Devon Malcolm

Devon Malcolm was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963, later emigrating to Sheffield, England, where he developed into one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. Making his England debut in 1989, Malcolm played 40 Test matches, taking 128 wickets across a career defined by genuine, intimidating pace — despite selectors and teammates often treating him, by his own account, with less respect than his ability warranted.

His defining moment came at The Oval in 1994. Struck on the helmet by a South African batsman, Malcolm reportedly muttered “you guys are history” — and made good on the promise, taking a stunning 9 wickets for 57 runs, one of the greatest bowling performances in Test cricket history. The performance made him a hero in South Africa too, where Nelson Mandela personally requested to meet him, so impressed was he by the spell.

Since retiring, Malcolm has faced ongoing barriers even off the pitch — struggling for support when he first tried to become an umpire, and later becoming caught up in a racism scandal when a senior cricket official was suspended over an alleged slur made about him. Rather than step away from the sport, Malcolm has instead devoted himself to bringing cricket back into Black communities across England and Wales as the ECB's Black communities liaison officer, and was appointed OBE in 2025 for his services to cricket and to diversity in the sport.