Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Nicholas Verity Knight | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Watford, Hertfordshire, England | 28 November 1969|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut(cap 574) | 27 July 1995 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 31 May 2001 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI debut(cap 140) | 29 August 1996 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last ODI | 2 March 2003 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI shirt no. | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 18 July 2015 |
Nicholas Verity Knight (born 28 November 1969) is an English cricket commentator and former England cricketer. A left-handed opening batsman and a fine fielder, Knight played in 17 Test Matches and 100 One Day Internationals before announcing his retirement from international cricket after the 2003 World Cup.
Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Knight was given his middle name in honour of the 1930s English Test bowler Hedley Verity who was killed in World War II and is a distant family relation. [1] He was educated at Felsted School in Essex and Loughborough University and was an outstanding cricketer from an early age. He won the Daily Telegraph 'Young Cricketer of the Year' award in 1989 and played cricket for Brentwood cricket club from 1989 to 1991. In domestic cricket, he began his career with Essex in 1991 before transferring to Warwickshire four years later. He was captain of Warwickshire from 2003 to 2005, and led them to victory in the County Championship in the 2004 season. He retired from first-class cricket after the 2006 season and became a member of the Sky Sports cricket commentary team. He finished his first-class career with 16,172 runs at 44.18 and 40 hundreds. His highest score was an unbeaten 303 against Middlesex at Lord's in 2004. [2]
Knight struggled in the Test arena and made only one Test century, an innings of 113 against Pakistan at Headingley in 1996. His next best score was 96 against Zimbabwe in a drawn game at Bulawayo in 1996–97. The most obvious reason for this was his technique. Never afraid of genuine fast bowling, his footwork was often not decisive enough which caused him at times to appear to be backing away from short balls and his test innings frequently ended giving a catch to the slips or the wicket-keeper. As a fine fielder and a hard worker, it is surprising that he did not play more for England – the England team was not blessed with too many good batsman during Knight's era. However two of the better batsmen were Michael Atherton and Mark Butcher with whom Knight was vying for a place for most of his career. Atherton too was captain of England until 1998 so would have been an automatic choice for opening batsman.
Knight was a far more successful, and certainly regular, one-day player for England. In one-day cricket, this backing away in fact helped him score a lot of runs and became something of a hallmark. This same strength/weakness was mirrored in Michael Bevan – one of Knight's contemporaries.
Debuting in 1996, he scored centuries in his second and third innings in ODI cricket, on consecutive days against a Pakistan bowling attack that included Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Nick Knight set a world record for the highest ever ODI innings by a batsman when carrying his bat through his innings (125*) when he achieved it v Pakistan in 1996 [3] He was also the first Englishman to carry his bat in an ODI innings.
Knight wasn't selected for the World Cup team in 1999 and made his World Cup debut in the 2003 tournament. He performed well in an unsuccessful campaign for England and faced the first delivery in cricket officially to break the 100 mph barrier, bowled by Shoaib Akhtar. [4] He "pushed it nonchalantly to square leg." [5]
Following his retirement from cricket, Knight became a commentator and pundit on Sky Sports.
Mark Edward Waugh is an Australian cricket commentator and former international cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, after previously making his One Day International (ODI) debut in 1988. Waugh was a part of the Australian team that won the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Michael Andrew Atherton is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the captaincy of England at the age of 25 and led the side in a record 54 Test matches. Known for his stubborn resistance during an era of hostile fast bowling, Atherton was described in 2001 as a determined defensive opener who made "batting look like trench warfare". He had several famed bouts with bowlers including South Africa's Allan Donald and Australia's Glenn McGrath. Atherton often played the anchor role at a time when England batting performances lacked consistency.
Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and captain, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest all rounders ever to play in ODI cricket. A left arm opening batsman, an orthodox spinner and a dynamic fielder, Jayasuriya together with his opening partner Romesh Kaluwitharana is credited for having revolutionized one-day international cricket with his explosive batting in the mid-1990s, which initiated the hard-hitting modern-day batting strategy of all nations. He was a key member of the Sri Lankan team that won 1996 Cricket World Cup. Under his captaincy Sri Lanka become joint champions along with India in the 2002 Champions Trophy.
Allan Anthony Donald is a South African former cricketer who is also the former bowling coach of Bangladesh national cricket team. Often nicknamed 'White Lightning' due to his quick bowling, he is considered one of the South Africa national cricket team's most successful pace bowlers. He was an integral member of the South African team in its resurgence into international cricket since readmission and played an influential role as a frontline genuine seam bowler to boost South Africa to new heights. During his playing career, he was known for his bowling speed and aggression on the field. He is also remembered for his infamous runout during South Africa's loss in the 1999 World Cup semi-final match against Australia. Donald is the first South African to take 300 Test wickets.
Graeme Ashley Hick is a Zimbabwean-born former England cricketer who played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for England. He was born in Rhodesia, and as a young man played international cricket for Zimbabwe. He played English county cricket for Worcestershire for his entire English domestic career, a period of well over twenty years, and in 2008 surpassed Graham Gooch's record for the most matches in all forms of the game combined. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
Nasser Hussain is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-handed batsman, Hussain scored over 30,000 runs from more than 650 matches across all first-class and List-A cricket, including 62 centuries. His highest Test score of 207, scored in the first Test of the 1997 Ashes at Edgbaston, was described by Wisden as "touched by genius". He played 96 Test matches and 88 One Day International games in total. In Tests he scored 5,764 runs, and he took 67 catches, fielding predominantly in the second slip and gully.
In cricket, the boundary is the perimeter of a playing field. It is also the term given to a scoring shot where the ball is hit to, or beyond, that perimeter, which generally earns four or six runs for the batting team.
Deshabandu Umagiliya Durage Upul Chandana, popularly known as Upul Chandana, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played both Tests and ODIs. He was more specifically a leg spin bowler and was also an outstanding fielder. He was a part of the Sri Lankan squad which won the 1996 Cricket World Cup, however he did not play any matches during the tournament. Chandana is considered to be one of the best leg spinners who ever played for Sri Lanka. He was also a competent lower-order batsman, having scored a total of seven half-centuries at international level.
Grant William Flower is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and former cricketer. He was the batting coach of the Sri Lanka cricket team, Pakistan cricket team, and Sussex.
Shaun Maclean Pollock is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer, who was captain in all formats of the game. A bowling all-rounder, Pollock along with Allan Donald formed a bowling partnership for many years. From 2000 to 2003 he was the captain of the South African cricket team, and also played for Africa XI, World XI, Dolphins and Warwickshire. He was chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2003. Pollock was a member of the South Africa team that won the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy, the only ICC trophy the country has won till date.
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and 144 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 24.37.
Robin Arnold Smith is an English former cricketer. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
Majid Jahangir Khan, nicknamed "Majestic Khan" by the British press, is a former cricketer, batsman and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. In his heyday, he was considered to be one of the best batsmen in the world. Khan has a claim as the best ever opening batsman against express pace, averaging over 50 each in test matches and World Cups when opening against the fearsome pace attacks of the 1970s West Indies and Australia, with all but 2 of these matches played away from home. In his first class cricket career spanning 18 years, from 1961 to 1985, Majid Khan played in 63 Test matches for Pakistan, scoring 3,931 runs with 8 centuries, scored over 27,000 first-class runs and made 73 first-class centuries, with 128 fifties. Majid played his last Test for Pakistan in January 1983 against India at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and his last One Day International (ODI) was in July 1982 against England at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Hashim Mahomed Amla OIS is a South African former international cricketer who captained the national side in Tests and ODIs. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 3,000, 4,000, 6,000 and 7,000 ODI runs, and second fastest to reach 5,000 runs. He also became the fastest cricketer to reach 10 ODI centuries. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have played for South Africa, and one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time.
Chris Old is a former English cricketer, who played 46 Tests and 32 ODIs from 1972 to 1981. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and lower order left-handed batsman, Old was a key feature of the Yorkshire side between 1969 and 1983, before finishing his career at Warwickshire in 1985. As a Test bowler for England he took 143 wickets, and scored useful runs in the famous 1981 Ashes series' Headingley victory. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Ian Jonathan Leonard Trott is a South African-born English former professional cricketer who played international cricket for the England cricket team and is the current head coach of the Afghanistan cricket team. Domestically, he played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club as well as playing in South Africa and New Zealand. He was ICC and ECB Cricketer of the Year in 2011.