union	International Cricket Council
nickname	"The Gentleman's game"
first	16th century (modern)
team	11 players per sidesubstitute fielders (only) are permitted in cases of injury or illness
mgender	Single
category	Team, Bat-and-ball
ball	Cricket ball, cricket bat, wicket: stumps, bails
venue	Cricket field
olympic	1900 Summer Olympics only }}

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the runs scored by the batting team. A run is scored by the striking batsman hitting the ball with his bat, running to the opposite end of the pitch and touching the crease there without being dismissed. The teams switch between batting and fielding at the end of an innings.

In professional cricket the length of a game ranges from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.

Cricket was first played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international matches were being held. The ICC, the game's governing body, has ten full members.

History

Early cricket was at some time or another described as "a club striking a ball (like) the ancient games of club-ball, stool-ball, trap-ball, stob-ball". Cricket can definitely be traced back to Tudor times in early 16th-century England. Written evidence exists of a game known as ''creag'' being played by Prince Edward, the son of Edward I (Longshanks), at Newenden, Kent in 1301 and there has been speculation, but no evidence, that this was a form of cricket.

A number of other words have been suggested as sources for the term "cricket". In the earliest definite reference to the sport in 1598, it is called ''creckett''. Given the strong medieval trade connections between south-east England and the County of Flanders when the latter belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, the name may have been derived from the Middle Dutch ''krick''(''-e''), meaning a stick (crook); or the Old English ''cricc'' or ''cryce'' meaning a crutch or staff. In Old French, the word ''criquet'' seems to have meant a kind of club or stick. In Samuel Johnson's ''Dictionary'', he derived cricket from "''cryce'', Saxon, a stick". Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word ''krickstoel'', meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church and which resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket. According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch phrase for hockey, ''met de (krik ket)sen'' (i.e., "with the stick chase"). Dr Gillmeister believes that not only the name but the sport itself is of Flemish origin.

The earliest definite reference to cricket being played in England (and hence anywhere) is in evidence given at a 1598 court case which mentions that "creckett" was played on common land in Guildford, Surrey, around 1550. The court in Guildford heard on Monday, 17 January 1597 (Julian date, equating to the year 1598 in the Gregorian calendar) from a 59 year-old coroner, John Derrick, who gave witness that when he was a scholar at the "Free School at Guildford", fifty years earlier, "hee and diverse of his fellows did runne and play [on the common land] at creckett and other plaies." It is believed that it was originally a children's game but references around 1610 indicate that adults had started playing it and the earliest reference to inter-parish or village cricket occurs soon afterwards. In 1624, a player called Jasper Vinall was killed when he was struck on the head during a match between two parish teams in Sussex.

During the 17th century, numerous references indicate the growth of cricket in the south-east of England. By the end of the century, it had become an organised activity being played for high stakes and it is believed that the first professionals appeared in the years following the Restoration in 1660. A newspaper report survives of "a great cricket match" with eleven players a side that was played for high stakes in Sussex in 1697 and this is the earliest known reference to a cricket match of such importance.

The game underwent major development in the 18th century and became the national sport of England. Betting played a major part in that development with rich patrons forming their own "select XIs". Cricket was prominent in London as early as 1707 and large crowds flocked to matches on the Artillery Ground in Finsbury. The single wicket form of the sport attracted huge crowds and wagers to match. Bowling evolved around 1760 when bowlers began to pitch the ball instead of rolling or skimming it towards the batsman. This caused a revolution in bat design because, to deal with the bouncing ball, it was necessary to introduce the modern straight bat in place of the old "hockey stick" shape. The Hambledon Club was founded in the 1760s and, for the next 20 years until the formation of MCC and the opening of Lord's Old Ground in 1787, Hambledon was both the game's greatest club and its focal point. MCC quickly became the sport's premier club and the custodian of the Laws of Cricket. New Laws introduced in the latter part of the 18th century included the three stump wicket and leg before wicket (lbw).

The 19th century saw underarm bowling replaced by first roundarm and then overarm bowling. Both developments were controversial. Organisation of the game at county level led to the creation of the county clubs, starting with Sussex CCC in 1839, which ultimately formed the official County Championship in 1890. Meanwhile, the British Empire had been instrumental in spreading the game overseas and by the middle of the 19th century it had become well established in India, North America, the Caribbean, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In 1844, the first international cricket match took place between the United States and Canada (although neither has ever been ranked as a Test-playing nation).

In 1859, a team of England players went on the first overseas tour (to North America). The first Australian team to tour overseas was a team of Aboriginal stockmen who travelled to England in 1868 to play matches against county teams. In 1862, an English team made the first tour of Australia and in 1876–77, an England team took part in the first-ever Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Australia.

W G Grace started his long career in 1865; his career is often said to have revolutionised the sport. The rivalry between England and Australia gave birth to The Ashes in 1882 and this has remained Test cricket's most famous contest . Test cricket began to expand in 1888–89 when South Africa played England. The last two decades before the First World War have been called the "Golden Age of cricket". It is a nostalgic name prompted by the collective sense of loss resulting from the war, but the period did produce some great players and memorable matches, especially as organised competition at county and Test level developed.

The inter-war years were dominated by one player: Australia's Don Bradman, statistically the greatest batsman of all time. It was the determination of the England team to overcome his skill that brought about the infamous Bodyline series in 1932–33, particularly from the accurate short-pitched bowling of Harold Larwood. Test cricket continued to expand during the 20th century with the addition of the West Indies, India, and New Zealand before the Second World War and then Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh in the post-war period. However, South Africa was banned from international cricket from 1970 to 1992 because of its government's apartheid policy.

Cricket entered a new era in 1963 when English counties introduced the limited overs variant. As it was sure to produce a result, limited overs cricket was lucrative and the number of matches increased. The first Limited Overs International was played in 1971. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) saw its potential and staged the first limited overs Cricket World Cup in 1975. In the 21st century, a new limited overs form, Twenty20, has made an immediate impact.

Rules and Game-play

Summary

A cricket match is played between two teams of eleven players each on a grassy field, typically in diameter. The Laws of Cricket do not specify the size or shape of the field but it is often oval.

A cricket match consists of multiple periods called ''innings''. During an innings, one team plays defense (the ''fielding'' team) and the other offense (the ''batting'' team). The two teams switch between fielding and batting after each innings. All eleven members of the fielding team take the field, but only two members of the batting team (two batsmen) are on the field at any given time.

The key action takes place in the pitch, a rectangular strip in the centre of the field. The two batsmen face each other at opposite ends of the pitch. The fielding team's eleven members stand outside the pitch, spread out across the field.

Behind each batsman is a target called a ''wicket''. One designated member of the fielding team, called the ''bowler'', is given a ball, and attempts to throw (''bowl'') the ball from one end of the pitch to the wicket behind the batsman on the other side of the pitch. The batsman tries to prevent the ball from hitting the wicket by hitting the ball with a bat. If the bowler succeeds in hitting the wicket, or if the ball, after being hit, is caught by the fielding team before it touches the ground, the batsman is ''dismissed''. A dismissed batsman must leave the field, to be replaced by another batsman from the batting team.

If the batsman is successful in hitting the ball away from the wicket without the ball being caught before it hits the ground, the two batsmen may then try to score points (''runs'') for their team by running across the pitch, switching positions. Each switch of positions is worth one run. The batsmen may attempt multiple runs or they may attempt no runs. By attempting runs, the batsmen risk dismissal, which can happen if the fielding team retrieves the ball and hits a wicket with the ball before a batsman has reached that end of the pitch.

If the batsman hits the bowled ball over the field boundary without the ball touching the field, the batting team scores six runs and may not attempt more. If the ball touches the ground and then goes over the boundary, the batting team scores four runs and may not attempt more. When the batsmen have finished attempting their runs, the ball is returned to the bowler to be bowled again. The bowler continues to bowl toward the same wicket, regardless of any switch of the batsmen's positions.

After a bowler has bowled six times (an ''over''), another member of the fielding team is designated as the new bowler. The new bowler bowls to the opposite wicket, and play continues. Fielding team members may bowl multiple times during an innings, but may not bowl two overs in succession.

The innings is complete when 10 of the 11 members of the batting team have been dismissed or a set number of overs has been played. The number of innings and the number of overs per innings vary depending on the match.

Objectives

The objective of each team is to score more runs than the other team and to completely dismiss the other team. In limited overs cricket, winning the game is achieved by scoring the most runs, even if the opposition has not been completely dismissed. In Test cricket, it is necessary to score the most runs and dismiss the opposition twice in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn.

Pitch, wickets and creases

At either end of the pitch, apart, are placed the wickets. These serve as a target for the bowling (''aka'' fielding) side and are defended by the batting side which seeks to accumulate runs. The pitch is or one chain in length between the wickets and is wide. It is a flat surface and has very short grass that tends to be worn away as the game progresses. The "condition" of the pitch has a significant bearing on the match and team tactics are always determined with the state of the pitch, both current and anticipated, as a deciding factor.

Each wicket consists of three wooden stumps placed in a straight line and surmounted by two wooden crosspieces called bails; the total height of the wicket including bails is and the combined width of the three stumps is . Four lines, known as creases, are painted onto the pitch around the wicket areas to define the batsman's "safe territory" and to determine the limit of the bowler's approach. These are called the "popping" (or batting) crease, the bowling crease and two "return" creases.

The stumps are placed in line on the bowling creases and so these must be apart. A bowling crease is long with the middle stump placed dead centre. The popping crease has the same length, is parallel to the bowling crease and is in front of the wicket. The return creases are perpendicular to the other two; they are adjoined to the ends of the popping crease and are drawn through the ends of the bowling crease to a length of at least .

When bowling the ball, the bowler's back foot in his "delivery stride" must land within the two return creases while his front foot must land on or behind the popping crease. If the bowler breaks this rule, the umpire calls "No ball".

The importance of the popping crease to the batsman is that it marks the limit of his safe territory for he can be stumped or run out (see Dismissals below) if the wicket is broken while he is "out of his ground".

Bat and ball

The essence of the sport is that a bowler delivers the ball from his end of the pitch towards the batsman who, armed with a bat is "on strike" at the other end.

The bat is made of wood (usually White Willow) and has the shape of a blade topped by a cylindrical handle. The blade must not be more than wide and the total length of the bat not more than .

The ball is a hard leather-seamed spheroid with a circumference of . The hardness of the ball, which can be delivered at speeds of more than , is a matter for concern and batsmen wear protective clothing including pads (designed to protect the knees and shins), batting gloves for the hands, a helmet for the head and a box inside the trousers (to protect the crotch area). Some batsmen wear additional padding inside their shirts and trousers such as thigh pads, arm pads, rib protectors and shoulder pads.

Umpires and scorers

The game on the field is regulated by two umpires, one of whom stands behind the wicket at the bowler's end, the other in a position called "square leg", a position 15–20 metres to the side of the "on strike" batsman. When the bowler delivers the ball, the umpire at the wicket is between the bowler and the non-striker. The umpires confer if there is doubt about playing conditions and can postpone the match by taking the players off the field if necessary, for example rain or deterioration of the light. Off the field and in televised matches, there is often a third umpire who can make decisions on certain incidents with the aid of video evidence. The third umpire is mandatory under the playing conditions for Test matches and limited overs internationals played between two ICC full members. These matches also have a match referee whose job is to ensure that play is within the Laws of cricket and the spirit of the game.

Off the field, the match details including runs and dismissals are recorded by two official scorers, one representing each team. The scorers are directed by the hand signals of an umpire. For example, the umpire raises a forefinger to signal that the batsman is out (has been dismissed); he raises both arms above his head if the batsman has hit the ball for six runs. The scorers are required by the Laws of cricket to record all runs scored, wickets taken and overs bowled. In practice, they accumulate much additional data such as bowling analyses and run rates.

Innings

The innings (ending with 's' in both singular and plural form) is the term used for the collective performance of the batting side. In theory, all eleven members of the batting side take a turn to bat but, for various reasons, an "innings" can end before they all do so.

Depending on the type of match being played, each team has one or two innings apiece. The term "innings" is also sometimes used to describe an individual batsman's contribution ("he played a fine innings").

The main aim of the bowler, supported by his fielders, is to dismiss the batsman. A batsman when dismissed is said to be "out" and that means he must leave the field of play and be replaced by the next batsman on his team. When ten batsmen have been dismissed (i.e., are out), then the whole team is dismissed and the innings is over. The last batsman, the one who has not been dismissed, is not allowed to continue alone as there must always be two batsmen "in". This batsman is termed "not out".

An innings can end early for three reasons: because the batting side's captain has chosen to "declare" the innings closed (which is a tactical decision), or because the batting side has achieved its target and won the game, or because the game has ended prematurely due to bad weather or running out of time. In each of these cases the team's innings ends with two "not out" batsmen, unless the innings is declared closed at the fall of a wicket and the next batsman has not joined in the play.

In limited overs cricket, there might be two batsmen still "not out" when the last of the allotted overs has been bowled.

Overs

The bowler bowls the ball in sets of six deliveries (or "balls") and each set of six balls is called an over. This name came about because the umpire calls "Over!" when six balls have been bowled. At this point, another bowler is deployed at the other end, and the fielding side changes ends while the batsmen do not. A bowler cannot bowl two successive overs, although a bowler can bowl unchanged at the same end for several overs. The batsmen do not change ends and so the one who was non-striker is now the striker and vice-versa. The umpires also change positions so that the one who was at square leg now stands behind the wicket at the non-striker's end and ''vice-versa''.

Team structure

A team consists of eleven players. Depending on his or her primary skills, a player may be classified as a specialist batsman or bowler. A well-balanced team usually has five or six specialist batsmen and four or five specialist bowlers. Teams nearly always include a specialist wicket-keeper because of the importance of this fielding position. Each team is headed by a captain who is responsible for making tactical decisions such as determining the batting order, the placement of fielders and the rotation of bowlers.

A player who excels in both batting and bowling is known as an all-rounder. One who excels as a batsman and wicket-keeper is known as a "wicket-keeper/batsman", sometimes regarded as a type of all-rounder. True all-rounders are rare as most players focus on either batting or bowling skills.

Bowling

right|thumb|Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket taker in both [[Test Cricket|Test and ODI forms of cricket bowls to Adam Gilchrist.]]The bowler reaches his delivery stride by means of a "run-up", although some bowlers with a very slow delivery take no more than a couple of steps before bowling. A fast bowler needs momentum and takes quite a long run-up, running very fast as he does so.

The fastest bowlers can deliver the ball at a speed of over and they sometimes rely on sheer speed to try and defeat the batsman, who is forced to react very quickly. Other fast bowlers rely on a mixture of speed and guile. Some fast bowlers make use of the seam of the ball so that it "curves" or "swings" in flight. This type of delivery can deceive a batsman into mistiming his shot so that the ball touches the edge of the bat and can then be "caught behind" by the wicketkeeper or a slip fielder.

At the other end of the bowling scale is the "spinner" who bowls at a relatively slow pace and relies entirely on guile to deceive the batsman. A spinner will often "buy his wicket" by "tossing one up" (in a slower, higher parabolic path) to lure the batsman into making a poor shot. The batsman has to be very wary of such deliveries as they are often "flighted" or spun so that the ball will not behave quite as he expects and he could be "trapped" into getting himself out.

In between the pacemen and the spinners are the "medium pacers" who rely on persistent accuracy to try and contain the rate of scoring and wear down the batsman's concentration.

All bowlers are classified according to their looks or style. The classifications, as with much cricket terminology, can be very confusing. Hence, a bowler could be classified as LF, meaning he is a left arm fast bowler; or as LBG, meaning he is a right arm spin bowler who bowls deliveries that are called a "leg break" and a "Googly".

During the bowling action the elbow may be held at any angle and may bend further, but may not straighten out. If the elbow straightens illegally then the square-leg umpire may call no-ball: this is known as "throwing" or "chucking", and can be difficult to detect. The current laws allow a bowler to straighten his arm 15 degrees or less.

Fielding

All eleven players on the fielding side take the field together. One of them is the wicket-keeper ''aka'' "keeper" who operates behind the wicket being defended by the batsman on strike. Wicket-keeping is normally a specialist occupation and his primary job is to gather deliveries that the batsman does not hit, so that the batsmen cannot run byes. He wears special gloves (he is the only fielder allowed to do so), a box over the groin, and pads to cover his lower legs. Owing to his position directly behind the striker, the wicket-keeper has a good chance of getting a batsman out caught off a fine edge from the bat. He is the only player who can get a batsman out stumped.

Apart from the one currently bowling, the other nine fielders are tactically deployed by the team captain in chosen positions around the field. These positions are not fixed but they are known by specific and sometimes colourful names such as "slip", "third man", "silly mid on" and "long leg". There are always many unprotected areas.

The captain is the most important member of the fielding side as he determines all the tactics including who should bowl (and how); and he is responsible for "setting the field", though usually in consultation with the bowler.

In all forms of cricket, if a fielder gets injured or becomes ill during a match, a substitute is allowed to field instead of him. The substitute cannot bowl, act as a captain or keep wicket. The substitute leaves the field when the injured player is fit to return.

Batting

At any one time, there are two batsmen in the playing area. One takes station at the striker's end to defend the wicket as above and to score runs if possible. His partner, the non-striker, is at the end where the bowler is operating.

Batsmen come in to bat in a batting order, decided by the team captain. The first two batsmen – the "openers" – usually face the hostile bowling from fresh fast bowlers with a new ball. The top batting positions are usually given to the most competent batsmen in the team, and the non-batsmen typically bat last. The pre-announced batting order is not mandatory and when a wicket falls any player who has not yet batted may be sent in next.

If a batsman "retires" (usually due to injury) and cannot return, he is actually "not out" and his retirement does not count as a dismissal, though in effect he has been dismissed because his innings is over. Substitute batsmen are not allowed.

A skilled batsman can use a wide array of "shots" or "strokes" in both defensive and attacking mode. The idea is to hit the ball to best effect with the flat surface of the bat's blade. If the ball touches the side of the bat it is called an "edge". Batsmen do not always seek to hit the ball as hard as possible, and a good player can score runs just by making a deft stroke with a turn of the wrists or by simply "blocking" the ball but directing it away from fielders so that he has time to take a run.

There is a wide variety of shots played in cricket. The batsman's repertoire includes strokes named according to the style of swing and the direction aimed: e.g., "cut", "drive", "hook", "pull".

Note that a batsman does not have to play a shot and can "leave" the ball to go through to the wicketkeeper, providing he thinks it will not hit his wicket. Equally, he does not have to attempt a run when he hits the ball with his bat. He can deliberately use his leg to block the ball and thereby "pad it away" but this is risky because of the leg before wicket rule.

In the event of an injured batsman being fit to bat but not to run, the umpires and the fielding captain may allow another member of the batting side to be a runner. The runner's only task is to run between the wickets instead of the injured batsman. The runner is required to wear and carry exactly the same equipment as the incapacitated batsman. It is possible for both batsmen to have runners.

Runs

The primary concern of the batsman on strike (i.e., the "striker") is to prevent the ball hitting the wicket and secondarily to score runs by hitting the ball with his bat so that he and his partner have time to run from one end of the pitch to the other before the fielding side can return the ball. To register a run, both runners must touch the ground behind the crease with either their bats or their bodies (the batsmen carry their bats as they run). Each completed run increments the score.

More than one run can be scored from a single hit; but, while hits worth one to three runs are common, the size of the field is such that it is usually difficult to run four or more. To compensate for this, hits that reach the boundary of the field are automatically awarded four runs if the ball touches the ground ''en route'' to the boundary or six runs if the ball clears the boundary on the full. The batsmen do not need to run if the ball reaches or crosses the boundary.

Hits for five are unusual and generally rely on the help of "overthrows" by a fielder returning the ball. If an odd number of runs is scored by the striker, the two batsmen have changed ends, and the one who was non-striker is now the striker. Only the striker can score individual runs, but all runs are added to the team's total.

The decision to attempt a run is ideally made by the batsman who has the better view of the ball's progress, and this is communicated by calling: "yes", "no" and "wait" are often heard.

Running is a calculated risk because if a fielder breaks the wicket with the ball while the nearest batsman is out of his ground (i.e., he does not have part of his body or bat in contact with the ground behind the popping crease), the batsman is run out.

A team's score is reported in terms of the number of runs scored and the number of batsmen that have been dismissed. For example, if five batsmen are out and the team has scored 224 runs, they are said to have scored 224 for the loss of 5 wickets (commonly shortened to "224 for five" and written 224/5 or, in Australia, "five for 224" and 5/224).

Extras

Additional runs can be gained by the batting team as extras (called "sundries" in Australia) due to errors made by the fielding side. This is achieved in four ways: #No ball: a penalty of one extra that is conceded by the bowler if he breaks the rules of bowling either by (a) using an inappropriate arm action; (b) overstepping the popping crease; (c) having a foot outside the return crease. In addition, the bowler has to re-bowl the ball. In limited overs matches, a no ball is called if the bowling team's field setting fails to comply with the restrictions. In shorter formats of the game (20–20, ODI) the free hit rule has been introduced. The ball following a front foot no-ball will be a free-hit for the batsman, whereby he is safe from losing his wicket except for being run-out. #Wide: a penalty of one extra that is conceded by the bowler if he bowls so that the ball is out of the batsman's reach; as with a no ball, a wide must be re-bowled. #Bye: extra(s) awarded if the batsman misses the ball and it goes past the wicketkeeper to give the batsmen time to run in the conventional way (note that one mark of a good wicketkeeper is one who restricts the tally of byes to a minimum). #Leg bye: extra(s) awarded if the ball hits the batsman's body, but not his bat, while attempting a legitimate shot, and it goes away from the fielders to give the batsmen time to run in the conventional way.

When the bowler has bowled a no ball or a wide, his team incurs an additional penalty because that ball (i.e., delivery) has to be bowled again and hence the batting side has the opportunity to score more runs from this extra ball. The batsmen have to run (i.e., unless the ball goes to the boundary for four) to claim byes and leg byes but these only count towards the team total, not to the striker's individual total for which runs must be scored off the bat.

Dismissals (outs)

There are ten ways in which a batsman can be dismissed and some are so unusual that only a few instances of them exist in the whole history of the game. The common forms of dismissal are "bowled", "caught", "leg before wicket" (lbw), "run out", and "stumped". The unusual methods are "hit wicket", "hit the ball twice", "obstructed the field", "handled the ball" and "timed out".

Before the umpire will award a dismissal and declare the batsman to be out, a member of the fielding side (generally the bowler) must "appeal". This is invariably done by asking (or shouting) the term "Howzat?" which means, simply enough, "How is that?" If the umpire agrees with the appeal, he will raise a forefinger and say "Out!". Otherwise he will shake his head and say "Not out". Appeals are particularly loud when the circumstances of the claimed dismissal are unclear, as is always the case with lbw and often with run outs and stumpings.

#Bowled: the bowler has hit the wicket with the ball and the wicket has "broken" with at least one bail being dislodged (note that if the ball hits the wicket without dislodging a bail it is not out). #Caught: the batsman has hit the ball with his bat, or with his hand which was holding the bat, and the ball has been caught before it has touched the ground by a member of the fielding side. #Leg before wicket (lbw): first and foremost, the ball must, in the opinion of the on-field umpire, be going on to hit the stumps if the ball had not hit the pad of the batsman first. If the batsman plays an attempted shot to the delivery, then the ball must hit the batsman's pad in line with the stumps and be going on to hit the stumps for the batsman to be given out. If the batsman does not attempt to play a shot, then the ball does not have to hit the pad in line with the stumps but it still must be going on to hit the stumps. If the ball pitches outside the leg stump, then the batsman cannot be given out under any circumstances. #Run out: a member of the fielding side has broken or "put down" the wicket with the ball while a batsman was out of his ground; this usually occurs by means of an accurate throw to the wicket while the batsmen are attempting a run. #Stumped is similar except that it is done by the wicketkeeper after the batsman has missed the bowled ball and has stepped out of his ground, and is not attempting a run. #Hit wicket: a batsman is out hit wicket, if he dislodges one or both bails with his bat, person, clothing or equipment in the act of receiving a ball, or in setting off for a run having just received a ball. #Hit the ball twice is very unusual and was introduced as a safety measure to counter dangerous play and protect the fielders. The batsman may legally play the ball a second time only to stop the ball hitting the wicket after he has already played it. #Obstructed the field: another unusual dismissal which tends to involve a batsman deliberately getting in the way of a fielder. #Handled the ball: a batsman must not ''deliberately'' touch the ball with his hand, for example to protect his wicket. Note that the batsman's hand or glove counts as part of the bat while the hand is holding the bat, so batsmen are frequently caught off their gloves. #Timed out usually means that the next batsman did not arrive at the wicket within three minutes of the previous one being dismissed.

In the vast majority of cases, it is the striker who is out when a dismissal occurs. If the non-striker is dismissed it is usually by being run out, but he could also be dismissed for obstructing the field, handling the ball or being timed out.

A batsman may leave the field without being dismissed. If injured or taken ill the batsman may temporarily retire, and be replaced by the next batsman. This is recorded as ''retired hurt'' or ''retired ill''. The retiring batsman is not out, and may resume the innings later. An unimpaired batsman may retire, and this is treated as being dismissed retired out; no player is credited with the dismissal. Batsmen cannot be out ''bowled'', ''caught'', ''leg before wicket'', ''stumped'' or ''hit wicket'' off a ''no ball''. They cannot be out ''bowled'', ''caught'', ''leg before wicket'', or ''hit the ball twice'' off a ''wide''. Some of these modes of dismissal can occur without the bowler bowling a delivery. The batsman who is not on strike may be run out by the bowler if he leaves his crease before the bowler bowls, and a batsman can be out ''obstructing the field'' or ''retired out'' at any time. ''Timed out'' is, by its nature, a dismissal without a delivery. With all other modes of dismissal, only one batsman can be dismissed per ball bowled.

Innings closed

An innings is closed when: # Ten of the eleven batsmen are out (have been dismissed); in this case, the team is said to be "all out" # The team has only one batsman left who can bat, one or more of the remaining players being unavailable owing to injury, illness or absence; again, the team is said to be "all out" # The team batting last reaches the score required to win the match # The predetermined number of overs has been bowled (in a one-day match only, commonly 50 overs; or 20 in Twenty20) # A captain declares his team's innings closed while at least two of his batsmen are not out (this does not apply in one-day limited over matches)

Results

If the team that bats last is all out having scored fewer runs than their opponents, the team is said to have "lost by ''n'' runs" (where ''n'' is the difference between the number of runs scored by the teams). If the team that bats last scores enough runs to win, it is said to have "won by ''n'' wickets", where ''n'' is the number of wickets left to fall. For instance a team that passes its opponents' score having only lost six wickets would have won "by four wickets".

In a two-innings-a-side match, one team's combined first and second innings total may be less than the other side's first innings total. The team with the greater score is then said to have ''won by an innings and ''n'' runs'', and does not need to bat again: ''n'' is the difference between the two teams' aggregate scores.

If the team batting last is all out, and both sides have scored the same number of runs, then the match is a tie; this result is quite rare in matches of two innings a side. In the traditional form of the game, if the time allotted for the match expires before either side can win, then the game is declared a draw.

If the match has only a single innings per side, then a maximum number of deliveries for each innings is often imposed. Such a match is called a "limited overs" or "one-day" match, and the side scoring more runs wins regardless of the number of wickets lost, so that a draw cannot occur. If this kind of match is temporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a complex mathematical formula, known as the Duckworth-Lewis method after its developers, is often used to recalculate a new target score. A one-day match can also be declared a "no-result" if fewer than a previously agreed number of overs have been bowled by either team, in circumstances that make normal resumption of play impossible; for example, wet weather.

Distinctive elements

Individual focus

For a team sport, cricket places individual players under unusual scrutiny and pressure. Bowler, Batsman, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While team managements can signal bowler or batsman to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is slightly mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the wicket for a long time.

Spirit of the Game

Cricket is a unique game where in addition to the laws, the players have to abide by Spirit of the Game. The standard of sportsmanship has historically been considered so high that the phrase "it's just not cricket" was coined in the 19th Century to describe unfair or underhanded behaviour in any walk of life. In the last few decades though, cricket has become increasingly fast-paced and competitive, increasing the use of appealing and sledging, although players are still expected to abide by the umpires' rulings without argument, and for the most part they do. Even in the modern game fielders are known to signal to the umpire that a boundary was hit, despite what could have been considered a spectacular save (though they might be found out by the TV replays anyway). In addition to this, some cricket batsmen, like Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist have been known to "walk" when they think they are out even if the umpire does not declare them out. This is a high level of sportsmanship, as a batsman can easily take advantage of incorrect umpiring decisions.

Influence of weather

Cricket is a sport played predominantly in the drier periods of the year. But, even so, the weather is a major factor in all cricket matches.

A scheduled game of cricket cannot be played in wet weather. Dampness affects the bounce of the ball on the wicket and is a risk to all players involved in the game. Many grounds have facilities to cover the cricket pitch (or the wicket). Covers can be in the form of sheets being laid over the wicket to elevated covers on wheels (using the same concept as an umbrella) to even hover covers which form an airtight seal around the wicket. However, most grounds do not have the facilities to cover the outfield. This means that in the event of heavy bouts of bad weather, games may be cancelled, abandoned or suspended due to an unsafe outfield.

Another factor in cricket is the amount of light available. At grounds without floodlights (or in game formats which disallow the use of floodlights), umpires can stop play in the event of bad light as it becomes too difficult for the batsmen to be able to see the ball coming at them, (and in extreme cases, members of the fielding team).

On the other hand, in instances of good light, batsmen can utilize sight-screens which enable batsmen to have a white background against which they can pick out the red ball (or black background for white ball) with greater ease.

The umpires always have the final decision on weather related issues.

Uniqueness of each field

Unlike those of most sports, cricket playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the pitch and infield are specifically regulated, the Laws of Cricket do not specify the size or shape of the field.

Welsh players are eligible to play for England, which is in effect an England and Wales team. The West Indies team comprises players from numerous states in the Caribbean, notably Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.

Test matches between two teams are usually played in a group of matches called a "series". Matches last up to five days and a series normally consists of three to five matches. Test matches that are not finished within the allotted time are drawn. In the case of Test and first-class cricket: the possibility of a draw often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind to bat defensively, giving up any faint chance at a win to avoid a loss.

Since 1882, most Test series between England and Australia have been played for a trophy known as The Ashes. Some other bilateral series have individual trophies too: for example, the Wisden Trophy is contested by England and West Indies; the Frank Worrell Trophy by Australia and West Indies and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia.

Limited overs

Standard limited overs cricket was introduced in England in the 1963 season in the form of a knockout cup contested by the first-class county clubs. In 1969, a national league competition was established. The concept was gradually introduced to the other major cricket countries and the first limited overs international was played in 1971. In 1975, the first Cricket World Cup took place in England. Limited overs cricket has seen various innovations including the use of multi-coloured kit and floodlit matches using a white ball.

A "one day match", named so because each match is scheduled for completion in a single day, is the common form of limited overs cricket played on an international level. In practice, matches sometimes continue on a second day if they have been interrupted or postponed by bad weather. The main objective of a limited overs match is to produce a definite result and so a conventional draw is not possible, but matches can be undecided if the scores are tied or if bad weather prevents a result. Each team plays one innings only and faces a limited number of overs, usually a maximum of 50. The Cricket World Cup is held in one day format and the last World Cup in 2011 was won by the co-hosts, India. The next World Cup will hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2015.

Twenty20 is a new variant of limited overs itself with the purpose being to complete the match within about three hours, usually in an evening session. The original idea, when the concept was introduced in England in 2003, was to provide workers with an evening entertainment. It was commercially successful and has been adopted internationally. The inaugural Twenty20 World Championship was held in 2007 and won by India. 2009's Twenty20 World Championship was staged in England and won by Pakistan. The next Twenty20 World Championship will be held in the West Indies. After the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 many domestic Twenty20 leagues were born. First of them was Indian Cricket League which is a rebel league since it is unauthorized by BCCI and led to form an official league called the Indian Premier League. Both these leagues are cash rich and attracted players and audience around the globe. Recently Twenty20 Champions League was formed as a tournament for domestic clubs of various countries.

National championships

First-class cricket includes Test cricket but the term is generally used to refer to the highest level of domestic cricket in those countries with full ICC membership, although there are exceptions to this. First-class cricket in England is played for the most part by the 18 county clubs which contest the County Championship. The concept of a champion county has existed since the 18th century but the official competition was not established until 1890. The most successful club has been Yorkshire County Cricket Club with 30 official titles.

Australia established its national first-class championship in 1892–93 when the Sheffield Shield was introduced. In Australia, the first-class teams represent the various states. New South Wales has won the maximum number of titles with 45 to 2008.

National championship trophies to be established elsewhere included the Ranji Trophy (India), Plunket Shield (New Zealand), Currie Cup (South Africa) and Shell Shield (West Indies). Some of these competitions have been updated and renamed in recent years.

Domestic limited overs competitions began with England's Gillette Cup knockout in 1963. Countries usually stage seasonal limited overs competitions in both knockout and league format. In recent years, national Twenty20 competitions have been introduced, usually in knockout form though some incorporate mini-leagues.

Other types of matches

There are numerous variations of the sport played throughout the world that include indoor cricket, French cricket, beach cricket, Kwik cricket and all sorts of card games and board games that have been inspired by cricket. In these variants, the rules are often changed to make the game playable with limited resources or to render it more convenient and enjoyable for the participants.

Indoor cricket is played in a netted, indoor arena, and is quite formal but many of the outdoor variants are very informal.

Families and teenagers play backyard cricket in suburban yards or driveways, and the cities of India and Pakistan play host to countless games of "Gully Cricket" or "tapeball" in their long narrow streets. Sometimes the rules are improvised: e.g. it may be agreed that fielders can catch the ball with one hand after one bounce and claim a wicket; or if only a few people are available then everyone may field while the players take it in turns to bat and bowl. Tennis balls and homemade bats are often used, and a variety of objects may serve as wickets: for example, the batter's legs as in French cricket, which did not in fact originate in France, and is usually played by small children.

In Kwik cricket, the bowler does not have to wait for the batsman to be ready before a delivery, leading to a faster, more exhausting game designed to appeal to children, which is often used PE lessons at English schools. Another modification to increase the pace of the game is the "Tip and Run", "Tipity" Run, "Tipsy Run" or "Tippy-Go" rule, in which the batter must run when the ball touches the bat, even if it the contact is unintentional or minor. This rule, seen only in impromptu games, speeds the match up by removing the batsman's right to block the ball.

In Samoa a form of cricket called Kilikiti is played in which hockey stick-shaped bats are used. In original English cricket, the hockey stick shape was replaced by the modern straight bat in the 1760s after bowlers began to pitch the ball instead of rolling or skimming it. In Estonia, teams gather over the winter for the annual Ice Cricket tournament. The game juxtaposes the normal summer pursuit with harsh, wintry conditions. Rules are otherwise similar to those for the six-a-side game.

International structure

The International Cricket Council (ICC), which has its headquarters in Dubai, is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.

The ICC has 104 members: 10 Full Members that play official Test matches, 34 Associate Members, and 60 Affiliate Members. The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of cricket's major international tournaments, notably the Cricket World Cup. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20 Internationals. Each nation has a national cricket board which regulates cricket matches played in its country. The cricket board also selects the national squad and organises home and away tours for the national team. In the West Indies these matters are addressed by the West Indies Cricket Board which consists of members appointed by four national boards and two multi-national boards.

Members

Full Members

Full Members are the governing bodies for cricket in a country or associated countries. Full Members may also represent a geographical area. All Full Members have a right to send one representative team to play official Test matches. Also, all Full Member nations are automatically qualified to play ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals. West Indies cricket team does not represent one country instead an amalgamation of over 20 countries from the Caribbean. The English Cricket team represents both England and Wales.

!Nation	!Governing body	!Member since	ICC Test Championship>Test Rankings	ICC ODI Championship>ODI Rankings	Twenty20 International>T20 Rankings B
	Cricket Australia		5	1	5
	Bangladesh Cricket Board		9	9	10
	England and Wales Cricket Board		1	5	6
	Board of Control for Cricket in India		3	3	2
	New Zealand Cricket		8	7	7
	Pakistan Cricket Board		6	6	4
	Cricket South Africa	A	2	4	1
	Sri Lanka Cricket		4	2	3
	West Indies Cricket Board		7	8	8
	Zimbabwe Cricket Union			10	9

^AResigned May 1961, readmitted 10 July 1991.

^BT20 Rankings are solely based on the Win Percentage of all T20 matches played amongst Full Members.

Top Associate/Affiliate Members

All the associate and affiliate members are not qualified to play Test Cricket, however ICC grants One Day International status to its associate and affiliate members based on their success in the World Cricket League. The top six teams will be awarded One day international and Twenty20 International status, which will allow the associate and affiliate teams to be eligible to play the full members and play official ODI cricket.

The associate and affiliate teams who currently hold ODI and T20I status:

Nation	Governing body	Member since	!width="300pt"	!width="300pt"
	Afghanistan Cricket Board		14	14
	Cricket Canada		16	13
	Cricket Ireland		10	12
	Cricket Kenya		13	15
	Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond		12	11
	Cricket Scotland		15	16

^AT20 Rankings are based on Win Percentage of all International T20 matches played, including matches played against Full Members.

Statistics

Organized cricket lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. At the professional level, statistics for Test cricket, one-day internationals, and first-class cricket are recorded separately. However, since Test matches are a form of first-class cricket, a player's first-class statistics will include his Test match statistics—but not vice versa. ''The Guide to Cricketers'' was a cricket annual edited by Fred Lillywhite between 1849 and his death in 1866. ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' was founded in 1864 by the English cricketer John Wisden (1826–1884) as a competitor to ''The Guide to Cricketers''. Its annual publication has continued uninterrupted to the present day, making it the longest running sports annual in history.

Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most cricket fans. The basic batting statistics include:

Innings (I): The number of innings in which the batsman actually batted.

Not outs (NO): The number of times the batsman was not out at the conclusion of an innings they batted in.¹

Runs (R): The number of runs scored.

Highest Score (HS/Best): The highest score ever made by the batsman.

Batting Average (Ave): The total number of runs divided by the total number of innings in which the batsman was out. Ave = Runs/[I - NO] (also Avge or Avg.)

Centuries (100): The number of innings in which the batsman scored one hundred runs or more.

Half-centuries (50): The number of innings in which the batsman scored fifty to ninety-nine runs (centuries do not count as half-centuries as well).

Balls Faced (BF): The total number of balls received, including no balls but not including wides.

Strike Rate (SR): The number of runs scored per 100 balls faced. (SR = [100 * Runs]/BF)

Run Rate (RR): Is the number of runs a batsman (or the batting side) scores in an over of six balls.

The basic bowling statistics include:

Overs (O): The number of overs bowled.

Balls (B): The number of balls bowled. Overs is more traditional, but balls is a more useful statistic because the number of balls per over has varied historically.

Maiden Overs (M): The number of maiden overs (overs in which the bowler conceded zero runs) bowled.

Runs (R): The number of runs conceded.

Wickets (W): The number of wickets taken.

No balls (Nb): The number of no balls bowled.

Wides (Wd): The number of wides bowled.

Bowling Average (Ave): The average number of runs conceded per wicket. (Ave = Runs/W)

'Economy Rate (Econ): The average number of runs conceded per over. (Econ = Runs/overs bowled).

In popular culture

Cricket has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the Commonwealth of Nations and elsewhere. Cricket has had an influence on the lexicon of these nations, especially the English language, with such phrases as "that's not cricket" (unfair), "had a good innings", "sticky wicket", and "bowled over". There have been many cricket films. The term "Bradmanesque" from Don Bradman's name has become a generic term for outstanding excellence, both within cricket and in the wider world. The amateur game has also been spread further afield by expatriates from the Test-playing nations. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, New York, was responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball". The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.

See also

ICC ODI Championship

ICC Player Rankings

ICC Test Championship

List of cricket terms

Blind Cricket

Comparison of cricket and baseball

Outline of cricket

Women's cricket

References

;Notes

External links

International Cricket Council (ICC)

MCC – the official Laws of Cricket

Category:Team sports Category:Ball games Category:Ball and bat games Category:Olympic sports Category:Sports originating in England

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playername	Lasith Malinga
country	Sri Lanka
fullname	Separamadu Lasith Malinga
living	true
dayofbirth	28
monthofbirth	8
yearofbirth	1983
placeofbirth	Galle
countryofbirth	Sri Lanka
heightm	1.70
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right-arm fast
role	Bowler
nickname	Malinga the Slinga,Slinga Malinga
international	true
testdebutdate	1 July
testdebutyear	2004
testdebutagainst	Australia
testcap	99
lasttestdate	3 August
lasttestyear	2010
lasttestagainst	India
odidebutdate	17 July
odidebutyear	2004
odidebutagainst	United Arab Emirates
odicap	123
lastodidate	16 August
lastodiyear	2011
lastodiagainst	Australia
odishirt	99
club1	Tasmania
year1	2009/2010-present
club2	Kent
year2	2007
club3	Nondescripts
year3	2004/05-present
club4	Galle
year4	2001/02-2003/04
club5	Mumbai Indians
year5	2008–present
columns	6
column1	Test
matches1	30
runs1	275
bat avg1	11.45
100s/50s1	0/1
top score1	64
deliveries1	5,209
wickets1	101
bowl avg1	33.15
fivefor1	3
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	5/50
catches/stumpings1	7/–
column2	ODI
matches2	92
runs2	281
bat avg2	9.68
100s/50s2	0/1
top score2	56
deliveries2	4444
wickets2	144
bowl avg2	25.53
fivefor2	4
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	6/38
catches/stumpings2	13/–
column3	T20
matches3	30
runs3	63
bat avg3	12.60
100s/50s3	0/0
top score3	27
deliveries3	612
wickets3	37
bowl avg3	20.08
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	n/a
best bowling3	3/12
catches/stumpings3	13/–
column4	FC
matches4	83
runs4	584
bat avg4	9.89
100s/50s4	0/1
top score4	64
deliveries4	11,867
wickets4	255
bowl avg4	30.39
fivefor4	7
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	6/17
catches/stumpings4	23/–
column5	LA
matches5	127
runs5	365
bat avg5	7.60
100s/50s5	0/1
top score5	56
deliveries5	6,124
wickets5	199
bowl avg5	25.43
fivefor5	2
tenfor5	n/a
best bowling5	5/34
catches/stumpings5	20/–
date	1 March
year	2011
source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/44/44474/44474.html CricketArchive }}

Separamadu Lasith Malinga (Sinhala:සෙපරමාදු ලසිත් මාලින්ග) (born August 28, 1983 in Galle, Sri Lanka) is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a specialist fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga". He is known for his very sharp bouncers which are often hard to recognise because of his round-arm action, and he has a very dangerous in-swinging yorker which has been known to smash batsmen's feet if they do not see it come out of his hand. Malinga can also swing the ball early on in a match and this is an advantage to him. He is well known for his ability to take consecutive wickets: he is the first and only bowler in the world to have two World Cup hat-tricks, the first and only bowler to have taken three hat-tricks in ODIs and he is also the first, and currently the only, player to have taken four wickets in four consecutive balls in any form of international cricket. On 22 April 2011, he announced his retirement from test cricket.

Early days

Malinga grew up in modest circumstances in Rathgama, and always enjoyed cricket. He often played out with friends on the sand banks and coconut groves by a river in his cricket-obsessed village. He first had his education at Devapathiraja College, Rathgama and then at Vidyaloka College, Galle. Later he moved to Mahinda College, Galle. Here he was discovered by former Sri Lankan paceman Champaka Ramanayake,who was so impressed by Malinga's raw ability that he invited him to join the Cricket Foundation of Sri Lanka. A short-lived attempt to make Malinga's action more upright led to much reduced pace and failing accuracy. Malinga promptly returned to his natural action with success, and with great encouragement from Champaka Ramanayake.

Style

The cricket reference text Wisden has noted that Malinga's delivery action is similar to "slinging". Malinga has said that his unique action was a result of learning to play cricket exclusively with a tennis ball. Typically, younger bowlers are encouraged to deliver the ball with their arm near vertical to remove or reduce direction variables.

Malinga's action has attracted great comment, but has never been formally questioned; he has not been reported or called for throwing.

International career

Test Cricket

He made his Test debut on the July 1–3, 2004, at Darwin's Marrara Oval. He was immediately successful, taking 6 wickets in the match (Darren Lehmann twice, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Shane Warne and Michael Kasprowicz) He was impressed by the friendliness of the Australian team in general, and in particular Adam Gilchrist who sought him out after the game to present him with one of the match stumps in the Sri Lankan dressing room.

He has developed into Sri Lanka's fastest Test bowler and a regular member of both their Test and One Day International sides. He has earned a reputation for troubling batsmen with his lively pace and well-directed bouncer. He regularly bowls at speeds between 140 and 150 km/h (87 to 93 mph) and sometimes slightly faster. As time went by he started to lose pace clocking around 130 to 140 km/h. His slower off cutter was also menacing. He burst onto the test scene after ripping through the New Zealand top order, helping Sri Lanka draw the test series on their 2006/07 tour of New Zealand. He announced his retirement from Test cricket on 22 April 2011 in order to prolong his career in One-Day and T20 cricket.

One Day Internationals (ODI)

Malinga debuted on July 17, 2004 when Sri Lanka played the United Arab Emirates at Dambulla. Since then he has become a regular member on the ODI squad.

During the Sri Lankan team's tour of New Zealand in 2004–2005, the New Zealand team found his action hard to play and the NZ captain, Stephen Fleming asked the umpire to change his belt and tie to a lighter colour so that they would be better able to see the ball being released from Malinga's hand. The umpire did not do so.

Malinga became a highlight during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, when on March 28, 2007, against South Africa he became the first ever player to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket. This was also only the fifth hat-trick in World Cup history, the third ODI hat-trick for Sri Lanka and the 24th in all ODI history. Malinga's victims were Shaun Pollock (bowled at 13), Andrew Hall (caught by Upul Tharanga at 0), Jacques Kallis (caught by Kumar Sangakkara at 86), and Makhaya Ntini (bowled at 0). Despite Malinga's lethal spell, however, South Africa proceeded to win the match by 1 wicket with 10 balls still left.

During the 2011 Cricket World Cup, Malinga took his second career hat-trick in Sri Lanka's group stage match against Kenya. This made him the first bowler to take two World Cup hat-tricks, and the fourth to take two hat-tricks in all One Day International cricket (alongside Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq and Chaminda Vaas). In August 2011, he scored yet an other hat-trick against Australia.

T20 International (T20)

Malinga plays for Indian Premier League (IPL) team Mumbai Indians. He is their strike bowler in this format and is leading bowler for the season 2011 along with team mate world renowned spinner Muralitharan who plays for Kochi Tuskers. World record holder Sachin Tendulkar the Mumbai Indian's captain described Malinga as an important cog in Mumbai Indians game plan after the retirement of strike bowler in former South African Captain Shaun Pollock who represented the team in the first season. In the first match for the Mumbai Indians in the fourth season, he got 5 wickets against Delhi Daredevils restricting them to a mere 95. He had his best score of 5/13 in the game.

He won the Purple Cap award (most wickets) in the fourth season of Indian Premier League with 28 scalps in 16 matches. Throughout the tournament, he led the Mumbai Indians attack from the front and was instrumental in many victories.

Records

Only bowler in cricketing history to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket (vs. South Africa March 2007) Only bowler in cricketing history to take three hat-tricks in international cricket. Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews hold the highest run partnership for the 9th wicket in an ODI: 132 runs, against Australia in Melbourne in 2010. Malinga scored 56 Runs from 48 balls including six fours and two sixes; Mathews scored 77 runs off 84 deliveries including eight fours and one six. He is the only bowler with two World Cup hat tricks, against South Africa in the 2007 Cricket World Cup and the other against Kenya in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Malinga also holds the record for most wickets taken in a single IPL season, 28 in the 2011 Indian Premier League 4

References

External links

Cricinfo Player Profile

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers Category:Sri Lanka Test cricketers Category:Sri Lanka Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Galle Cricket Club cricketers Category:One Day International hat-trick takers Category:Mumbai (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:Alumni of Mahinda College

fr:Lasith Malinga it:Lasith Malinga mr:लसिथ मलिंगा si:ලසිත් මාලිංග sv:Lasith Malinga ta:லசித் மாலிங்க te:లసిత్ మలింగ

playername	Michael Vaughan
country	England
fullname	Michael Paul Vaughan OBE
nickname	Frankie, Virgil, Vaughany
living	true
dayofbirth	29
monthofbirth	10
yearofbirth	1974
placeofbirth	Manchester
countryofbirth	England
heightft	6
heightinch	2
role	Batsman, occasional off spinner
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right-arm off-break
international	true
testdebutdate	25 November
testdebutyear	1999
testdebutagainst	South Africa
testcap	600
lasttestdate	30 July
lasttestyear	2008
lasttestagainst	South Africa
odidebutdate	23 March
odidebutyear	2001
odidebutagainst	Sri Lanka
odicap	161
odishirt	99
lastodidate	21 April
lastodiyear	2007
lastodiagainst	West Indies
club1	Yorkshire
year1	1993–2009
clubnumber1	7
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	82
runs1	5,719
bat avg1	41.44
100s/50s1	18/18
top score1	197
deliveries1	978
wickets1	6
bowl avg1	93.50
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	2/71
catches/stumpings1	44/–
column2	ODIs
matches2	86
runs2	1,982
bat avg2	27.15
100s/50s2	0/16
top score2	90*
deliveries2	796
wickets2	16
bowl avg2	40.56
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	4/22
catches/stumpings2	25/–
column3	FC
matches3	268
runs3	16,295
bat avg3	36.95
100s/50s3	42/68
top score3	197
deliveries3	9,342
wickets3	114
bowl avg3	46.00
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	4/39
catches/stumpings3	117/–
column4	LA
matches4	282
runs4	7,238
bat avg4	29.18
100s/50s4	3/46
top score4	125*
deliveries4	3,381
wickets4	78
bowl avg4	33.38
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	4/22
catches/stumpings4	88/–
date	4 July
year	2009
source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/4/4700/4700.html CricketArchive }}

Michael Paul Vaughan OBE (born 29 October 1974 in Manchester) is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries. Vaughan was an opening batsman and forged a successful England opening partnership with Marcus Trescothick, though he had often batted in the middle order for England. He was the captain of the England team when they regained the Ashes in 2005, eighteen years after having last won the trophy.

Known for his shrewd captaincy and man-management skills, Vaughan captained England in 51 Tests between 2003 and 2008, winning 26 (a national record) and losing 11; England won all seven home Tests of the 2004 summer under Vaughan, and the pinnacle of his captaincy career came with a 2–1 victory in the 2005 Ashes, England's first Ashes victory since 1986/7. However, a recurring knee injury, his decision to move down the batting order to accommodate other openers (Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook) and the pressures of captaincy took their toll on Vaughan's batting during the latter part of his career: in Tests he averaged 50.95 when not captain, and 36.02 as captain. Vaughan announced his retirement from first-class cricket on 30 June 2009.

Early and personal life

Michael Vaughan is younger son of Graham and Dee Vaughan, and the great-grandson of one of the sisters of early 20th century Lancashire and England cricketers Johnny Tyldesley and Ernest Tyldesley. The family moved to Sheffield, South Yorkshire when he was nine. His father, an engineer, had captained the Worsley third XI, and Vaughan says "My first memory of cricket is when I was 10 years old, hitting balls on the boundary while my dad was playing for Worsley in the Manchester Association League." However, it was his brother David (currently working as an estate agent), older by two years, who got him into the game.

He attended Silverdale School, and was enthusiastic about football, later reflecting, "I'd have probably preferred to be a footballer if I could have been good enough. But my knees would never have lasted." Despite his many commitments, he has been a regular supporter of Sheffield Wednesday. He started playing cricket for the school side and it was here he first caught the eye of Doug Padgett, the Yorkshire coach. He also started playing club cricket for Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club at Abbeydale Park in Sheffield.

Vaughan lives with his wife Nichola (née Shannon), who he married on 27 September 2003, and their three children, Tallula Grace (born June 2004), Archie Matthew (born December 2005), and Jemima (born May 2010) , in Baslow, Derbyshire.

In 2006 Vaughan bought a house valued at £1million on a luxury golf course development in Barbados and another on Isla Margarita.

County career

Vaughan, now living in Derbyshire, turned up as a child to watch Yorkshire playing at Sheffield. During the tea break, he was playing on the outfield with his friends when (then) Yorkshire head coach Doug Padgett spotted him, and approached him about joining the County.

Vaughan was born in Eccles, near Manchester, and at the time Yorkshire had a strict policy of only picking players who were born in Yorkshire. Years later, when the rule was removed, Doug Padgett re-investigated the young player, and offered him a place at the Yorkshire academy.

International career

1993-2003

A batsman and occasional off spinner, Vaughan began playing professional cricket aged 17, and captained the England Under-19 cricket team on tour against Sri Lanka in 1993/4 and at home against India in 1994. He made his Test debut for England in South Africa in November 1999, becoming the 600th player to represent his country at Test cricket. He came to the crease for his first Test innings with England in the perilous state of two wickets down for two runs; within an over this had become four wickets down for two runs. He made a composed 33, and shared a partnership of 56 with Andrew Flintoff.

In May 2001 he scored his first Test Century against Pakistan at Old Trafford. In December 2001, in Bangalore, Vaughan became the second Englishman, after Graham Gooch, and the 7th and most recent player in Test match history, to be given out handled the ball in Tests: on 64, he brushed away a ball from Sarandeep Singh, and was given out on appeal.

In 2002, Vaughan scored 900 runs in seven Tests against Sri Lanka and India. This included 115 against Sri Lanka at Lord's during the first Test. During the series against India he scored a duck and 100 during the first Test at Lord's, and his highest innings score to date of 197 against India during the second Test at Nottingham where he also took 3 wickets including the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar and during the fourth Test he scored 195 against India, again falling just short of a double-century. Later that year the English cricket team travelled to Australia for the 2002-03 Ashes series. It was here that Vaughan's career seemed to launch.

He started poorly in the first Test at Brisbane with scores of 33 and 0, but in the second Test in Adelaide he would improve on this with 177 and 41. During the fourth Test at Melbourne he made an aggressive 145. In the fifth and final Test at Sydney, Vaughan scored a match-winning 183 before being given out (wrongfully) lbw to Andy Bichel, as replays showed that not only was the ball missing leg stump but it was going over the stumps by a fair margin.

He became the first visiting batsman for 32 years to score over 600 runs in a Test match series in Australia and the first Englishman to make 3 Test hundreds in a series against Australia since Chris Broad. In total, he scored 1,481 Test runs in 2002, at the time the second highest for a calendar year in Test history after Viv Richards's 1,710 in 1976, although as of 2010 Vaughan's total has been exceeded another five times. This run of form made Vaughan the number one batsman in the world according to the ICC rankings, the first Englishman to achieve this since Graham Gooch.

Vaughan followed with a 156 against South Africa at Edgbaston in 2003. He was appointed Test captain in the next match, after Nasser Hussain stepped down. At the point at which he took over the England captaincy, Vaughan had a Test batting average of 50.98.

England captaincy

Vaughan's limited-overs batting rarely lived up to his success in Tests: indeed, despite a total of 86 matches played, he never made a One Day International century. His highest ODI score is 90 not out, which he made off 99 balls against Zimbabwe. In spite of this, on 6 May 2003, Vaughan was appointed captain of the England One Day International team, Nasser Hussain choosing to step down after the 2003 World Cup. In July, he also took over from Hussain the captaincy of the Test side. He suddenly became captain of the England Test team on 28 July 2003, after scoring 156 in the first Test against South Africa, when Nasser Hussain resigned after England had narrowly clung on for a draw. The England team promptly lost his first Test in charge by an innings and 215 runs, but went on to level the series 2-2.

Vaughan's batting initially suffered under the increased pressures of captaincy; in his first twelve matches as captain, his batting average was only 30.31. However, under Vaughan's captaincy, the England side became one of the most successful sides in world cricket. He benefited from the revolution begun by coach Duncan Fletcher and former captain Nasser Hussain, such as the awarding of central contracts to the core England players, and continued to forge a winning team. In 2003, after the drawn series against South Africa, England toured South Asia, beating Bangladesh but losing to Sri Lanka. But in 2004, England were unbeaten, winning eleven matches and drawing two, including an England record of eight consecutive victories. They beat the West Indies away for the first time since 1968. They then won all seven home Tests against New Zealand and the West Indies, before beating South Africa away for the first time since 1965. In the 2005 home season, England easily beat Bangladesh in a two-Test series, before facing Australia for the Ashes.

Following a series defeat to South Africa, Vaughan stepped down as England captain on 3 August 2008 before the final Test at the Oval. In a highly emotional speech, Vaughan thanked those closest to him for their support and, amidst a flood of tears (which somewhat negated the stereotypical Northern "hard man" image), asked if anyone present had a tissue.

Ashes 2005

Hopes were high for the Ashes after the success of the previous eighteen months, but expectations were moderated by the knowledge that Australia had been the best team in the world for many years. Australian captain Ricky Ponting called for a catching pact, where batsmen would accept the word of fielders as to whether they were caught, but this was rejected by Vaughan who preferred to leave it to the umpires. The build-up was long and intense, with press speculation over the ability of many players, leading Vaughan to say: "Both sets of players are sick and tired of talking about the Ashes. We've got a young group of players who are excited by the challenge, and it's a challenge we are all looking forward to."

In the first Test, at Lord's, England were easily beaten; Vaughan performed very poorly scoring only 3 and 4. Analysis of Vaughan's batting showed that over the last 30 months he had averaged only 37.77, and lacked consistency with a poor defensive technique. Despite his lack of form, he turned down the opportunity of playing county cricket for Yorkshire against Derbyshire, preferring to work in the nets with Duncan Fletcher. He returned, however, for their match against Kent, making 116 not out, and taking 2/42. He captained England to a narrow two-run victory in the second Test to level the series, but again scored poorly with only 24 and 1.

By the third test, Vaughan's poor run of form was attracting increasing criticism. But during the third Test at Old Trafford he answered the critics, albeit with a bit of luck during a Glenn McGrath over. In the second ball of the over, when Vaughan was on 41, he cut hard at a wide delivery from McGrath and Gilchrist allowed it to slip through his gloves and run away for four runs. The very next ball McGrath clean bowled Vaughan with a superb off cutter, but this was in vain as the umpire called a no-ball for overstepping the line. Vaughan went on to strike 166, punishing in particular the lacklustre bowling of Jason Gillespie. Vaughan was eventually caught by Glenn McGrath off a full-toss delivery from occasional slow left-armer Simon Katich. However, his opposing captain, Ponting, was equal to the task and made 156 as Australia clung on for the draw. Vaughan made 58 in the first innings of the fourth Test, but was out for a duck in the second, as England struggled in reaching their target of 129, eventually reaching it with three wickets to spare.

In the fifth Test, he scored 11 and 45, as it ended in a draw, allowing England to claim The Ashes for the first time since Mike Gatting's side in the 1986–87 series in Australia.

The England team were widely lauded after winning the Ashes. Tens of thousands of people lined the route of their open-top bus parade through London, with around 25,000 gathering in Trafalgar Square, their final destination. Although Vaughan's batting (except at Old Trafford) had been relatively ordinary, his shrewd captaincy was widely lauded, with Vaughan's management of his key allrounder Andrew Flintoff eliciting comparison with the captain-allrounder partnership of Mike Brearley and Ian Botham during the 1981 Ashes. Vaughan was given the freedom of his home city of Sheffield in honour of his achievements. In the New Year Honours, Vaughan became an OBE for his successful captaincy; the rest of the side were appointed MBEs.

Injury troubles

A knee injury ruled Vaughan out of the first Test of England's tour of Pakistan in late 2005. He played in the next two, scoring a half-century in the third, as England lost the series 2–0. This broke England's unbeaten run of six consecutive Test series, which had taken them to second in the ICC Test Championship.

Vaughan missed almost the entire 2006 season due to injuries related to his knee; he was unable to play Test series against India and Sri Lanka. Although initially hopeful of a return, he was also unfit to play in the 2006/07 Ashes series in Australia, which England lost 5–0. On 9 January 2007, Vaughan made his first international appearance in over a year, captaining England to defeat in a Twenty20 match against Australia, despite scoring 27 off 21 balls. He captained England for the first two ODIs of 2006–07 Commonwealth Bank Series, a defeat to Australia and a victory over New Zealand, before a torn hamstring forced him to miss the next five games. He returned on 6 February 2007, leading England into the finals with a 14-run victory over New Zealand, although Vaughan was out for a golden duck. Two days later, he was forced to miss the best-of-three finals and return to England, after aggravating the same hamstring injury.

In October, Vaughan signed a rolling contract with Yorkshire intended to keep him at the club for the remainder of his career; the deal would only take effect after his central contract with England ended.

World Cup 2007

Despite injury concerns, on 14 February 2007, Vaughan was selected in the final 15 for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean, and confirmed as captain. He captained the team through Group C with victories over Canada and Kenya and a defeat to New Zealand, scoring 45, 1 and 26. During the Super Eight stage of the tournament, Vaughan produced a series of poor innings as England continued to underperform; they were knocked out with one match remaining having never looked convincing. After their penultimate match, in which they were soundly beaten by South Africa, Vaughan said "It's a very sad day for English cricket. It's a horrible feeling to walk off and be booed by a lot of English supporters, and rightfully so from the performance we put in. I fully expected us to turn up and produce something, but we didn't and we have to accept all the criticism that comes our way." In The Guardian, Mike Selvey said Vaughan's "selection without proof of form or fitness was a gamble and it has failed." Former England cricketer Bob Willis called for Vaughan to be axed as captain.

In England's final game against the West Indies, Vaughan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/39 from 10 overs, and scored a quick-fire 79 off 68 as England achieved a narrow victory with just one wicket and one ball remaining.

2007 Season

After being released for county action on his return, Vaughan found form with 72 for Yorkshire against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. However, in the second innings of that match he was again injured; this time with a broken finger, received as he tried to evade a Stuart Clark delivery. This ruled him out of the first Test against the West Indies on 17 May. He recovered for the second test, his first for 18 months, and scored 103 in an emphatic victory of an innings and 283 runs; in ''The Guardian'', Selvey described the innings as a "masterpiece", and said "Vaughan came as close to perfection as ever he can have done."

When England defeated the West Indies in the third Test at Old Trafford, Vaughan surpassed Peter May as the man who had led England to most Test victories, with 21 wins.

Despite this, at the end of the 4th day of the fourth test, it was announced that Vaughan would be standing down as captain of the one-day team with immediate effect. On 30 July, against India Vaughan hit his 5,000th Test cricket run at Trent Bridge, and eventually fell to an unlucky dismissal off the thigh pad for 124. On 15 September, Vaughan top-scored for Yorkshire Phoenix with 95 runs against Derbyshire Phantoms (his highest one-day score in two years), thus firing them to victory in the county's last Pro40 match of the season.

Sri Lanka and New Zealand

Vaughan failed to make a significant score in Sri Lanka as he opened for England with Cook. He then traveled to New Zealand with great optimism. However, in the 3 match Test series, he again failed to make an impact, scoring a gritty 63 in the first Test defeat and averaging 20.05. Nevertheless, he did lead England to a first away series win in 3 years. There were many calls for Vaughan's place in the side to be reassessed, nothing in Vaughan's 135 from six domestic innings in 2008 to quieten them. He acknowledged his need for runs, but remained upbeat about his own position and about England's chances in the 2009 Ashes series. Jonathan Agnew, however, observed that Vaughan could ill afford another poor series. Vaughan answered his critics in the first test, however, scoring his eighteenth century when he hit 106 from 214 deliveries. This was his first century against New Zealand, and his sixth at Lord's, the latter equalling the record set by Graham Gooch.

South Africa

Following his century in the first Test of the summer against New Zealand, Vaughan again struggled with form in the second series of the summer against South Africa, scoring just 2, 0 and 21 in the first two Test matches of the series. With the team also performing poorly and with questions being raised over selection issues, Vaughan again came under pressure going into the third Test at Edgbaston. He scored a golden duck as the team capitulated to 231 all out on the first day of the test. This led to much criticism from the media, particularly Geoffrey Boycott, who stated on Test Match Special, "On his performances he doesn't deserve to play ... Vaughan, I've said for a long time, is not playing well ... There's something wrong - I don't know whether it's his eyesight or what". After defeat at Edgbaston, which meant that England would lose the series, Michael Vaughan stepped down as England captain after five years in charge due to the team's recent lack of wins. He also decided to make himself unavailable for the final Test at the Oval, saying that he would return to play for Yorkshire and try to concentrate on his batting. Vaughan said that he had not been himself at home and that this vital decision would prolong his career. He was aware that if he carried on being England Captain his career could have ended in an abrupt way.

Retirement

Vaughan continued his poor form through 2009 and could not earn himself a recall to the national team in time for the West Indies tour. In January, Vaughan had withdrawn from the IPL auction to concentrate on getting back into the Test side in time for the Ashes, but to no avail: his poor form seemed to have brought an end to his international career as he was not included in the training party for the Ashes Tests.Mike Atherton, also a former England captain and now cricket correspondent for ''The Times'', suggested that, based on the vibes emanating from Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Vaughan was not about to quit. Vaughan's future was not necessarily in his own hands. In seven County Championship matches in 2009, he had scored just 147 runs at an average of 21.00, by some way the lowest of Yorkshire's top-order batsmen. His last innings of 47 versus Worcestershire was his highest for Yorkshire since June 2008, and he had not hit a century since May 2002. In all, since the 2005 Ashes, he had rolled up a mere 747 Yorkshire runs at 25.75. "Does he still justify a place in Yorkshire's Championship side?" asked the ''Yorkshire Evening Post''. A few days later, on 30 June 2009, Vaughan ended all speculation by announcing his retirement from all cricket with immediate effect. The announcement, made at Edgbaston, home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, was made after his being omitted from the England Ashes squad. He gave a tongue-in-cheek explanation for his retirement, stating: "''Two weeks ago my little lad, Archie, bowled a ball that hit a weed and knocked my off-stump out of the ground. If a three-year-old is bowling me out, it's time to move over!''"

Broadcasting

In 2009 Vaughan joined Test Match Special as an expert summariser during the England v Australia ODI series. His first Test match was during England's series in South Africa. He has also appeared on the Sport Panel Show "Fighting Talk" on BBC Radio 5 Live. Vaughan is also a commentator on Channel Five's Cricket on Five television highlights package from the 2010 season. He also took part in the 2011 TV series Jamie's Dream School.

Awards

Vaughan was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2003 and became the first cricketer ever to be featured on the cover of the 140th edition of cricket's Bible Wisden (in the same year) after his excellent batting in 2002. In August 2005, the Sheffield Hallam University honoured him with an honorary doctorate for his services towards the game. September 2005 saw him being awarded the Freedom of the City of Sheffield after captaining England to victory in The Ashes.

In December 2005, the England cricket team was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award. Vaughan was nominated for the Sports Personality of the Year individual award, but that went to his team-mate, Andrew Flintoff. On 31 December 2005, the entire Ashes-winning England cricket team was awarded the Queen's New Years' Honours, with Vaughan, team coach Duncan Fletcher and manager Phil Neale being honoured with OBEs and the rest of the side being awarded MBEs. He was also nominated in the Captain of the Year category for the 2006 ICC Awards (eventually awarded to Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene) which was held in Mumbai on 3 November 2006. The following year, Vaughan was named in the Test Team of the Year at the 2007 ICC Awards.

Autobiographies

5px|frame|right|''Calling The Shots'' by Michael VaughanIn November 2005, Michael released his book ''Calling The Shots'' which describes man-management of the team as captain and his time as the England cricket captain so far. It also describes his fractious relationship with the South African captain Graeme Smith. Vaughan alleged that Smith called him 'queer' and fellow team-mate Andrew Flintoff a 'big baby'. Moreover Smith acted as a witness during the trial of Vaughan's case with match-referee Clive Lloyd, where Vaughan had mildly rebuked the umpires for having called off play in bright conditions the previous day during a Test match in Johannesburg, South Africa, which resulted in Vaughan being fined his entire match-fee. Afterwards he started referring to Smith as 'The Witness', and also accused him of playing to the cameras.

Vaughan had earlier written another book ''A Year in the Sun: The Captain's story'', in which he describes his phenomenal and fortuitous year of 2002-03, experiencing Bradmanesque-form, plundering seven centuries in 12 Tests, en route to become the world's best Test batsman that year. He also describes his experiences as an England cricketer, bowling out Sachin Tendulkar (one of the finest players in the modern game) and the controversial World Cup in Zimbabwe, which led to England forfeiting important points and eventually any chance they had of winning. Vaughan's appointment as England captain after the 2003 World Cup brought a new fresh spirit and life in the England dressing room, leading to instant success in the one-day arena. Nasser Hussain resigned as England Test captain shortly after - and Vaughan took charge in Tests as well.

Achievements

Test matches

Career centuries: {|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%" align="center" width:"100%" !colspan=7|Michael Vaughan's Test Centuries |- ! width="40"| !! width="50"|Runs !! width="50"|Match !! width="100"|Against !! width="150"|City/Country !! width="200"|Venue !! width="50"|Year |- | [1] || 120 || 11 || Pakistan || Manchester, England || Old Trafford || 2001 |- | [2] || 115 || 17 || Sri Lanka || London, England || Lords Cricket Ground || 2002 |- | [3] || 100 || 20 || India || London, England || Lords Cricket Ground || 2002 |- | [4] || 197 || 21 || India || Nottingham, England || Trent Bridge || 2002 |- | [5] || 195 || 23 || India || London, England || The Oval || 2002 |- | [6] || 177 || 25 || Australia || Adelaide, Australia || Adelaide Oval || 2002 |- | [7] || 145 || 27 || Australia || Melbourne, Australia || Melbourne Cricket Ground || 2002 |- | [8] || 183 || 28 || Australia || Sydney, Australia || Sydney Cricket Ground || 2003 |- | [9] || 156 || 31 || South Africa || Birmingham, England || Edgbaston Cricket Ground || 2003 |- | [10] || 105 || 39 || Sri Lanka || Kandy, Sri Lanka || Asgiriya Stadium || 2003 |- | [11] || 140 || 44 || West Indies || St Johns, Antigua || Antigua Recreation Ground || 2004 |- | [12] || 103 || rowspan="2"|47 || rowspan="2"|West Indies || rowspan="2"|London, England || rowspan="2"|Lord's Cricket Ground || rowspan="2"|2004 |- | [13] || 101* |- | [14] || 120 || 56 || Bangladesh || London, England || Lord's Cricket Ground || 2005 |- | [15] || 166 || 60 || Australia || Manchester, England || Old Trafford || 2005 |- | [16] || 103 || 65 || West Indies || Leeds, England || Headingley Stadium || 2007 |- | [17] || 124 || 69 || India || Nottingham, England || Trent Bridge || 2007 |- | [18] || 106 || 77 || New Zealand || London, England || Lord's Cricket Ground || 2008 |- |}

Career performance:

		Batting	Bowling
style="text-align:left;">Opposition	Matches	Runs	Average	High Score	100 / 50	Runs	Wickets	Average	Best (Inns)
style="text-align:left;">Australian cricket team	Australia		10		959		47.95		183		4 / 1		21		0		-		-
style="text-align:left;"		4		372		74.40		120		1 / 2		-		-		-		-
style="text-align:left;"	India		9		1016		72.57		197		4 / 3		138		4		34.50		2/71
style="text-align:left;"	New Zealand		9		444		27.75		106		1 / 2		23		0		-		-
style="text-align:left;"	Pakistan		4		248		35.42		120		1 / 1		33		0		-		-
style="text-align:left;"	South Africa		14		768		30.72		156		1 / 3		165		2		82.50		1/26
style="text-align:left;"	Sri Lanka		10		755		41.94		115		2 / 4		77		0		-		-
style="text-align:left;"	West Indies		13		847		42.35		140		4 / 2		104		0		-		-
style="text-align:left;"	Zimbabwe		2		28		14.00		20		0 / 0		-		-		-		-
style="text-align:left;"	Overall		77		5585		42.96		197		18 / 18		561		6		93.50		2/71

References

External links

Michael Vaughan's NatWest Video Masterclasses

Wisden Cricketer of the Year citation

Michael Vaughan's Cricket Programme for children

Michael Vaughan - 5 Minute Interview with John Matthew Hall of The Independent

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:England One Day International cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:England Test cricketers Category:England Twenty20 International cricketers Category:English cricket captains Category:English cricketers Category:English cricketers of the 21st century Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Yorkshire cricketers Category:People from Eccles, Greater Manchester Category:People from Sheffield Category:People educated at Silverdale School (Sheffield) Category:MCC cricketers

bn:মাইকেল ভন de:Michael Vaughan fr:Michael Vaughan mr:मायकेल वॉन sv:Michael Vaughan

playername	Michael Hussey
country	Australia
fullname	Michael Edward Killeen Hussey
nickname	Mr. Cricket
living	true
dayofbirth	27
monthofbirth	5
yearofbirth	1975
placeofbirth	Mount Lawley, Western Australia
countryofbirth	Australia
heightft	5
heightinch	11
batting	Left-handed
bowling	Right-arm medium
international	true
role	Batsman
family	DJ Hussey (brother)
testdebutdate	3 November
testdebutyear	2005
testdebutagainst	West Indies
testcap	393
lasttestdate	16–19 December
lasttestyear	2010
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	1 February
odidebutyear	2004
odidebutagainst	India
odicap	150
lastodidate	13 April
lastodiyear	2011
lastodiagainst	Bangladesh
odishirt	48
club1	Western Australia
year1	1994 –
clubnumber1	2
club2	Northamptonshire
year2	2001–2003
club3	Gloucestershire
year3	2004
club4	Durham
year4	2005
club5	Chennai Super Kings
year5	2008–Present
clubnumber5	48
club6	Perth Scorchers
year6	2011–Present
deliveries	balls
columns	4
column1	Tests
matches1	59
runs1	4,650
bat avg1	51.09
100s/50s1	13/24
top score1	195
deliveries1	186
wickets1	2
bowl avg1	52.50
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	1/3
catches/stumpings1	57/–
column2	ODI
matches2	158
runs2	4,679
bat avg2	51.41
100s/50s2	3/34
top score2	109*
deliveries2	234
wickets2	2
bowl avg2	113.50
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	0
best bowling2	1/22
catches/stumpings2	86/–
column3	FC
matches3	245
runs3	20,726
bat avg3	52.47
100s/50s3	55/95
top score3	331*
deliveries3	1,626
wickets3	22
bowl avg3	39.86
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	3/34
catches/stumpings3	265/–
column4	LA
matches4	351
runs4	11,325
bat avg4	45.30
100s/50s4	12/85
top score4	123
deliveries4	780
wickets4	20
bowl avg4	41.05
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	3/52
catches/stumpings4	179/–
date	7 June
year	2011
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/5939.html Cricinfo }}

Michael Edward Killeen Hussey (born 27 May 1975) is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective formats, with 15,313 first-class runs before making his Test debut. However, he has had a highly successful international career, being the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world in 2006. He plays first-class cricket as vice-captain of the Western Warriors in Australia and has played for three counties in England. He also plays in the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings, although he opted out of the 2009 season.

He was retained by Chennai Super Kings in the 2011–2012 season of Indian Premier League for $425,000 at auctions held in January 2011.

Pre-Test career

Hussey initially played for his native Western Australian Warriors, and his career total of 6471 runs ranks eighth in the list of that state's run-makers in the Sheffield Shield. He then moved to England, where in July 2001 he scored an unbeaten 329 (a Northamptonshire club record) at Wantage Road in his side's 633 for six declared on the way to a 10-wicket victory. He later captained Northamptonshire. In August 2003 he surpassed his own Northamptonshire record, when he scored 331 not out against Somerset at Taunton.

When Hussey was playing for the second-string national team, Allan Border once jokingly suggested he get match practice by staying in the nets for a full six hours; to his astonishment, Hussey went on to do just that. Hussey started out as a right-handed batsman but turned himself into a left-hander as he is greatly inspired by Border.

International career

Hussey earned a Cricket Australia contract in 2004–05 after excelling in the ING Cup. Statistically, Hussey's international career has been very successful, with his career batting average in tests being 52.16 and in ODIs 51.93 as of June 2010. He is a very occasional medium pace bowler, bowling only 28 overs in his Test career, 23 of them in 2008. He is brought into the attack usually to give the pace bowlers a rest, although he was once brought on in India to stop Ricky Ponting getting a one-match ban for a slow over rate. On 28 December 2008, Day 3 of the Boxing Day test, he got his first test wicket, Paul Harris caught by Mitchell Johnson. He ended with figures of 1/22. He has taken two wickets in One Day Internationals.

One-day internationals

Hussey debuted for the Australian One-day team against India on 1 February 2004 at his home WACA ground in Perth. In this match Hussey made 17* helping Australia win the match by five wickets.

In the third Super Series match on 9 October 2005, Hussey became the first person to hit the roof of the Telstra Dome (the ICC World XI's Makhaya Ntini was the bowler in this case). On 6 February 2006, he tied with Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee on 22 votes for the Australian One-Day Player of the Year at the annual Allan Border Medal presentation. However, Symonds was ruled ineligible after an alcohol-related indiscretion, and after Lee and Gilchrist were eliminated on countback, Hussey was named the outright winner. Hussey had also come second overall in the Allan Border medal his first year in international cricket. On 3 November 2006, Hussey became the ICC's ODI Player of the Year at the annual ICC Awards in Mumbai. He was also named in its World ODI XI in 2006 and as 12th man in 2007.

Many tip Hussey to be the next ODI and Test captain of Australia and on 18 September 2006, owing to Australia's rotation policy, and in Ricky Ponting's absence, Hussey captained Australia for the first time in the DLF Cup second round match against West Indies at Kuala Lumpur. Australia lost the game by three wickets, but Hussey and Brad Haddin put together a sixth-wicket partnership of 165, a world record for that wicket in all ODIs.

In the 2007 Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series, Australia were in trouble while chasing a target against England, and in a later match New Zealand. Both times Hussey guided the Australians to victory, and on both occasions was the only recognised batsman at the crease at the end of the match.

Hussey led Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after selectors rested captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist. The first match against New Zealand saw a 10-wicket loss, the first time Australia had lost by this margin in their One Day International history, although Hussey top scored with 42 off 96 balls. Hussey's record as captain was further marred when Australia lost the top place in the ODI rankings to South Africa for the first time since they were introduced in 2002 after losing to New Zealand two days later. Hussey top-scored for Australia with an aggressive 105 off 84 before another loss in the final match left him with a captaincy record of four losses from four matches.

In early 2007, Hussey had a major slump in form with an average of only eight in over 10 innings, which scarcely improved in the World Cup where he gained an average of 17.4 with 87 runs. However, this was also due to a lack of opportunities to bat because of Australia's top-order dominance.

In the fourth ODI in the Commonwealth Bank Series played at the MCG on 10 February 2008 against India, Australia's top order and middle order collapsed, which saw Hussey come in at 5/72 with the side in deep trouble. He made a 53-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Brett Lee (which was the highest partnership of the innings) until Lee fell to Pathan. Hussey batted through the rest of the innings, making an unbeaten 65 off 88 being the only Australian to really contribute to the poor total of 159.

In the first ODI of the 2008 Bangladesh ODI series, Hussey top-scored with 85 and received the man-of-the-match award. This coincided with his rise to second in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI player rankings.

After initially being left out, Michael Hussey was named in the Australian 2011 World Cup squad as the replacement of Doug Bollinger after recovering from hamstring injury that needed surgery.

Tests

Hussey made his Test debut at the Gabba in Brisbane on 3 November 2005, as a replacement for fellow Western Australian batsman Justin Langer in the Australia vs. West Indies series. In the first innings Hussey managed only one run, caught by Denesh Ramdin off the bowling of Daren Powell. In the second innings Hussey turned in an unimpressive 29. In the following Test, at Bellerive Oval (Tasmania) he scored 137 and 31* and was named man of the match. In the third Test at Adelaide Oval, Hussey was moved down the order to number five to accommodate the return of Langer. He made 133 not out in the first innings and 30 not out in the second, bringing his Test average to 120.

Since being moved down the order, Hussey has proved invaluable to the Australian team, often building impressive partnerships with the tail-end batsmen, the most impressive being a 107-run 10th-wicket partnership with Glenn McGrath in the second Test in South Africa's 2005–06 tour of Australia. Hussey continued his remarkable batting with tail-enders against Bangladesh in their Spring 2006 2-Test series when he and Jason Gillespie (as a nightwatchman) put together a 320-run partnership, with Hussey making a career-best 182.

On 18 April 2006 Hussey set a record as the fastest player in terms of time to reach 1,000 Test runs. He reached the milestone in just 166 days. Hussey was also the fastest player to reach the top 10 of the LG ICC cricket ratings. He maintained an exceptional average of 105.25 in the 2006-07 Ashes series, which Australia won 5–0.

In the second Test of the 2006–07 Ashes, Hussey made 91 before he was bowled (playing on) by Matthew Hoggard and fell nine runs short of his fifth Test century. In the second innings Australia was chasing 168 off 35 overs for victory for a chance to go 2–0 up in the series. After the fall of two early wickets, Ponting and Hussey, who was promoted to No. 4 instead of Damien Martyn, formed a steady partnership to guide Australia to victory. Ponting fell on 49 but the battle was well over. Hussey scored the winning runs and made 61 not out from 66 balls. His partner, Michael Clarke, scored 21 not out.

On 16 December Hussey scored 103 runs off 156 balls—his fifth Test century—on the third day of the third match of the series at the WACA Ground in Perth. On 6 January 2007 after Australia's 5–0 Ashes whitewash, Justin Langer anointed Hussey to be the next leader of the team's victory song Under the Southern Cross I Stand.

In the first Test of the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy against Sri Lanka, Hussey scored his sixth Test century with a score of 133 runs off 249 balls. He was also part of a record-breaking fourth-wicket partnership with Clarke. Their 245-run partnership is the third-highest partnership for Australia against Sri Lanka in Test matches. In the following match of the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, Hussey scored his seventh Test century with a score of 132 and following it up in the second innings with 34 not out.

On the 6 January 2008, at the SCG, Hussey scored his eighth Test century against India. This was the first time he scored more than 50 runs at that ground. He ended up not out on 145, before Ponting declared. However, in the first innings of the next Test he scored his first Test duck.

Hussey claimed his first Test wicket against South Africa on the third day of the 2008 Boxing Day Test at the MCG, when Paul Harris skied a ball over Mitchell Johnson's head and the latter ran back and took a running catch as the ball fell down past his shoulder.

Hussey played in all five of Ashes Test matches in England in 2009, scoring 276 runs in 8 innings. This gave him an average of 34.5. This included a century in Australia's second innings in the Fifth and final Test at The Oval where he scored 121, potentially saving his Test career after a long run without a century. He also scored two half centuries at Lord's in the Second Test, which England won, and in the Third Test at Edgbaston, which ended in a draw. He also took five catches in the field.

In the summer of 2009/10 Hussey scored his tenth test century. Australia were playing Pakistan and were losing badly when Hussey proved yet again that he was brilliant with the tail end, scoring an unbeaten 134. This innings with Peter Siddle who scored 38 potentially saved the match as Australia went from a terrible position to a reasonable one and ended up winning the match with Michael Hussey named man of the match for his heroic effort.

In the first Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy against the West Indies in 2009 at the Gabba, Hussey took his second Test wicket after Dwayne Bravo hooked a short ball straight to deep backward square leg which was caught comfortably by Ben Hilfenhaus.

Prior to the 2010/11 Ashes series, Hussey was experiencing poor form in the warm-up games and many were speculating that he should be dropped, but he was not. In the first test, he scored a magnificent 195, his highest test score, in a partnership of 307 with Brad Haddin, the highest partnership ever at the Gabba, later broken by Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott in the next innings; the test ended in a draw. In the second test, he scored 93 in the first innings following up with a 52 in the next. The next match, he helped Australia to a 267 run win scoring 61 and 116.

Twenty 20 Internationals

Hussey was part of Australia's 2007 ICC World Twenty20 squad which was knocked out in the semi-finals. He played in all of Australia's matches, scoring 65 runs with a best of 37 before injuring a hamstring, which prevented his participation in Australia's tour of India that followed.

In May 2010, he scored 60 runs off 24 balls in the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 to help defeat Pakistan and secure a place for Australia in the final. It is considered to be one of the most stunning run chases in Twenty20 cricket.

Indian Premier League

He also plays for the IPL team Chennai Super Kings, and he became only the second batsman to score a century in the competition, after New Zealand's Brendon McCullum. He scored 116 not out against the team Kings XI Punjab.

Hussey chose to play for his Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings instead of his Australian state side Western Warriors in the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League although the 2008 event was eventually cancelled and neither side qualified in 2009.

Hussey due to national duties was unable to play the second edition of the Indian Premier League.

Hussey joined the Chennai Super Kings for the second half of the 2010 Indian Premier League along with fellow team-mate Doug Bollinger to reverse the fortunes of the side which eventually went on to win the title that year.

In the 2010 Champions League Twenty20, Michael Hussey replaced Matthew Hayden and opened the innings for the side along with Murali Vijay. He played a crucial knock in the group-clash against the Chevrolet Warriors which was a must-win game for the Chennai Super Kings. Hussey's innings fetched him the Man of the match award and helped the Chennai Super Kings to proceed to the knockout stage where they got to win the league altogether.

In IPL 2011 he is the third highest run getter in all IPL matches. He has scored 492 runs from his eight innings. His highest score is 81 not out against the RCB. He has scored four half centuries and three man of the matches as well.He also created a good patnership record with Murali Vijay in the 2011 Ipl Final.

Personal life

Hussey is married to Amy and has three children. His younger brother, David, is also a professional cricketer who plays for Victoria, Nottinghamshire, Kolkata Knight Riders and Australia. Prior to his entry into first-class cricket, Hussey studied to become a science teacher. He is also a fan of Manchester United due to his dad.

"Mr Cricket"

Hussey has the nicknames Huss, The Huss and Mr Cricket, the last due to his encyclopaedic knowledge of his sport. He dislikes the nickname finding it "a bit embarrassing". There is conjecture over who is responsible for giving him the name, with the suggestion that England's Andrew Flintoff is the man who came up with it and, more recently, the suggestion another English cricketer, Alec Swann, is to blame. The soubriquet appeared on the back of his shirt in the Twenty20 international against South Africa in 2006, in which all the players displayed their nicknames. During the 2007 Twenty20 against England, however, he was seen with Huss on his shirt instead, further suggesting he is fed up with the tag Mr Cricket. Nevertheless, the nickname features prominently in his television ads for the national real estate chain L.J. Hooker.

International centuries

Test Cricket

2 133* 122 182 103 133 132 145* 146 121 134* 195 116

Michael Hussey's Test Centuries.
style="width:40px;"	!! style="width:50px;"|Runs !! style="width:50px;"|Match !! style="width:125px;"|Against !! style="width:150px;"|City/Country !! style="width:200px;"|Venue !! style="width:50px;"|Year
[1]	137	|		Hobart, Australia	Bellerive Oval	2005
[2]	|	3		Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	2005
[3]	|	5		Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	2005
[4]	|	11		Chittagong, Bangladesh	Chittagong Divisional Stadium	2006
[5]	|	14		Perth, Western Australia>Perth, Australia	The WACA	2006
[6]	|	17		Brisbane, Australia	The Gabba	2007
[7]	|	18		Hobart, Australia	Bellerive Oval	2007
[8]	|	20		Sydney, Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground	2008
[9]	|	27		Bangalore, India	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium	Australian cricket team in India in 2008–09>2008
[10]	|	42		London, England	The Oval	2009 Ashes series>2009
[11]	|	47		Sydney, Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground	Pakistani cricket team in Australia in 2009–10>2010
[12]	|	55		Brisbane, Australia	The Gabba	2010–11 Ashes series>2010
[13]	|	57		Perth, Australia	The WACA	2010–11 Ashes series>2010

One Day International centuries

41 105 108

Mike Hussey's One Day International Centuries.
style="width:40px;"	!! style="width:50px;"|Runs !! style="width:50px;"|Match !! style="width:125px;"|Against !! style="width:150px;"|City/Country !! style="width:200px;"|Venue !! style="width:50px;"|Year
[1]	109*	|		Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Kinrara Academy Oval	2006
[2]	|	60		Auckland, New Zealand	Eden Park	2007
[3]	|	158		Dhaka, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	2011

References

External links

Super Series 2005 – Australian Squad from Cricinfo

Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Australia Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Durham cricketers Category:Durham cricket captains Category:Gloucestershire cricketers Category:Northamptonshire cricketers Category:Northamptonshire cricket captains Category:Western Australia cricketers Category:Australian cricket captains Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Chennai cricketers Category:Australian cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:People from Mount Lawley, Western Australia

de:Michael Hussey fr:Michael Hussey hi:माइक हसी mr:मायकेल हसी pl:Michael Hussey ta:மைக்கேல் ஹசி ur:مائيکل ہسی

playername	Shane Watson
country	Australia
fullname	Shane Robert Watson
nickname	Watto
living	true
dayofbirth	17
monthofbirth	6
yearofbirth	1981
placeofbirth	Ipswich, Queensland
countryofbirth	Australia
heightm	1.83
weightkg	93
batting	Right-hand
bowling	Right-arm fast-medium
role	All-rounder (Opening batsmen)
international	true
testdebutdate	2 January
testdebutyear	2005
testdebutagainst	Pakistan
testcap	391
lasttestdate	3 January
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	24 March
odidebutyear	2002
odidebutagainst	South Africa
odicap	148
lastodidate	22 August
lastodiyear	2011
lastodiagainst	Sri Lanka
odishirt	33
t20idebutdate	24 February
t20idebutyear	2006
t20idebutagainst	South Africa
t20icap	19
lastt20idate	8 August
lastt20iyear	2011
lastt20iagainst	Sri Lanka
club1	Tasmania
year1	2001–2004
club2	Queensland
year2	2004–2009
club3	Hampshire
year3	2005
club4	Rajasthan Royals
year4	2008–
club5	New South Wales
year5	2009–
club6	Sydney Sixers
year6	2011–
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	27
runs1	1,953
bat avg1	41.55
100s/50s1	2/15
top score1	126
deliveries1	2,601
wickets1	43
bowl avg1	31.41
fivefor1	2
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	6/33
catches/stumpings1	21/–
column2	ODI
matches2	138
runs2	4,122
bat avg2	43.38
100s/50s2	6/25
top score2	185*
deliveries2	4,953
wickets2	138
bowl avg2	29.10
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	0
best bowling2	4/36
catches/stumpings2	47/–
column3	FC
matches3	94
runs3	6,921
bat avg3	46.76
100s/50s3	17/38
top score3	203*
deliveries3	8,778
wickets3	173
bowl avg3	28.46
fivefor3	6
tenfor3	1
best bowling3	7/69
catches/stumpings3	78/–
column4	List A
matches4	203
runs4	5,991
bat avg4	40.20
100s/50s4	8/36
top score4	185*
deliveries4	6,839
wickets4	180
bowl avg4	31.65
fivefor4	0
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	4/36
catches/stumpings4	66/–
date	24 August
year	2011
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8180.html Cricinfo }}

Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981 in Ipswich, Queensland) is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler. He mainly bats as an opener in international cricket, although he does not do so domestically.

He debuted for the Australian cricket team in 2002, playing his first One Day International against South Africa. While he has become a regular member of the one-day squad, Watson has played few Test Matches for Australia, having debuted against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2005. Despite being allocated to be Australia's designated Test all-rounder, injuries have often prevented him from claiming his position in the Test team. However, from the second half of 2009, Watson has acted as Australian Test opening batsman, along with Simon Katich. Watson was awarded the 2010 Allan Border Medal and again in 2011 thus joining him as the second player to win back-to back Allan Border Medals since Ricky Ponting in 2006 and 2007.

Watson's wife Lee, whom he married in June 2010, is a Fox Sports Australia presenter.

Playing career

Early career

Watson started his first-class cricketing career for Tasmanian Tigers after leaving his home state of Queensland, but returned to play for his native Queensland Bulls as his international career was beginning. He has also played for Hampshire in the English County Championship. He regards Terry Alderman as one of his mentors.

International career

Watson was selected for his first Australian team in early 2002, being selected to tour South Africa with the Test team after topping the Pura Cup wicket-taking charts for Tasmania, as well as steady middle-order batting performances. Australian captain at the time Steve Waugh stated that Watson would possibly be Australia's first genuine all rounder since Keith Miller and Alan Davidson in the 1950s. Watson expressed joy at being selected in an Australian team with Waugh, whom he cited as his idol. Watson scored an unbeaten century on his debut in a tour match, but did not play in the Tests as the selectors retained the same XI that had swept South Africa 3–0 in the Australian season. Watson did make his ODI debut on tour, ironically replacing Waugh, who was sacked after the team failed to make the ODI finals in the preceding Australian summer. Watson continued as a regular member of the ODI team until he suffered three stress fractures in his back, at the start of 2003, missing the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He was replaced by his Queensland teammate Andrew Symonds, who proceeded to establish his position as the all rounder after scoring 143* and 91* during the tournament.

Watson's injury sidelined him until the 2003–04 Australian season, and during his rehabilitation he played most of the season as a batsman, allowing himself to improve his batting skills while his back was still healing. During this time he smashed an unbeaten 300* for his club side, Lindisfarne.

Watson returned to regular ODI duty in the 2004–05 season, as a bowling all rounder. He also played in the Third Test against Pakistan as the fifth bowler, in order to allow Australia to play two spinners and three pace bowlers on a dry Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.

Following England's Ashes victory over Australia in 2005 with a five bowler strategy, Australia responded by including Watson as the fifth bowler and all rounder in all Test matches. Watson stated his intention to emulate Andrew Flintoff, who played the analogous role for England. Watson played against the ICC World XI in the role, but he dislocated his shoulder in just his second Test in that designated role against the West Indies, after diving to field a ball. Watson was again replaced by Symonds and was unable to represent Australia for the remainder of the summer.

He was recalled for the one day squad for the 2006 tour of South Africa but was dropped when all-rounder Andrew Symonds returned from injury. Watson was looking to establish a place in the Test side when he got injured, and Andrew Symonds stepped in to fill the gap.

Watson had been previously criticised for his relatively flat bowling trajectory and inability to move the ball, reflected in his relatively high bowling average. Jamie Cox, a former Tasmanian team-mate and future Australian selector, felt that Watson was being mis-used as a bowling allrounder, believing that he was better suited as a conventional batsman and part-timer bowler, rather than a bowler who engaged in power hitting in the latter part of an innings.

This changed when Watson opened the batting for Australia at the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, alongside wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, instead of Simon Katich. In the competition he impressed with both the ball and bat, as Australia moved to their first Champions Trophy victory. Critics and captain Ricky Ponting cited his better strike rate, straight hitting and the ability to bowl as the reasons why he was selected ahead of Katich. After failing in the first two matches against the West Indies and England, Watson made a 50 in Australia's victory over India, which sealed their place in the semi-finals, and in the 2009 Champions Trophy was held in South Africa, Watson again played a prominent role, making two consecutive 100s against England and New-Zealand in semi-final and final, helping Australia to defend their title.

Ponting suggested that Watson would bat at the number 6 position in the Ashes series against England in 2006–07, and he was named in the squad. However, he came off the ground in a one-day domestic game the week before the first Test with a suspected hamstring tear, which ruled him out for the first three Tests. Michael Clarke was called up in Watson's place, and responded with a half-century, and then a century to cement Clarke's place in the team.

Watson was expected to be fit for the fourth Test on Boxing Day and the MCG in Melbourne, and because of Damien Martyn's unexpected retirement, it looked likely that Watson would be included in the side. However, another injury setback in a match for Queensland ruled Watson out for the rest of the Ashes series. Watson eventually returned in February to the ODI side, replacing Cameron White in the all rounder position, However he again broke down with injury during the 2007 Cricket World Cup and missed most of the Super 8's before returning in fine style smashing an unbeaten 65 off 32 balls against New Zealand. Injury again struck Watson in the early stages of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 as he missed most of the tournament due to hamstring strain.‎ He was then out of action for the 2007–08 Australian season.

After Symonds was omitted from the Australian team for disciplinary reasons, and Watson took the all rounder's position for the tour of India in late-2008, batting at No. 6. During the Third Test in Delhi, he was involved in a series of confrontations with Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who scored a double century and reached his century by lofting Watson over midwicket for six. During the innings, Gambhir elbowed Watson while going for a run, and claimed that the incident was not intentional at a press conference, and claiming that Watson had no capacity to dismiss him. He later pleaded guilty and was banned for one match.

After returning to Australia, Symonds was recalled to the Test team and both all rounders played in the First Test against New Zealand in Brisbane. As the pitch was a green, rain-affected moist surface expected to favour seamers, spinner Jason Krejza was dropped to accommodate two seam bowling all rounders. After the match, which Australia won, Watson was dropped as spinner Nathan Hauritz was included and Symonds retained. Symonds continued to perform poorly, and there were calls for Watson to take his place, but both men then fell injured at the end of the year, Watson with a stress fracture. Watson returned to international duty in the ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE, scoring a century.

He returned to the Australian Test side for the 3rd Ashes Test match at Edgbaston on 30 July 2009 when he replaced opener Phillip Hughes who had been struggling for form. In a rain interrupted match he made 62 and 53 batting alongside Simon Katich. He scored his second highest Test score of 96 against the West Indies in the Second Test in Adelaide in December 2009. He and Katich put on a century stand and he had reached 96 at stumps, only to inside edge his first ball of the next morning onto his stumps while attempting to hit a boundary to reach his century. In the Third Test, he made 89 in another century stand with Katich. In the second innings, he removed opposition captain Chris Gayle and then charged towards him, screaming in celebration directly in front of him. This earned him a fine from the match referee, and considerable criticism from much of the Australian public.

In the First Test against Pakistan, he made 93 runs on Boxing Day and featured in his third century stand in as many matches with Katich, but was run out after a mix-up with Katich in which both players ended up running towards the same end, again falling short of his debut Test hundred. On Day four, Watson finally made his first Test hundred. He went to lunch sitting on 98* and including the lunch break was stuck in the 90s for 106 minutes. After the lunch break he got to 99, and was then stuck there and could only get dot balls. He brought up his debut Test century in interesting style, hitting the ball hard to Abdur Rauf at point who put the catch down. The ball spilled away and gave Watson enough time to run through for the single he needed. His century came after 293 minutes off 186 balls with 9 fours and a six. When Ponting declared, he remained not out, making 120. Watson was awarded man of the match on 30 December for his role in Australia's Test victory.

In the second innings of the Second Test at the SCG, Watson fell short of another century, dismissed for 97. During this Test, the Australian Cricket Media Association presented Watson with Australian Cricketer of the Year Award.

In the first test of Australia's 2010 tour of India, Watson opened his account with his second test century - an attritional 126 runs off 338 balls on a slow, low Mohali pitch. The innings capped an excellent start to the tour, as he also scored a century in each innings of the warm-up match, albeit at a much brisker pace. He topscored again in the second innings with a run-a-ball 56, which proved vital in setting a competitive target as Australia's middle order again collapsed in spectacular fashion following his dismissal.

On 30 March 2011, Watson was named test and ODI vice-captain. On 11 April 2011 he made 185 not out off 96 balls against Bangladesh. Watson hit 15 sixes in this innings, breaking the record previously held by Xavier Marshall. He also scored the highest one day international score by an Australian batsman passing Matthew Hayden's score of 181 not out set in 2007.

Test Centuries

15 126

Test Match Centuries of Shane Watson
		style="width:40px;"	# !! style="width:50px;"|Runs !! style="width:50px;"|Match !! style="width:110px;"|Against !! style="width:200px;"|City/Country !! style="width:200px;"|Venue !! style="width:50px;"|Year !! style="width:100px;"|Home/Away
1	120*	|		Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	2009	Home
2	|	21		Mohali, India	Punjab Cricket Association Stadium	2010	Away

ODI Centuries

69 116* 136* 105* 161* 185*

ODI Match Centuries of Shane Watson
		style="width:40px;"	# !! style="width:50px;"|Runs !! style="width:50px;"|Match !! style="width:110px;"|Against !! style="width:200px;"|City/Country !! style="width:200px;"|Venue !! style="width:50px;"|Year !! style="width:100px;"|Home/Away/Neutral
1	126	|		Grenada, West Indies	Queen's Park, Grenada>National Cricket Stadium	Australian cricket team in West Indies in 2008>2008	Away
2	|	77		Abu Dhabi, UAE	Sheikh Zayed Stadium	Australian cricket team against Pakistan in UAE in 2009>2009	Neutral
3	|	89		Centurion, Gauteng>Centurion, South Africa	SuperSport Park	2009 ICC Champions Trophy>2009	Neutral
4	|	90		Centurion, Gauteng>Centurion, South Africa	SuperSport Park	2009	Neutral
5	|	118		Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	English cricket team in Australia in 2010–11>2011	Home
6	|	132		Dhaka, Bangladesh	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium	Australian cricket team in Bangladesh in 2011>2011	Away

At the Allan Border Medal night of 2010, he won the one day player of the year, was runner up for the Test player of the year and won the Allan Border Medal.

Indian Premier League

Watson played in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals team. Signed up for US $125,000, he performed well with both the bat and the ball scoring four half-centuries to anchor his team to victory in three matches of the tournament and in the semifinals. He also picked up 17 wickets, won four man of the match awards in his first twelve games and also won the Man of the Series award.

On the back of his IPL performance, Watson was subsequently selected to replace Matthew Hayden in the one day series as part of Australia's tour to the West Indies, after Hayden had injured himself during the IPL season. Watson went on to establish himself as an ODI opener in the series.

Watson missed the second IPL season due to national duty and injury, and Rajasthan failed to reach the top four in the qualifying rounds. For 2011 season, Rajasthan Royals successfully retained Shane Watson along with the skipper Shane Warne.

References

External links

Cricinfo page on Shane Watson

Shane Watson profile at cricket.com.au

Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Australia Test cricketers Category:Australia Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Hampshire cricketers Category:Queensland cricketers Category:Tasmania cricketers Category:New South Wales cricketers Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Rajasthan (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:People from Ipswich, Queensland Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup

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