Anil Kumble is an Indian former cricket player, coach and commentator who played Test and One Day International cricket for his national team over an international career of 18 years. Widely regarded as one of the best leg spinners and one of the greatest bowlers in Test Cricket History, he took 619 wickets in Test cricket and was the third highest wicket taker of all time at the time of his retirement in 2008. In 1999 while playing against Pakistan, Kumble dismissed all ten batsmen in a Test match innings, joining England's Jim Laker as the second player to achieve the feat. Unlike his contemporaries, Kumble was not a big turner of the ball, but relied primarily on pace, bounce, and accuracy. He was nicknamed "Apple" and "Jumbo". Kumble was selected as the Cricketer of the Year in 1993 Indian Cricket, and one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year three years later. Kumble was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka.
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. Gillespie is currently the head coach of the Pakistan men's team in Test Cricket.
Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer who was the head coach of the Pakistani national cricket team between 2021 and 2022. He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", a leg break delivery bowled with an off break action. He was the fastest to reach the milestones of 200 and 250 wickets in ODIs. Mushtaq made history when he became the first Pakistani to take a hat-trick at a Cricket World Cup, which he did against Zimbabwe during the 1999 tournament.
Ashley Fraser Giles is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
Mushtaq Ahmed is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who currently acts as the spin bowling coach for the Bangladesh national cricket team. A leg break googly bowler, at his peak he was described as being one of the best three wrist-spinners in the world. In an international career that spanned from 1990 until 2003, he claimed 185 wickets in Test cricket and 161 in One Day Internationals. He was at his most prolific internationally between 1995 and 1998, but his most successful years were as a domestic player for Sussex in the early 2000s.
Sunil Bandacharya Joshi is an Indian former cricketer and former selector of the India cricket team. He played as an all-rounder who bowled slow left arm spin and batted left-handed. Sunil Joshi was appointed as chief selector of the senior men's cricket team on 4 March 2020. He was a part of the squad which finished as runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.
Matthew James Hoggard, is a former English cricketer, who played international cricket for England cricket team from 2000 to 2008, playing both Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The 6' 2" Hoggard was a right arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman.
Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Camellia Rosamond Rainford-Brent is an English former cricketer who is now a commentator and Director of Women's Cricket at Surrey. She was the first black woman to play for England. She was also captain of the Surrey women's team.
Peter Mark Such is an English cricketer, cricket coach, and match referee. An off-spinner, Such was brought into the Test arena in 1993 as a replacement for John Emburey but, despite taking 6 for 67 on debut and being the highest wicket taker for England in the series only played an initial eight Tests before having to wait five years before his next appearance.
Christopher Eric Wilfred Silverwood is an English former international cricketer and coach. He is a former head coach of the Sri Lanka Cricket Team and previously the England Cricket Team.
Aaqib Javed is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. He was a right-handed fast-medium pace bowler with the ability to swing the ball both ways. He played 22 Tests and 163 One Day Internationals for Pakistan between 1988 and 1998. He was a part of the Pakistan team which won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
In cricket, a bowling machine is a device which enables a batsman to practise and to hone specific skills through repetition of the ball being bowled at a certain length, line and speed. It can also be used when there is no-one available to bowl, or no one of the desired style or standard.
The National Cricket Performance Centre first came into existence in the winter of 2001–2002 and has been based at Loughborough University since 2003. In 2007 following the "Schofield Report" the National Academy was renamed the National Cricket Performance Centre. It consists of an indoor training complex. Facilities include lanes enabling full runups for fast bowlers and wicket-keepers stood back, Hawk-Eye cameras and advanced biomechanics analysis equipment. In addition to the indoor complex the academy also provides outdoor training facilities.
Adil Usman Rashid is an English cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents Yorkshire, and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs.2 Crore, in the 2023 Indian Premier League auction. He is regarded as one of the best English spinners of all-time.
Laura Alexandra Marsh is an English former cricketer. Born in Pembury, Kent, she began playing cricket at 11 and started her career as a medium pace bowler but found greater success when she switched to off spin. She played county cricket for Kent Women, represents the Rubies and made her Test debut against India in 2006. She was part of the England team that retained the Ashes in Australia in 2008 and in England in 2009. She was also part of teams that won the Women's Cricket World Cup in 2009 and 2017. In December 2019, Marsh announced her retirement from international cricket, and announced her retirement from all forms of the game in August 2020. In April 2022, she became interim head coach of Sunrisers for the 2022 season.
Stephen David Parry is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club. Parry made his senior debut for Lancashire in 2007 and in 2009 was named Lancashire's Young Player of the Year.
Aizaz Bin Ilyas Cheema is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in seven Test matches, scoring a single run without being dismissed in five innings.
Catherine Clare Dalton is an Irish cricketer who currently plays for Essex in English domestic cricket. She plays as a right-handed batter. Dalton gained Irish citizenship in 2015, and was subsequently named in the Irish national team's squad for the 2015 World Twenty20 Qualifier in Thailand. She made her Twenty20 International debut in the tournament's final, against Bangladesh, and went on to make 4 appearances in One Day Internationals and 4 in Twenty20 Internationals for Ireland in 2015 and 2016. She has previously played for Middlesex in England and Typhoons in Ireland.
Kuldeep Yadav is an Indian international cricketer. A left-arm unorthodox spinner, he plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. He was an integral member of the Indian team that won the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
The Blaze, previously known as Lightning, are a women's cricket team that represent the East Midlands region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They play their home matches at various grounds, including Trent Bridge and Grace Road. They are captained by Kirstie Gordon and coached by Chris Guest. The team carries over many elements of the WCSL team Loughborough Lightning. They are partnered with Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
