman was accepted in the more politically relaxed state of Barbados.
The cricket writer, Alan Gibson, gave him the nickname of the "Shoreditch sparrow". However, Jackman had no obvious connection with Shoreditch.
He was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1981, having taken 121 wickets in first-class matches the previous summer, 20 more than anyone else.
Jackman is now a commentator on various international TV tournaments. Recently, he is among the commentary team for the Indian Premier League. He does most of his work for the South African based pay-television channel, SuperSport.