Wisden Overview
Cricket's very own ghostface, Neil Mallender wasn't the only one left looking as white as a sheet when he made a surprise England debut at the age of 30 against Pakistan in 1992. His pale, drawn face and thinning hair made him distinctive, but as a cricketer Mallender was very much an archetype - the quintessential English seamer. On his debut, Mallender's ability to put the ball in the business area brought him a matchwinning eight-wicket haul on a Headingley pitch that was moving all over the place. England couldn't drop him after that, but they found their excuse when they were hammered in the next match at The Oval, even though Mallender performed respectably. That was that, and he ended with a Test strike-rate superior to Frank Tyson's. Mallender began and ended his career with Northants, in between playing for Somerset and Otago in New Zealand for nine years. He was a model professional there, and made his only first-class hundred for them in 1991-92. Mallender became a first-class umpire in 1999, and impressed his former playing colleagues enough to rise to the England umpires panel. Rob Smyth

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