By the age of 26, serious back problems had twice brought a halt to one of the most promising fast-bowling careers. From a long straight hustling run and orthodox side-on action Ian Bishop was fast, showing the sort of pace that makes a crowd gasp as the ball thuds into the gloves of a keeper seemingly in another time-zone. There was sharp movement away from the bat too. After stress fractures of the vertebrae were diagnosed early in 1991, the giant Bishop underwent intensive rehabilitation, prayed a lot and modified his action, and became front-on without losing his awayswing. Two years later he took 6 for 40 on a rapid Perth pitch, to prove he had lost little of his potency. The following spring he broke down again, and was absent from the Test side for a further two years until another comeback, against England in 1995. Bishop played his last Test, also against England, in March 1998. He has since forged a successful career as a television commentator.
Mike Selvey