Australian leg-spin bowler and mentor to Shane Warne
Leg-spin bowlers are men with a difference. Terry Jenner, who played in nine Test matches for Australia in the 1970s, had such an eventful life that his story would seem slightly far-fetched in a novel.
He was a colourful and very watchable cricketer, was jailed for embezzlement, but later sealed his rehabilitation by becoming guru to the leading leg-spinner of the modern age, Shane Warne. Jenner, who has died aged 66, was down to earth, matey, sometimes argumentative, yet always interesting, whether he was passing judgment on the day's play, penning some heartfelt verse or challenging a point of view.
Jenner was born in Mount Lawley, Perth, but grew up in the bush town of Corrigin, where his father ran a shop. At 18 he attracted attention by bowling the England captain Ted Dexter with a googly during net practice at the Western Australian Cricket Association. A year later he was in the state team, tossing a strongly spun ball high in the air, and also trying to do justice to his keen batsmanship. After four moderate seasons he moved to South Australia, where he prospered for 10 further seasons.
Jenner paired well with his bosom pal Ashley Mallett, an off-spinner, and they had much joint success at Adelaide Oval, none more thrilling than when Jenner bowled Garry Sobers. His first Test cap came at Brisbane in 1970-71 against the ascendant England team. He was very nervous, but came away with the valuable wickets of John Edrich and Geoff Boycott. Dropped for the next four Tests, he returned for the Ashes decider at Sydney, where he sustained a nasty head wound as he ducked into a ball from John Snow and had to retire for a time. He went on to compile a brave 30, but the Ashes were lost.
There was some Lancashire League cricket with Rawtenstall and Minor County cricket with Cambridgeshire. Then Jenner played against the Rest of the World side that toured Australia in 1971-72 in lieu of a cancelled visit by South Africa. He bowled bravely to Sobers during his classic 254, tossing the ball high with varying spin, but was disappointed to miss the tour of England that followed. Compensation came with a tour of the West Indies. There, in his four Tests (two of which Australia won, with two drawn), Jenner's intelligent bowling was rewarded, most notably in the final contest, in Trinidad, where he took 5 for 90, including Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran and Rohan Kanhai.
He ran into trouble, however, when the tour manager accused him (wrongly) of manhandling a woman at the farewell party. He was convinced this was used as an excuse to keep him out of the Australian team for some time to come.
Jenner played in two Tests at home against England in 1974-75, and contributed a notable innings at Adelaide, a 74 that helped Australia towards their fourth victory of the series. But for cramp later in his innings, he might have scored his only first-class century.
He missed the 1975 tour of England, expressed his disappointment in a newspaper, and was reprimanded by the chairman of the Australian Cricket Board, Sir Donald Bradman. Some months later Jenner played the last of his nine Tests. A further blow came when he failed to attract a lucrative World Series contract in 1977. He continued to articulate his frustration and suspicions. Gambling became a fixation, and he drank a lot. In 1988 he was jailed in Adelaide for embezzlement, but was released after serving less than two years of a six-year sentence.
Then the rehab began, and the young fellow with long sideburns took up writing poetry and assumed an almost aldermanic appearance. He eventually found a sort of security in coaching, both in Australia and England. The counsel he gave Warne unquestionably added to the spinner's effectiveness, not least as he recovered from a shoulder injury. Through Warne's phenomenal career, Jenner gained some satisfaction at last, compensation for the frustration of his own talent.
He is survived by his second wife, Ann, a daughter, Trudianne, and a granddaughter, Ashlea.
• Terrence James Jenner, cricketer, born 8 September 1944; died 25 May 2011