Eddie Barlow was a fine all-round cricketer, and a key member of the great South Africa side of the late 1960s. As a boy Barlow was far from looking like a sporting hero. His spectacles and stout build earned him the nickname ‘Bunter’; indeed, he was so shortsighted that (so the story went) he could hardly see over the front wheel of his bicycle when he rode to school. As he grew, however, the podginess turned to muscle, so that ‘tough’ and ‘burly’ became more appropriate descriptions than ‘unathletic’ and ‘fat’. His strength helped to make him a formidable opening batsman.
Sound in defence, he loved to force the ball through the field off the back foot. He also developed into a more than useful medium-pace bowler, capable of swinging the ball sharply. And very little escaped his fast reactions at slip. Something of Bunter remained, however, in his untidiness. Charles Fortune once described him as running up to bowl ‘looking like an unmade bed’. Again, though, appearances were deceptive. For Barlow, so modest and easy-going in private life, was a highly combative cricketer on the field, fizzing with aggression and determination.
He reserved his best performances for Tests against Australia. In his first innings against them, at Brisbane in December 1963, he made a century, and then followed up with another in the next Test at Melbourne. Then at Adelaide, in the fourth Test, he scored 201, sharing in a stand of 341 in 283 minutes with Graeme Pollock. They guided South Africa to a thumping ten-wicket victory which gave early warning of the side’s potential. Barlow also scored heavily against Mike Smith’s England side in South Africa in 1964–65, including 138 and 78 at Cape Town, and 96 at Johannesburg. At Cape Town, however, he incurred the wrath of the England players by failing to walk when apparently caught in the gully off Fred Titmus. Bowler and batsman exchanged heated comments, and the atmosphere remained tense for the rest of the day. No England player applauded when Barlow reached his century; by contrast Tony Pithey was ostentatiously congratulated when he reached his fifty.
In 1969–70, in South Africa, Ali Bacher’s magnificent team again trounced Australia, this time by 4–0 in four Test matches. Barlow contributed two more centuries, before the banning of South Africa over the apartheid issue ended his Test career. This was particularly hard on Barlow, who always took a liberal and progressive view in matters of race. Later in 1970 he turned out for the Rest of the World against England. At Headingley he performed the hat-trick, which he immediately extended to four wickets in five balls.
From 1976 to 1978 Barlow was co-opted by Derbyshire, for whom his enthusiasm proved as valuable as his excellent personal performances. Taking over the captaincy halfway through 1976, he insisted on high standards of fitness, and succeeded in dragging the county up to seventh place in the championship in 1977. He also took them to a final at Lord’s.
Edgar John Barlow: b Pretoria, Transvaal, 12 August 1940; d 30 December 2005