IT is hard to think of a player in recent times who has had such an impact on Derbyshire cricket as Eddie Barlow did when he stepped in as captain in 1976.

Genuine affection for the ebullient South African lives on at the County Ground – and far beyond.

In a book to be published this month, Yorkshire and England legend Geoffrey Boycott says that Barlow was one of his favourite cricketers.

The book is called “Geoffrey Boycott: The Best XI” and is an anecdotal collection of stories, written in association with journalist Martin Searby, about the great players from across the world Boycott has encountered.

In the section on Barlow, Boycott writes: “He was very talented and had a wonderful self confidence, an intelligent cricketer with an irrepressible spirit.

“He also had that rare gift, and it is a rare one, of being able to lift a dressing room. He was never down for more than a few seconds and immediately thinking positively about how to win the match.

“Graeme Pollock told me that he was 'the key guy in the resurgence of South African cricket' in the 60s.

“On the 63-4 tour to Australia we were all young players, many of us on our first trip abroad. Eddie was so uplifting all the time,” Graeme said.

“Problems? Feeling down? Loss of confidence? Send for Eddie, who went out of his way to motivate everyone. What a fantastic guy to have in the side.”

Boycott also recalls the day Barlow took four wickets in five balls, including a hat-trick, playing for the Rest of the World against England at Headingley in 1970.

“In that match, he got me out twice, which gave him great pleasure because he was one of my seven victims in Tests, caught by Peter Parfitt at slip for 69 in the fifth Test at Port Elizabeth on the 1964-5 tour.

“As I passed him he was grinning all over his face and said: 'I've waited a long time to get my own back, Fiery.'

“But I had the last laugh. When I got a parking ticket in Scarborough I told the authorities I'd loaned the car to Eddie and I got off the hook.

“Then I told him what had happened and added, when he came back to England the bobbies would be waiting for him! That wiped the grin off his face, I can tell you.”