Darren Stevens: County Cricket’s Unsung Hero
- Isaac Gleave
- Apr 29, 2021
- 3 min read

For 24 years has Darren Stevens graced just about every wicket in the known counties with his silky stroke-making and bamboozling bowling that have proved the catalyst for an unmistakably divine domestic career. As the clock strikes midnight on April 30, England’s oldest active first-class cricketer will turn 45 years of age, a remarkable yet deserving feat which has featured an unthinkable number of runs and wickets, all of which seemingly appear to have snuck undetected past the eyes of the England selectors.
‘Youth may outrun the old, but not outwit’. Although quilled some several centuries ago, Geoffrey Chaucer’s acclaimed quote from his famous Tales rings truer than ever around the historic streets of Canterbury. Raised in Leicester, made in Kent, the ageless allrounders’ tenure in the south-east continues to defy all logic, all rationale as he persists on remaining an integral cog to his county. Such longevity is seldom seen in the sporting world, but it is what defines greatness, separating the brilliant from the adequate.
Like the finest of Pauillacs, Stevens’ ability with both willow and leather has heightened in his latter years. Needless to say, his expansive hitting in the T20 format unequivocally catered for his name to once be floating around the England setup but, with limited opportunities in recent times for Kent in the one-day game, it has opened a gleaming door of transcendence at the County Championship level. To the masses, a plethora of astonishment may arise upon realisation that just two years prior, Stevens had been informed that his contract would not be renewed at the conclusion of the 2019 season. How erroneous they were.
No need to be so haste, it soon gladly dawned on the ‘Spitfires’ after the perennial maestro’s scintillating, dazzling career-best knock of 237 off 225 balls against a stern Yorkshire attack. Deserving of all the adjectives in the cosmos, a second inning fifer swivelled even more heads around the nation. Precisely 74 runs away from reaching the prodigious 16,000 run milestone in first-class cricket, there is justification for the distaste surrounding him being neglected on the international stage. The rejoicing would have to remain in Kent throughout a career spanning four sparkling decades.
Now, as we re-emerge into still unprecedented times, and three fixtures deep into a fresh season of cricket, the eighth wonder of the world prolongs his deific reign with yet more flashes of fineness. The veteran recorded his 35th first-class century of his career as he propelled his side to a score of 455 in a rain-soaked affair in Northampton, becoming the oldest player to post a ton in the County Championship since 1986. Not too bad, as a further ten championship wickets this campaign add to his absurd stat-line, putting the total at an even 550, and counting…
It was during this very match that Stevens, alongside his auspicious, towering right-handed teammate Zak Crawley, were named among five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 2021. A rare accomplishment indeed, Stevens became the oldest player in nearly a century to scoop the award.
As fledgling quicks and sizzling hot bats enter the county fray year on year, the calibre of Stevens is yet to wither, yet to wane as he shows scant signs of slowing. Yes, there is a deluge of gifted talent, building a firm foundation for the years that lie ahead, but in their youthful ages there is no certainty that their capabilities will thrive as consistently as the man in the spotlight. With Stevens, wickets will fall, edges will come, runs will flow.
It is said there is no certainty in sport. They clearly have yet to hear the name of Darren Ian Stevens.
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