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Worcestershire
Flag
Geography
Status
Origin	Historic
Region	West Midlands
Area - Total - Admin. council	Ranked 34th 1,741 km2 (672 sq mi) Ranked 29th
Admin HQ	Worcester
ISO 3166-2	GB-WOR
ONS code	47
NUTS 3	UKG12
Demography
Population - Total (2010 est.) - Density - Admin. council	Ranked 38th 557,400 320 /km2 (830 /sq mi) Ranked 21st
Ethnicity	97.5% White 1.1% S.Asian
Politics
Worcestershire County Council http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	Robin Walker (C) Sajid Javid (C) Peter Luff (C) Karen Lumley (C) Harriett Baldwin (C) Mark Garnier (C) Bill Wiggin (C)
Districts
Worcester Malvern Hills Wyre Forest Bromsgrove Redditch Wychavon

Worcestershire (ⁱ/ˈwʊstərʃər/ WUUS-tər-shər or /ˈwʊstərʃɪər/ WUUS-tər-sheer ; abbreviated Worcs) is a non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands of England. In 1974, it merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire to form Hereford and Worcester. This was divided in 1998, re-establishing Worcestershire as a county. The Malvern Hills forms the east–west border between the two counties, with the exception of West Malvern in Worcestershire.

The county borders Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. To the west, the county is bordered by the Malvern Hills and the spa town of Malvern. The southern part of the county is bordered by Gloucestershire and the northern edge of the Cotswolds; to the east is Warwickshire. There are two major rivers flowing through the county, the Severn and the Avon.

The cathedral city of Worcester is the largest settlement and administrative seat of the county, which includes the principal settlements of Bromsgrove, Stourport-on-Severn, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster, Malvern, and the largest town, Redditch, and a number of smaller towns such as Pershore, Tenbury Wells and Upton upon Severn. The north of the county includes part of the industrial West Midlands conurbation while the south of the county is largely rural. The average salary is £20,300.

Language[link]

There are many accents and dialects within Worcestershire. Kidderminster in the north of the county has had an influx of the Black Country accent, whereas Bromsgrove and Redditch have an accent more closely related to Birmingham. The rest of the county has retained the distinctive tones of the West Country accent, typified and made famous by The Archers, the world's longest running radio soap opera, set in a fictional county situated somewhere between the (in reality, bordering) counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire.

History[link]

Absorbed by the Kingdom of Mercia during the 7th century and then by the unified Kingdom of England from 927 to 1707, it was a separate ealdormanship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the Earldom of Mercia in the 11th century. In the years leading up to the Norman conquest, the Church, including the cathedral, Evesham Abbey, Pershore Abbey, Malvern Priory and other religious houses, increasingly dominated county. The last known Anglo-Saxon sheriff of the county was Cyneweard of Laughern, and the first Norman sheriff was Urse d'Abetot who built the castle of Worcester and seized much church land. Worcestershire was the site of the Battle of Evesham in which Simon de Montfort was killed on 4 August 1265. In 1642, the site of the Battle of Powick Bridge the first major skirmish of the English Civil War, and the Battle of Worcester in 1651 that effectively ended it.

During the Middle Ages, much of the county's economy was based on the wool trade, and many areas of its dense forests, such as Malvern Chase, were royal hunting grounds. In the nineteenth century, Worcester was a centre for the manufacture of gloves; the town of Kidderminster became a centre for carpet manufacture, and Redditch specialised in the manufacture of needles, springs and hooks. Droitwich Spa, being situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of salt production from Roman times, with one one of the principal Roman roads running through the town. These old industries have since declined, to be replaced by other, more varied light industry. The county is also home to the world's oldest continually published newspaper, the Berrow's Journal, established in 1690. Malvern was one of the centres of the 19th century rise in English spa towns due to Malvern water being believed to be very pure, containing "nothing at all".^[1]

Local government[link]

Worcestershire's boundaries have been fluid for over a hundred years since the abolition of the form of local administration known as the Hundreds in 1889, but the continual expansion of Birmingham and the Black Country during and after the Industrial Revolution altered the county map considerably.

1884–1911[link]

Worcestershire County Council came into existence following the Local Government Act 1888 and covered the historic traditional county, except for two designated county boroughs at Dudley and Worcester. The county also had many exclaves and enclaves, which were areas of land cut off from the main geographical area of Worcestershire and completely surrounded by the nearby counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire. The most notable were Dudley, Evenlode, and the area around Shipston-on-Stour. In return, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire had their own exclaves within Worcestershire. These were found at Clent, Tardebigge and Halesowen/Oldbury (or the Halesowen Parish area) respectively and were transferred to or rejoined Worcestershire in October 1844 following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. This Act of Parliament was designed to eradicate the issue of 'islands' or 'exclaves', however Shipston-on-Stour remained associated with Worcestershire until April 1931 and likewise Dudley until 1966. The southern boundary of the county was also confusing, with parish boundaries penetrating deep into Gloucestershire and vice-versa. This was also eventually resolved following the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844.

Birmingham's continuous expansion has been a large contributory factor to Worcestershire's fluid boundary changes and associated housing issues. The district of Balsall Heath, which had originally constituted the most northerly part of the Parish of King's Norton, was the first area of the County to be added to the County Borough of Birmingham on 1 October 1891. This was followed by Quinton Urban District, which was ceded to Birmingham in November 1909, and then by both the Rural District of Yardley and the greater part of the Urban District of King's Norton and Northfield, which were absorbed into the City as part of the Greater Birmingham Scheme on 9 November 1911. As a consequence of the transfer to Birmingham, these areas were no longer part of Worcestershire and became associated with Warwickshire. Dudley's historical status within the Diocese of Worcester and through its aristocratic links ensured that the island was governed on a largely autonomous basis. Worcester was also self-governing and was known as The City and County of Worcester.

1926 boundary changes[link]

In 1926, Dudley County Borough council purchased several square miles of land to the north of the town centre, a large percentage of which existed within Sedgley (Staffordshire), including Dudley Castle. This was in order to build the Priory Estate, a large new council estate on which construction would begin in 1929. The boundaries of Worcestershire were altered to include all of the proposed new housing estate in Dudley.^[2]

1966–1974[link]

During the Local Government reorganisation of April 1966, Dudley expanded beyond its historical boundaries and took in the bulk of Sedgley and Brierley Hill and the south of Coseley as well as a small section of Amblecote. The Local Government Act redefined its status and the County Borough of Dudley became part of Staffordshire, the county which all of these areas had been part of. At the same time, Worcestershire gained a new county borough known as Warley, which was an amalgamation of Oldbury Urban District, Rowley Regis Urban District, the County Borough of Smethwick and parts of Dudley and Tipton. During these reorganisations, the area of the county council grew only where Stourbridge took in the majority of Amblecote Urban District from Staffordshire and the designation of Redditch in 1964 as a New Town. This in turn saw expansion into the area in and around the villages of Ipsley and Matchborough in Warwickshire. The Redditch New Town designation coincided with a considerable programme of social and private house building in Droitwich, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and along the Birmingham boundary at Frankley, Rubery and Rednal. Frankley Parish was later spilt into two parts with New Frankley and the area around Bartley Reservoir transferring from Bromsgrove District to Birmingham in April 1995. The small village of Frankley remained in Worcestershire and formed a new Civil Parish under the same name.

1974–present[link]

From 1974, the central and southern part of the county was amalgamated with Herefordshire and Worcester County Borough to form a single non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester. The County Boroughs of Dudley and Warley along with Stourbridge and Halesowen were incorporated into the new West Midlands Metropolitan county. The West Midlands County Council existed for only a short period before abolition in April 1986 by the Government, though legally exists to this day as an administrative county and ceremonial county.

In the 1990s UK local government reform, the decision was taken to abolish Hereford and Worcester, with the new non-metropolitan county or shire county of Worcestershire regaining its historic border with Herefordshire.

The new county still excluded towns such as Stourbridge, Halesowen, Dudley and Oldbury, due to the reorganisation's remit of dealing with only non-metropolitan counties in England. The new County of Worcestershire came into existence on 1 April 1998 as an administrative county and ceremonial county, although some cross-boundary organisations and resources are shared with the Herefordshire unitary authority, these include waste management and the youth offending service.

The post-April 1974 Hereford & Worcester districts of Redditch, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Wychavon and Wyre Forest were retained with little or no change. However the Leominster and Malvern Hills districts crossed over the historic border, so a new Malvern Hills district was constituted which straddled the pre-April 1974 county boundary to the west, south-west and north-west.

Broadway Tower, one of several Worcestershire follies

Worcestershire County Council election results[link]

Physical geography[link]

Worcestershire is a fairly rural county. The Malvern Hills, which run from the south of the county into Herefordshire, are made up mainly of volcanic igneous rock and metamorphic rock, some of which date from before 1200 million years ago. For more on the geology of the Malvern Hills, see the external links below.

Culture, media and sport[link]

Football is the most popular sport in the county, and by far the largest and most successful football club in the county is Kidderminster Harriers F.C.. Founded in 1877 as a running club and doubling as a rugby club from 1880, the football club was founded in 1886. In 1987, the club won the FA Trophy for the first time, and seven years later reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, also winning the GM Vauxhall Conference title in 1994 but being denied Football League status as their Aggborough Stadium did not meet capacity requirements. However, when the club next won the Conference title six years later, their stadium had been upgraded and promotion was granted, giving the county its first Football League members. However, the club's Football League membership was short-lived, as Harriers were relegated back to the Conference in 2005 after just five years in the Football League, and have yet to reclaim their status.^[3]

The county is also represented by Worcester City of the Blue Square Premier South & Bromsgrove Rovers of the Southern Football League.

The county is home to the Worcestershire County Cricket Club, traditionally first stop on for the touring national side's schedule in England. Worcester Rugby Football Club, the Worcester Warriors, whose ground is at Sixways, Worcester, were promoted to the Guinness Premiership in 2004.

The village of Broadheath, about 6 miles (10 km) North-West of the city of Worcester, is the birthplace of the composer Edward Elgar.

It is claimed that the county was the inspiration for The Shire, a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was thought to have named Bilbo Baggins' house "Bag End" after his Aunt Jane's Worcestershire farm. Tolkien wrote of Worcestershire: "Any corner of that county (however fair or squalid) is in an indefinable way 'home' to me, as no other part of the world is."^[4]

Radio[link]

BBC Hereford & Worcester, Free Radio and Sunshine Radio broadcast to both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Wyre broadcasts to the north west of Worcestershire. Youthcomm Radio, a Community radio station, broadcasts to the city of Worcester. Birmingham-based radio stations such as BBC Radio WM have traditionally considered the bordering areas of Worcestershire as part of their broadcast area. The Birmingham based West Midlands regional stations, such as Heart^{[disambiguation needed ]} and Smooth Radio regionals also cover much of the county.

In 2007 the Office of Communications (Ofcom) awarded a DAB Digital Radio multiplex licence for Herefordshire & Worcestershire to MuxCo Ltd. who aim to provide several new stations in 2009, while also providing a digital platform for Free Radio, Sunshine Radio and BBC Hereford & Worcester and area extensions to United Christian Broadcasters and the Highways Agency. In 2008, CE Birmingham, who own and operate the Birmingham local DAB multiplex licencees improved coverage of DAB Digital Radio across other parts of the county to include Worcester and Malvern. Services that can be heard reasonably across much of Worcestershire are: Chill, Gold (Birmingham), Magic Radio, Sunrise Radio, Traffic Radio (Midlands), BBC Radio WM, Xfm (Midlands) and Radio XL.

Demography[link]

Economy[link]

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Worcestershire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Industry and agriculture[link]

Fruit farming and the cultivation of hops were traditional agricultural activities in much of the county. During the latter half of the 20th century, this has largely declined with the exception southern area of the county around the Vale of Evesham, where orchards are still worked on a commercial scale. Worcester City's coat of arms includes three black pears, representing a now rare local pear variety, the Worcester Black Pear. The county's coat of arms follows this theme, having a pear tree with black pears. The apple variety known as Worcester Pearmain originates from Worcestershire, and the Pershore plum comes from the small Worcestershire town of that name, and is widely grown in that area. John Drinkwater, the poet, wrote

Who travels Worcester county takes any road that comes when April tosses bounty to the cherries and the plums.

Worcestershire is also famous for a number of its non-agricultural products. The original Worcestershire sauce, a savoury condiment made by Lea and Perrins, is made in Worcester, and the now closed Royal Porcelain works was based in the city. The town of Malvern is the home of the Morgan traditional sports car. The painting, A Worcestershire Cottage by Arthur Claude Strachan is also of general renown.

Education[link]

Worcestershire has a comprehensive school system with over thirty-five independent schools including the RGS Worcester, The King's School, Worcester, Malvern St James and Malvern College. State schools in Worcester, the Wyre Forest District, and the Malvern Hills District are two-tier primary schools and secondary schools whilst Redditch and Bromsgrove have a three-tier system of first, middle and high schools. Several schools in the county provide Sixth-form education including two in the city of Worcester. Several vocational colleges provide GCSE and A-level courses and adult education, such as South Worcestershire College, and an agricultural campus of Warwickshire College in Pershore. There is also the University of Worcester, which is located in the city itself and is home to the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit and five other national research centres.

Towns and villages[link]

The county town and only city is Worcester. The other major settlements, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove and Redditch are satellite towns of Birmingham. There are also several market towns: Malvern, Bewdley, Evesham, Droitwich Spa, Pershore, Tenbury Wells, Stourport-on-Severn and Upton-upon-Severn.

For a full list of settlements, see list of places in Worcestershire.

Places of interest[link]

Key
	Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
	Accessible open space
	Amusement/Theme Park
	Castle
	Country Park
	English Heritage
	Forestry Commission
	Heritage railway
	Historic House
	Museum (free/not free)
	National Trust
	Theatre
	Zoo

• Worcestershire County Museum
• Croome Court
• Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings
• Walton Hill and the Clent Hills
• Malvern Hills – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Severn Valley Railway at Bewdley.
• Wadborough
• Bewdley – Riverside Historic Tudor Town
• Worcester Cathedral
• Great Malvern Priory
• River Teme and valley
• Tenbury Wells with its unique Pump Rooms.
• River Severn at Worcester and Bewdley, River Avon at Pershore or Evesham
• Witley Court at Great Witley. A burnt-out shell of a large English stately home, famous for its gigantic fountain, now restored to working order. Currently run by English Heritage.
• West Midlands Safari Park near Bewdley.
• Hanbury Hall
• Forge Mill Needle Museum at Redditch, the only remaining working needle mill in the world.

Local groups[link]

• Worcestershire Wildlife Trust
• 29th Regiment of Foot
• West Midland Bird Club

See also[link]

• List of Lord Lieutenants of Worcestershire
• List of High Sheriffs of Worcestershire
• Custos Rotulorum of Worcestershire - List of Keepers of the Rolls
• Worcestershire (UK Parliament constituency) - Historical list of MPs for Worcestershire constituency
• Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries
• Worcestershire sauce

External links[link]

• Media related to Worcestershire at Wikimedia Commons
• Worcestershire at the Open Directory Project
• Worcester City
• Worcestershire County Council main site
• History of the Worcestershire Regiment
• Worcestershire County Cricket Club
• Geology of the Malvern Hills
• Herefordshire & Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust Source of information on the geology and landscape of the county
• Worcestershire Monkey Worcestershire Monkey is a border morris dance named after the county.

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• "Spa Towns: Malvern" October 27, retrieved June 24, 2006

v t e Districts of the West Midlands Region Herefordshire Herefordshire Shropshire Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Staffordshire Cannock Chase East Staffordshire Lichfield Newcastle-under-Lyme South Staffordshire Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stoke-on-Trent Tamworth Warwickshire North Warwickshire Nuneaton and Bedworth Rugby Stratford-on-Avon Warwick West Midlands Birmingham Coventry Dudley Sandwell Solihull Walsall Wolverhampton Worcestershire Bromsgrove Malvern Hills Redditch Worcester Wychavon Wyre Forest

Coordinates: 52°13′11″N 2°13′24″W / 52.21972°N 2.22333°W / 52.21972; -2.22333

Jonathan Turner Meades (born 21 January 1947) is a British writer on food, architecture, and culture, as well as an author and broadcaster. He is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society^[1] and a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association.^[2]

Education[link]

Meades was born in Salisbury Wiltshire, and educated at King's College, an independent school in the market town of Taunton in Somerset. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1968.^[3]

Food writing[link]

Meades wrote reviews and articles for The Times for many years, and was specifically the restaurant critic of The Times newspaper between 1986 and 2001.^[4] He was voted Best Food Journalist in the 1999 Glenfiddich Awards.^[5] Having given up food writing in 2001 after being the Times restaurant critic for 15 years in an interview with Restaurant magazine, Meades estimated that he put on 5 lb a year during his reviewing period, which works out around an ounce per restaurant. By his own admission in the series Meades Eats, after being pronounced 'morbidly obese' he subsequently managed to lose a third of his body weight over the course of a year.

Television work[link]

He is well known to British television audiences for his series about architecture Abroad in Britain and its sequels Further Abroad with Jonathan Meades, Even Further Abroad With Jonathan Meades, Abroad Again in Britain and Abroad Again.^[6] These innovative, "slightly bonkers" documentaries^[7] look at neglected forms of British architecture such as caravan parks and golf courses, and at the place that famous buildings hold in the British popular imagination. Meades' television work also includes two separate one-off documentaries about the architectural legacy of both the Third Reich, Jerry Building, and Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, Joe Building.

Meades also wrote and presented a documentary called Surreal Film (2001) for BBC Two (although the onscreen title was "tvSSFBM EHKL", the words encoded in appropriately surreal fashion),^[8] which sought to expound on surrealism in a manner that fitted the subject. Perhaps inevitably, given Meades' approach and his choice of topic, some found it bewildering and often psychedelic. However, it was nevertheless distinctive and humorous in a field often populated only by de rigueur and comme il faut offerings.

Jonathan Meades : Abroad Again in Britain was shown on BBC Two in May 2007.^[9] It is a sequel to his 1990s series exploring British architecture. The film examines Salisbury Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle, Cragside, Brighton Pavilion and Portsmouth Dockyard. It uses his familiar style of jaunty camera angles often showing him from behind, going down escalators, sitting on walls or even not at all as he is walking away from the camera. He talks directly to the camera and often his speeches are split up from different angles or positions. There are times of silence or with only music where shots of the building he is talking about are shown. Equally he often uses scathing remarks to criticise other buildings such as an occasion when he refers to the Millennium Dome as a "Museum of Toxic Waste".^[10]

In 2008 a two-part documentary, Magnetic North, was screened by BBC Four. In the programme, Meades celebrates the culture of Northern Europe, and wonders why the North suffers in the English popular imagination compared to the South. Meades travelled through the slag heaps of northern France, Belgian cities and to the redlight district of Hamburg, musing on the architecture, food and art of the places in which he finds himself.^[11] The programme features the expected stylistic flourishes and quirks of presentation now associated with him. It was subsequently re-edited into four half-hour episodes and shown on BBC Two. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, James Walton praised the programme as "Sparkling, thought-provoking, constantly challenging the accepted view, Meades seemed at times inspired, at others deranged. The only thing he never was, thank heaven, was obvious."^[11]

A 9-DVD box set collecting his various Abroad... series was due for release in April 2008 but was then reduced to a 3-Disc "Best of..." due to licensing problems/expense of the music used in the programmes.^[12]

In 2009, Meades toured Scotland in a three part BBC Scotland series Off Kilter. He visited the Granite City (Aberdeen), the Isle of Rust (Lewis and Harris) and a number of less-renowned Scottish footballing towns, guided by his "Scotnav". Meades contributes to the United Kingdom edition of The Huffington Post. Meades book 'Museum Without Walls' is being published on the Unbound crowd-funding site.^[13]

In 2012, BBC4 screened Jonathan Meades on France, a series in which Meades visits what he calls his "second country". The first episode ("Fragments of an Arbitrary Encyclopaedia") focuses on the Lorraine region which is evoked through a miscellany of words starting with the letter V. The aim is to "explain why, although close to its eastern border, it has become the symbolic, or even mystical, heart of France and a stronghold of a romantic nationalism that is also expressed by such diverse means as typography, music, engineering, exquisite urbanism and, above all, a sensitivity to Germany's proximity." The second episode was entitled "A Biased Anthology of Parisian Peripheries" and focuses on Frenchness and its major traits. "Just a Few Debts France Owes to America" is the title of the third episode.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jonathan Meades

Published works[link]

• This is Their Life (1979) ISBN 0-86101-045-0
• The Illustrated Atlas of the World's Great Buildings (1980) ISBN 0-86101-059-0
• Filthy English (1984) ISBN 0-224-02145-1 (Short stories)
• English Extremists (Blueprint Monographs) (1988) ISBN 0-947795-68-5
• Peter Knows What Dick Likes (1989) ISBN 0-586-20148-3
• Pompey (1993) ISBN 0-09-930821-5
• Architectural Expressions (2001) ISBN 0-471-49667-7
• "The Times" Restaurant Guide 2002 ISBN 0-304-35939-4
• Incest and Morris Dancing (2002) ISBN 0-304-35938-6
• The Fowler Family Business (2002) ISBN 1-85702-904-6

A new book, "Museum Without Walls", collating his television scripts, will be published by Unbound.co.uk in Spring 2012, now that sufficient support has been garnered.^[13]

TV works[link]

• The Victorian House (1986) Channel 4
• Abroad in Britain with Jonathan Meades (1990) BBC Two
• Further Abroad with Jonathan Meades (1994) BBC Two
• Jerry Building – Unholy Relics of the Third Reich (1994) BBC Two
• Without Walls: J'Accuse – Vegetarians (1995) Channel 4
• Even Further Abroad with Jonathan Meades (1996) BBC Two
• Heart By-Pass, Jonathan Meades in Birmingham (1998) BBC Two
• Travels with Pevsner (1998) BBC Two
• Victoria Died in 1901 and Is Still Alive Today (2001) BBC Two
• tvSSFBM EHKL (2001) BBC Knowledge
• Pevsner Revisited (2001) BBC Four
• Meades Eats (2003) BBC Four
• Abroad Again in Britain (2005) BBC Four
• Joe Building: The Stalin Memorial Lecture (2006) BBC Four
• Abroad Again (2007) BBC Two
• Jonathan Meades: Magnetic North (2008) BBC Four
• Jonathan Meades: Off Kilter (2009) BBC Four
• Jonathan Meades on France (2011) BBC Four

DVD releases[link]

• The Jonathan Meades Collection DVD (2009) BBC

References[link]

External links[link]

• 'Jonathan Meades – Abroad Again' Official Website
• BBC Information
• London Books

Tamim Iqbal Khan (Bengali: তামিম ইকবাল খান) (born 20 March 1989) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. Tamim made his One Day International debut in 2007 and played his first Test the following year. Between December 2010 and September 2011 he was vice-captain of the national side. In 2011 he was named as one of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's four Cricketers of the Year, and Wisden's Test Player of the Year, becoming just the second Bangladesh player to be awarded the accolade. He plays first-class cricket for Chittagong Division cricket team. Tamim Iqbal is the brother of Nafees Iqbal and the nephew of Akram Khan, who both played Test cricket for Bangladesh.

Early career[link]

Tamim, who played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka, was picked for the 2007 World Cup and played against India in the group stage of the competition, scoring 51 runs from 53 deliveries, helping his team win the match. In December that year, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) granted Tamim a one-year grade C contract, one of 22 central contracts with the Board at the time. Although he was still in the lowest tier of central contracts, it was an extension form his previous contract, which lasted six months.^[1]

Although he was part of the player auction held in February for the 2009 Indian Premier League, Tamim was not bought by any team.^[2]

On Bangladesh's tour of the West Indies in July and August 2009, Tamim scored his maiden Test century against a West Indies team weakened by disputes between players and administrators, which resulted in seven players making their Test debut in the match,^[3] His effort with the bat helped Bangladesh to a historic victory – their first against the West Indies in Tests, their first overseas Test victory and only their second Test win.^[4][5] He ended up with 128, and was named as the Man of the Match for his performance (he also scored 33 in the first innnings). Speaking of his innings, Tamim said "It was a flat wicket, and if you concentrate hard and look to bat straight, it's a good track to score on. I'm just 20 and have played only 11 Tests, I think there are a lot more [innings like these] to come".^[6][7] Bangladesh went on to win the second Test, and in the process secured their first overseas series win.^[8] Iqbal was Bangladesh's leading run-scorer in the series with 197 runs.^[9]

Bangladesh's coach, Jamie Siddons, opined in January 2010 that Tamim had "the makings of a world-class opener".^[10] On 25 January Tamim Iqbal scored 151 in a record partnership with Junaid Siddique against India.

[edit] Wisden Cricketer of the Year

During the first innings of the first Test against England in March 2010, Tamim scored 86 runs from 120 deliveries. In the process he became the fastest Bangladesh batsman to reach 1,000 Test runs in terms of innings, taking 19 to reach the landmark.^[11] He also became the third-youngest player in Test history (behind Sachin Tendulkar and compatriot Mohammad Ashraful) to reach 1,000 Test runs.^{[citation needed]}

In May that year, Bangladesh toured England for two more Tests and three ODIs. Though his team lost 2–0, Tamim scored a century in each of the Tests.^[12] For his performances against England, Tamim was named one of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's four Cricketers of the Year in 2011.^[13] In October he was also named Wisden's Test Player of the Year, ahead of Graeme Swann and Virender Sehwag, who came second and third respectively. During the qualifying period for the award, Tamim scored 837 runs in seven Tests at an average of 59.78. It was just the second time a Bangladesh player had won the award, as Shakib Al Hasan was named the previous year.^[12] At the start of November, the BCB announced 16 central contracts. Tamim was one of six players in the top level.^[14]

Bangladesh vice-captain[link]

In December 2010, Tamim replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as Bangladesh's vice-captain.^[15] In the opening match of the 2011 World Cup he scored 70 against India in a losing cause. In the following match against Ireland he scored 44 off 43 balls, and took a catch. In the next game against the West Indies, Tamim was caught at the slips for a third-ball duck as Bangladesh folded for its lowest ODI score, 58 all out. The following game against England he scored a quick fire 38 to get his side off to another good start, Bangladesh eventually winning by two wickets.

Tamim became only the second Bangladeshi to play county cricket in England (Shakib Al Hasan was the first)^[16] when he signed to play for Nottinghamshire in June 2011. He was recruited as a short-term replacement for Australian batsmen David Hussey, who was called up to the national squad.^[17] During his stay, Tamim played five matches, scoring 104 runs with a highest score of 47.^[18] Tamim, whose batting was described in the Nottingham Post as "solid if unspectacular", remarked of his performance that "It could have been better, but it wasn't too bad". Even though he was playing in a foreign country, there was pressure from the media in Bangladesh for Tamim to perform – especially when Nottinghamshire faced Worcestershire who were fielding Shakib Al Hasan – with his exploits sometimes making the front pages.^[19]

When Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe in July 2011 for a single Test and five ODIs they did so with the expectation of winning. Zimbabwe were returning from a six-year exile from Tests, although Bangladesh had not played in the format in more than 14 months.^[20] Despite claiming in a press confidence that Zimbabwe's bowlers posed little threat,^[21] Tamim managed 58 runs in the Test as Bangladesh slid to defeat.^[22][23] Bangladesh lost the following ODI series against Zimbabwe 3–2. Bangladesh's batsmen struggled early in the series,^[24][25] with Tamim managing 157 runs from five innings at an average of 31.40.^[26] In the aftermath of the series, Shakib and Tamim were sacked as captain and vice-captain, with a BCB representative citing their poor leadership.^[27]

Post vice-captain[link]

West Indies toured in October, facing Bangladesh in a T20I, three ODIs and two Tests. Though Bangladesh lost the Test series 1–0, Tamim was his team's leading run-scorer with 186 from four innings, including two half-centuries.^[28] The BCB founded the six-team Bangladesh Premier League in 2012, a twenty20 tournament to be held in February that year. The BCB made Tamim the 'icon player' for Chittagong Kings.^[29] However, his appearances were limited due to a groin injury and he played just two matches and scored eight runs.^[30][31]

In March 2012 Bangladesh hosted the Asia Cup. Tamim, who was recovering from typhoid, was initially dropped from the squad on the orders of BCB president Mustafa Kamal. Controversy ensued as Kamal had overridden selection committee and Tamim was eventually re-added to the squad.^[32] He responded by striking four consecutive half-centuries, becoming the first Bangladesh player to achieve the feat in ODIs.^[33] Bangladesh progressed to the final against expectations, though lost to Pakistan by 2 runs.^[34][35] Later that month Tamim signed with Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League,^[36] but did not play a single match for the team.^[37] In April his top-level central contract with the BCB was renewed.^[38]

International centuries[link]

Test centuries

Num	Score	Balls	4s	6s	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
1	128	243	17	0	West Indies	Kingstown	9 Jul 2009	Won
2	151	183	18	3	India	Dhaka	24 Jan 2010	Lost
3	103	100	15	2	England	Lord's	27 May 2010	Lost
4	108	114	11	1	England	Old Trafford	4 Jun 2010	Lost

ODI centuries

Num	Score	Balls	4s	6s	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
1	129	136	15	1	Ireland	Dhaka	22 Mar 2008	Won
2	154	138	7	6	Zimbabwe	Bulawayo	16 Aug 2009	Won
3	125	120	13	3	England	Dhaka	28 Feb 2010	Lost

References[link]

External links[link]

• Cricinfo Profile

v t e Bangladesh squad – 2007 Cricket World Cup 2 Mashrafe Mortaza 5 Javed Omar 7 Habibul Bashar (c) 15 Mushfiqur Rahim (w) 19 Tapash Baisya 29 Tamim Iqbal 35 Rajin Saleh 41 Abdur Razzak 42 Shahriar Nafees 47 Syed Rasel 59 Shahadat Hossain 75 Shakib Al Hasan 76 Farhad Reza 77 Mohammad Rafique 97 Aftab Ahmed 98 Mohammad Ashraful Coach: Whatmore

v t e Bangladesh squad – 2011 Cricket World Cup 1 Shakib Al Hasan (c) 2 Tamim Iqbal 3 Imrul Kayes 4 Junaid Siddique 5 Shahriar Nafees 6 Raqibul Hasan 7 Mohammad Ashraful 8 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk) 9 Naeem Islam 10 Mahmudullah 11 Abdur Razzaq 12 Rubel Hossain 13 Shafiul Islam 14 Nazmul Hossain 15 Suhrawadi Shuvo Coach: Siddons

Saeed Ajmal
سعید اجمل

Personal information
Full name	Saeed Ajmal
Born	(1977-10-14) 14 October 1977 (age 34) Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm off break
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 195)	4 July 2009 v Sri Lanka
Last Test	3 February 2012 v England
ODI debut (cap 171)	2 July 2008 v India
Last ODI	18 March 2012 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2009–present	Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd
1996–2007	Faisalabad
2000–07	Khan Research Laboratories
2001–02	Islamabad
2011	Worcestershire
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	20	60	107	162
Runs scored	227	175	1,199	372
Batting average	11.94	8.75	12.36	7.91
100s/50s	0/1	0/0	0/3	0/0
Top score	50	33	53	33
Balls bowled	6,551	3,118	23.498	8,389
Wickets	107	88	395	241
Bowling average	26.70	24.48	27.02	25.54
5 wickets in innings	5	1	24	2
10 wickets in match	2	n/a	3	n/a
Best bowling	7/55	5/43	7/55	5/18
Catches/stumpings	6/–	10/–	34/–	36/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 22 February 2012

Saeed Ajmal (Punjabi, Urdu: سعید اجمل; born 14 October 1977) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who bats right handed. At domestic level in Pakistan he has represented Faisalabad, with whom he won the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup; Khan Research Laboratories; and Islamabad. Ajmal made his One Day International debut for Pakistan in July 2008 at the age of 30, and a year later played his first Test. In 2009 he was reported for having a suspect bowling action, but after being cleared he helped Pakistan win the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Ajmal played for Worcestershire as an overseas player in English domestic cricket in 2011. Since November 2011, Ajmal has been ranked by the International Cricket Council as the number one bowler in ODIs. On 28 January 2012, in his 20th Test, Ajmal became the quickest Pakistani to take 100 test wickets.^[1]

Domestic career[link]

Saeed Ajmal has played for Faisalabad since his debut in 1995 at the age of 18. Ajmal represented the Faisalabad Wolves in the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, his team won the final in which he was man of the match.^[2][3] When Faisalabad won the final of the ABN-AMRO Patron's Cup in March 2006 Ajmal was named the tournament's best bowler and was given a Rs 25,000 prize.^[4] He has also represented Khan Research Laboratories, who were runners-up in the final of the 2008/09 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy; though his side lost the final, Ajmal took 5/105 and 2/55 and in the process passed 250 first-class wickets.^[5][6] Ajmal has also played for Islamabad.

International career[link]

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup in June 2008; Ajmal was included in the 15-man squad and was expected to act as a foil to Shahid Afridi's leg spin.^[7] He made his debut against India on 2 July 2008. Ajmal took a single wicket, that of Yusuf Pathan, from his ten overs while conceding 47 runs (1/47) as Pakistan won by eight wickets.^[8] before taking 2/19 in a ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh, although the team had no chance of progressing to the competition's final.^[9] In November that year Pakistan travelled to the United Arab Emirates to face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series. Ajmal and Afridi were the team's only spin options;^[10] the former took a single wicket while conceding 73 runs and Pakistan won all three matches.^[11]

Ajmal's next match the third ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2009.^[12] In April Pakistan faced Australia in the UAE in five ODIs. Playing in all five matches Ajmal took four wickets at an average of 39.50.^[13] He was then picked for the Sri Lankan series in Sri Lanka where he had made solid performances in the Test matches, being picked ahead of Danish Kaneria in two of the matches.

In April 2009, Ajmal was reported by umpires for having a suspect bowling action. An independent test the following month demonstrated that Ajmal's arm flexed within the 15 degree tolerance allowed by the International Cricket Council.^[14] Later that year, the Pakistan Cricket Board named a pool of 30 players from which they would chose their final squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, held in June. Initially left out, Ajmal was one of three players added to the list, replacing players who were dropped because they were contracted with the controversial Indian Cricket League.^[15] In the tournament, Ajmal partnered Afridi.^[16] Pakistan won the tournament,^[17] and Ajmal was the tournament's joint second highest wicket-taker with twelve dismissals from seven games (only Pakistan's Umar Gul took more wickets, with thirteen dismissals).^[18]

Ajmal's good form continued in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 as he was Pakistan's leading wicket taker. However despite his good form he was known for conceding three sixes to Michael Hussey in what has been hailed as the most thrilling Twenty20 match of all time as Australia were in trouble and Ajmal was the unfortunate bowler who bowled that final over.^[19]

Shortly after this the Pakistan team began a tour of England where they would face Australia in two Tests in July, and subsequently play England in four Tests and five ODIs. Danish Kaneria was preferred to Ajmal in the first match against Australia, but after Pakistan lost the selectors considered dropping the leg-spinner and chosing Ajmal.^[20] In the event, Ajmal was not selected until the second Test against England,^[21] when Kaneria was dropped because he had been ineffective. Though Pakistan lost the match by nine wickets, Ajmal took his first five-wicket haul in Tests. In Pakistan's second innings, with his team looking to set a target for England to chase, Ajmal scored 50 from 79 balls, his first half-century in Tests, before he was dismissed by fellow off spinner Graeme Swann.^[22][23]

During the series against England, Pakistan became engulfed in a spot fixing scandal after the fourth test. In a later secret interview it was unveiled by alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed that Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi were too difficult to bribe. He stated that Ajmal was too religious to get involved into fixing.^[24]

After the controversy and upheaval of 2010, 2011 saw Pakistan become a more consistent team. The year began with the World Cup held between February and April. Pakistan progressed to the semi-final, where they were defeated by India;^[25] playing in three of the team's matches, Ajmal took five wickets at an average of 18.60.^[26][27] After the World Cup, Pakistan played ten Tests, winning six andlosing a single match;^[28] this saw the team win series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and draw with the West Indies.^[25] Ajmal finished the year with 50 wickets from 8 Tests, more than any other bowler (second on the list was India's Ishant Sharma with 43).^[29] Pakistan were also largely successful in ODIs, winning 24 out of 32.^[25] After Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 4–1 in November 2011, Ajmal climbed to the number one spot in the ICC's ODI rankings.^[30] He finished the year by taking nine wickets over two Tests in Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh.^[31]

Pakistan started 2012 with a three Test series against England in the United Arab Emirates. Ajmal was named the man of the match for the first Test in Dubai, with match figures of 10 wickets for 97 runs and a career best 7/55 in England's first innings.^[32][33] In the second fixture he dismissed Matt Prior to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in Tests, taking 19 matches to accomplish the feat.^[34] The series concluded with Pakistan completing a 3-0 whitewash over England, and Ajmal was named man of the series after claiming 24 wickets at an average of 14.70.^[35][36]

In the immediate aftermath of the Test series, following confusion over comments from Ajmal about his bowling action in an interview to the BBC,^[37] ESPNCricinfo published detailed information on the issue after a thorough investigation by journalist George Dobell with extensive discussion with ICC having been conducted. The resulting articles underlined the fact that Ajmal's bowling action falls well within the legal bounds set by the ICC for bowlers.^[38][39]

Bowling style[link]

A right-arm off spinner, Ajmal's stock delivery turns into right-handed batsman but he also frequently uses the doosra which turns the other way,^[22] and he generally bowls flatter than most off spinners. The doosra has been an effective tool for Ajmal as batsmen have often failed to pick it. Explaining his bowling style in 2012, Ajmal said "If I bowl with flight I cannot bowl well. If I bowl at a quicker speed I can then use variations in pace. If I take 70% of my wickets with the doosra why should I not bowl it? Whether you bowl a doosra or an offbreak, the ball should be bowled on the right line and one should take a wicket with it."^[40]

Bowling Records[link]

Key[link]

Test five-wicket hauls[link]

No.	Date	Ground	Against	Match	Inn	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Batsmen	Result
1	02010-08-06August 6, 2010	Edgbaston, Birmingham, England	England	&100000000000000060000006	&100000000000000020000002	&1000000000000002610000026.1	&1000000000000008200000082	05144 !5	&100000000000000031299993.13	Kevin Pietersen Paul Collingwood Matt Prior Graeme Swann Stuart Broad	Lost[41]
2	02011-05-12May 12, 2011*	Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana	West Indies	&1000000000000001000000010	&100000000000000010000001	&1000000000000003300000033	&1000000000000006900000069	05144 !5	&100000000000000020899992.09	Lendl Simmons Shivnarine Chanderpaul Brendan Nash Carlton Baugh Kemar Roach	Lost[42]
3	02011-05-12May 12, 2011*	Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana	West Indies	&1000000000000001000000010	&100000000000000030000003	&1000000000000002350000023.5	&1000000000000004200000042	05144 !6	&100000000000000017600001.76	Darren Bravo Kemar Roach Ramnaresh Sarwan Carlton Baugh Ravi Rampaul Devendra Bishoo	Lost[42]
4	02011-10-26October 26, 2011♠	DSC Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE	Sri Lanka	&1000000000000001400000014	&100000000000000030000003	&1000000000000003050000030.5	&1000000000000006800000068	05144 !5	&100000000000000022000002.20	Tharanga Paranavitana Mahela Jayawardene Rangana Herath Chanaka Welegedara Suranga Lakmal	Won[43]
5	02012-01-17January 17, 2012♠*	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE	England	&1000000000000001800000018	&100000000000000010000001	&1000000000000002430000024.3	&1000000000000005500000055	05144 !7	&100000000000000022400002.24	Andrew Strauss Kevin Pietersen Ian Bell Eoin Morgan Stuart Broad Chris Tremlett James Anderson	Won[44]

10-wickets in a match[link]

No.	Date	Ground	Against	Match	Runs	Wkts	Result
1	02011-05-12May 12, 2011♠	Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana	West Indies	&1000000000000001000000010	&10000000000000111000000111	05144 !11	Lost[42]
2	02012-01-17January 17, 2012	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE	England	18	97	10	Won[44]

ODI five-wicket hauls[link]

No.	Date	Ground	Against	Match	Inn	Overs	Runs	Wkts	Econ	Batsmen	Result
1	02012-02-13February 13, 2012	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE	England	&1000000000000005700000057	&100000000000000010000001	&1000000000000001000000010	&1000000000000004300000043	05144 !5	&100000000000000042999994.30	Alastair Cook Ravi Bopara Eoin Morgan Craig Kieswetter Stuart Broad	Lost[45]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Saeed Ajmal Wickets
• Player profile: Saeed Ajmal from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Saeed Ajmal from CricketArchive

v t e Pakistan squad – 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Winners (1st Title) 1 Younis Khan 2 Abdul Razzaq 3 Ahmed Shehzad 4 Fawad Alam 5 Iftikhar Anjum 6 Misbah-ul-Haq 7 Kamran Akmal (wk) 8 Mohammad Amir 9 Saeed Ajmal 10 Salman Butt 11 Shahid Afridi 12 Shahzaib Hasan 13 Shoaib Malik 14 Umar Gul 15 Yasir Arafat 16 Sohail Tanvir Coach: Intikhab Alam Shoaib Akhtar and Yasir Arafat were named in the original squad but injuries led to them being withdrawn. Abdul Razzaq was sent as a replacement for Yasir Arafat.

v t e Pakistan squad – 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Semi-Finalists 1 Shahid Afridi (c) 2 Abdul Razzaq 3 Abdur Rehman 4 Fawad Alam 5 Hammad Azam 6 Kamran Akmal (wk) 7 Khalid Latif 8 Misbah-ul-Haq 9 Mohammad Amir 10 Mohammad Asif 11 Mohammad Hafeez 12 Mohammad Sami 13 Saeed Ajmal 14 Salman Butt 15 Umar Akmal Coach: Waqar Younis Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat were named in the original squad but injuries led to them being withdrawn. Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Sami were sent as their replacements.

v t e Pakistan squad – 2011 Cricket World Cup Semi-Finalists 8 Mohammad Hafeez 10 Shahid Afridi (c) 12 Abdul Razzaq 14 Shoaib Akhtar 19 Ahmed Shehzad 22 Misbah-ul-Haq 23 Kamran Akmal (wk) 36 Abdur Rehman 47 Wahab Riaz 50 Saeed Ajmal 55 Umar Gul 75 Younus Khan 81 Asad Shafiq 96 Umar Akmal 99 Junaid Khan Coach: Waqar Younis Sohail Tanvir was named in the original squad but injuries led to him being withdrawn. Junaid Khan was sent as his replacement