Graeme Hick
England
Personal information
Full name	Graeme Ashley Hick
Nickname	Hicky, Ash
Born	23 May 1966 (1966-05-23) (age 42)
	Salisbury, Rhodesia
Height	6 ft 3 in (1. The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Harare (həˈrɑreɪ or /həˈrɑri/ formerly Salisbury) is the Capital of Zimbabwe. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election 91 m)
Role	Batsman
Batting style	Right-hand
Bowling style	Right-arm off break
International information
Test debut (cap 548)	6 June 1991: v West Indies
Last Test	7 March 2001: v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 112)	23 May 1991: v West Indies
Last ODI	27 March 2001: v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1984–present	Worcestershire
1997–1998	Auckland
1988–1991	MCC
1987–1989	Northern Districts
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs	FC	LA
Matches	65	120	516	641
Runs scored	3383	3846	40534	21881
Batting average	31. Mike Powell cricketerjpg|thumb|200px| Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell]] A batsman in the sport of Cricket is depending on context Any An off break is a type of delivery in the Sport of Cricket. It is the stock delivery of an Off spin bowler. This is a list of English Test cricketers. A Test match is an international Cricket match between two of the leading cricketing nations Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. This is a list of English One-day International cricketers. A One Day International, or an ODI is an international Cricket match between two representative teams Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing Events 196 BC - Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt. 1309 - Pope Clement V excommunicates Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county The Auckland Aces are one of six New Zealand First class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC is a private members' club founded in 1787 The Northern Districts Knights are one of six New Zealand first class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. First-class cricket refers to the class of Cricket matches of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players and officially adjudged first-class by List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day form of the Sport of Cricket. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 32	37. 33	52. 36	41. 67
100s/50s	6/18	5/27	135/156	40/139
Top score	178	126*	405*	172*
Balls bowled	3057	1236	20889	8604
Wickets	23	30	232	225
Bowling average	56. A delivery or ball in Cricket is a single action of Bowling a Cricket ball towards the Batsman. In the sport of Cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings Meanings of wicket Set of stumps Primarily the wicket Bowling average is a Statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the Sport of Cricket. 78	34. 20	44. 43	29. 55
5 wickets in innings	0	1	5	4
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	1	n/a
Best bowling	4/126	5/33	5/18	5/19
Catches/stumpings	90/–	64/–	690/–	281/–
As of 19 April 2008 Source: cricketarchive

Graeme Ashley Hick (born 23 May 1966) is an English cricketer, who played 65 Tests and 120 One Day Internationals for England. An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of Sports &ndash most notably Cricket and Baseball during For other uses see Stump (disambiguation Stump is a term used in the Sport of Cricket where has three different meanings Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. He has played county cricket for Worcestershire for his entire English domestic career, a period of well over twenty years. County cricket is the highest level of domestic Cricket in England and Wales Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county He has scored 40,000 first-class runs,^[1] mostly from number three in the order, and he is one of only two players to have passed 20,000 runs in List A cricket (Graham Gooch is the other). First-class cricket refers to the class of Cricket matches of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players and officially adjudged first-class by In Cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen go to the Crease to bat List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day form of the Sport of Cricket. Graham Alan Gooch, OBE (born July 23 1953) is a former Cricketer who captained Essex and England. ^[2] Despite these achievements, he is commonly held to have underachieved in international cricket ^[3]

At one time Hick's bowling was a significant force, and his off-spin claimed more than 200 first-class wickets. Off spin is a type of bowling in the Sport of Cricket which is bowled by an off spinner a right-handed spin bowler who However, since 2001 he has not bowled much, and has taken only one first-class and two List A wickets; indeed, since the end of the 2004 season he has not bowled a single ball in either form of the game. The 2001 English cricket season saw Yorkshire win the County Championship for the first time since 1968 The 2004 English cricket season saw the English cricket team record a 4-0 Test series whitewash over the West Indies. He has always been an outstanding slip fielder: Gooch wrote in his autobiography that his ideal slip cordon would comprise Mark Taylor, Ian Botham and Hick. In the Sport of Cricket, a slip fielder (collectively a slip cordon) is placed behind the Batsman on the Off side of the Mark Anthony Taylor, AO (born 27 October 1964 in Leeton New South Wales; nicknamed "Tubby" or "Tubs" was an Australian Cricket Sir Ian Terence Botham, OBE (born 24 November 1955) is a former England Test Cricketer and Test team captain and current ^[4]

Hick was granted a benefit season by Worcestershire in 1999, which raised over £345,000; ^[5] he was also awarded a testimonial in 2006. A benefit season is a method of financially rewarding professional Cricketers that is used by English County cricket teams to compensate long serving players For the use of the term testimonial in sport (especially Football) see Testimonial match. ^[6]

Contents 1 Early life 2 County cricket 3 Playing for England 4 The good years 5 Back to the struggle 6 The end, and after 7 Assessment 8 Notes 9 External links

Early life

Born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) into a tobacco-farming family, Hick was at first more interested in hockey than cricket, and indeed went on to play for the national schools hockey team. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence Harare (həˈrɑreɪ or /həˈrɑri/ formerly Salisbury) is the Capital of Zimbabwe. See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election Field hockey is a Team sport in which players attempt to score goals by hitting the Ball across the pitch with a stick He was also more of a bowler than a batsman, but in 1979 he began to make big scores regularly, averaging 185 for the school side. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively He suffered from a mild form of meningitis in 1980, but he nevertheless progressed to become captain of the national Junior Schools team, and before long to play for the Senior Schools side. Meningitis is Inflammation of the protective membranes covering the Brain and Spinal cord, known collectively as the Meninges. ^[7]

Aged just 16, Hick played three minor one-day games for Zimbabwe Colts and Zimbabwe Country Districts against Young Australia in 1982-83. NightMatchOldTraffordjpg|right|thumb|350px|A night match at Old Trafford. He had no success with the bat, being dismissed for 0, 2 and 1, although he did bowl Dean Jones in the second match at Mutare. Bowled is a method of dismissing a Batsman in the Sport of Cricket. Dean Mervyn Jones AM (born 24 March 1961 in Coburg, Victoria) is a retired Australian Cricketer and is presently a coach Mutare (known as Umtali until 1982 is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of approximately 189000 Hick was included in the Zimbabwean squad for the 1983 World Cup, the youngest player ever to achieve such a status, ^[8] but was not selected to play in the tournament. The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Zimbabwe. The 1983 Cricket World Cup (aka Prudential Cup, 1983 was the third edition of the tournament The following Zimbabwean season, on 7 October 1983, Hick made his first-class debut for Zimbabwe against Young West Indies at Harare. Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) First-class cricket refers to the class of Cricket matches of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players and officially adjudged first-class by Harare Sports Club is a Cricket ground in Harare, Zimbabwe. Initially known as Salisbury Sports Club Harare Sports Club has served as the primary Coming in at number eight in the first innings, he hit 28 not out to help set up a narrow three-wicket victory. An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of Sports &ndash most notably Cricket and Baseball during In Cricket, not out is a term used on scorecards to signify that a Batsman has not been dismissed when the Innings is finished The result in a game of Cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing a draw or a tie. Eight days later Hick made his List A debut against the same opponents, batting one place lower still and making 16* in a game decided (in Zimbabwe's favour) on run rate. List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day form of the Sport of Cricket. In Cricket, not out is a term used on scorecards to signify that a Batsman has not been dismissed when the Innings is finished In Cricket, the run rate ( RR) or runs per over ( RPO) is the number of runs a batsman (or the batting side scores in an

On 7 December 1983, Hick took his maiden first-class wicket, bowling Sri Lanka Test batsman Susil Fernando while playing for Zimbabwe against a Sri Lanka Board President's XI. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. Ellekutige Rufus Nemesion Susil Fernando (born December 19, 1955, Colombo) is a former Sri Lankan Cricketer who played in 5 Four days later, Hick made his maiden first-class fifty when he scored 57 against a Sri Lankan XI, and in March 1984 he achieved the same in a one-day match by hitting 62* against Young India — a performance for which he was named Man of the Match for the first time. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island ^[9] Looking back on this period two decades later, Steve Waugh considered that at 18 Hick was as good a player as anyone of that age in the history of cricket. Stephen Rodger Waugh, AO (born 2 June 1965 in Canterbury New South Wales) is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of Mark Waugh ^[10]

County cricket

In 1984, Hick came to England on a scholarship from the Zimbabwe Cricket Union. The 1984 English cricket season saw a continued dominance by the best-ever Essex team who won a second successive County Championship and also won the Sunday League A scholarship is an award of access to an institution or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar for the purpose of furthering their Education The Zimbabwe Cricket Union is the governing body for the Sport of Cricket in Zimbabwe. For Worcestershire's Second XI he was impressive: he twice took five wickets in an innings, and a prolific sequence of 195, 0, 170 and 186 gained him a first-team debut against Surrey in the last match of the 1984 County Championship. Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county of The County Championship is the domestic first class Cricket competition in England and Wales. Worcestershire declared in their first innings, and Hick did not get to bat, but in the second — once again coming in at nine — he made 82*, sharing in an unbroken eighth-wicket partnership of 133 with captain Phil Neale. In the Sport of Cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's Innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to In the Sport of Cricket, two batsmen bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time Phillip Anthony Neale OBE, born at Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, on 5 June 1954 was a Cricketer who played for Worcestershire and captained He also played club cricket for Kidderminster in the Birmingham League. Club cricket is a mainly amateur but still formal form of the Sport of Cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening Kidderminster Victoria Cricket Club is an Amateur Cricket club in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The Birmingham and District Cricket League is the oldest Club cricket league in the world formed in 1888 He hit 1,234 runs for the club that year, a Kidderminster record. ^[11]

Hick spent the winter playing for Zimbabwe, his highest scores being 95 and 88 in separate matches against Young New Zealand. Hick's good year in 1984 encouraged him to continue playing in England, ^[12] and in the English summer that followed, Zimbabwe toured England, and Hick played both for them and for his county. The 1985 English cricket season saw England recover The Ashes against an Australian team that had still not recovered from the Packer affair. He enjoyed a successful season, ending with a batting average of 52. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 70, and scoring his first century: 230 for the Zimbabweans against Oxford University. Oxford University Cricket Club (now subsumed into the Oxford Universities Centre of Cricketing Excellence but retaining its independence is a First-class cricket team representing This was to be the first of six successive English seasons in which Hick averaged more than fifty in first-class cricket.

Playing that winter in Zimbabwe, he made 309 in under seven hours in a minor match against Ireland, the highest score ever made in any form of cricket for either Zimbabwe or its predecessor Rhodesia. The Ireland cricket team is the Cricket team representing all Ireland (i The Rhodesia cricket team played First-class cricket and represented originally the British colony of Southern Rhodesia and later the unilaterally independent state ^[7] The 1986 English season was the first year in which Hick was notably successful in the one-day game: he hit 889 List A runs that year at an average slightly over forty. The 1986 English cricket season saw Essex win the County Championship for the third time in four seasons 1986 also saw the 20-year-old Hick — newly capped by Worcestershire — become the youngest player to make 2,000 first-class runs in a season, ^[7] while in 1987, he was named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. A cap is an appearance for a select team such as a school county or international team in sports In the 1987 English cricket season Nottinghamshire pulled off the Championship and NatWest Trophy "double" Honours County Championship - Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (often referred to simply as Wisden or colloquially as "the Bible of Cricket" is by far the best The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are Cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their He also had a highly successful season in one-day cricket as Worcestershire won the Refuge Assurance League, passing 1,000 List A runs for the only time, averaging over seventy in such games and making a one-day career-best 172* against Devon in the NatWest Trophy. The NatWest Pro40 League, is the One-day cricket league for first class cricket counties in England and Wales. Devon County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic Cricket structure representing The Friends Provident Trophy is a one day Cricket competition in the United Kingdom. By now Hick's career first-class average was well over sixty, and excitement about his run-scoring ability was becoming enormous.

The following summer, Hick made a major contribution to his county's first County Championship title since 1974. The 1988 English cricket season was dominated by Worcestershire who won the first of two successive championships and also a second successive Sunday league title The 1974 English cricket season continued the recent pattern of joint tours with India and Pakistan again playing three Tests each against England He became the first man since Glenn Turner, and only the eighth in history, to hit a thousand first-class runs before the end of May, ^[13] with 410 of those runs coming in April alone, a record for that month until Ian Bell scored 480 in April 2005. Glenn Maitland Turner (born May 26, 1947) played Cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's best and most prolific Batsmen Ian Ronald Bell MBE (born 11 April 1982 in Coventry, West Midlands) is an England Test Cricketer He also plays County Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year In the first week of May he made what remains his highest first-class score: 405* against Somerset, and at that point the thousand seemed almost inevitable. Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county However, Hick's next four innings totalled a mere 32, leaving him with the daunting task of making 153 runs in the last match of the month, against the touring West Indians at New Road. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing New Road Worcester, England has been the home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1899 Hick did it on the first day, ending 172 not out and scoring a total of 1,019 runs before the end of May. In all that season he scored a career-best aggregate of 2,713 runs including ten first-class hundreds, matching the Worcestershire record set by Glenn Turner in 1970. Glenn Maitland Turner (born May 26, 1947) played Cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's best and most prolific Batsmen The 1970 English cricket season was marked by controversy when a tour by South Africa was forced to be abandoned in view of mounting opposition to the apartheid policy maintained by that ^[14] One of these, a 79-ball knock against Surrey in August, won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest century of the season. Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county of The Walter Lawrence Trophy is an annual award made to the player who has scored the fastest century in English First-class cricket that season in terms of balls received (not To cap it all, he was also named Player of the Year by the Professional Cricketers' Association. The Professional Cricketers' Association is the representative body of past and present first class Cricketers in England and Wales founded in 1967

In both 1987-88 and 1988-89 Hick spent his winters playing in New Zealand for Northern Districts. This article describes the history of New Zealand cricket from the 1970-71 season until 2000. This article describes the history of New Zealand cricket from the 1970-71 season until 2000. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Northern Districts Knights are one of six New Zealand first class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. He was a great success, hitting ten centuries in all and averaging 63. 61 in the former season and a startling 94. 46 in the latter; in one game against Auckland he scored a first-class record 173 runs between tea and close of play. The Auckland Aces are one of six New Zealand First class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. It was at this time that John Bracewell called him a "flat-track bully", a comment which was to dog Hick throughout his England career. John Garry Bracewell (born 15 April 1958 in Auckland) is a New Zealand Cricketer and coach ^[15] Back in England, the 1989 season when Worcestershire retained the Championship (with Hick's 26 wickets at under 20 the best return of his career) and, especially, the "batsmen's paradise" 1990 season saw Hick continue to pile up the big scores. The 1989 English cricket season saw the re-emergence of Australia as a world-class team after it had struggled for most of the previous 12 years Bowling average is a Statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the Sport of Cricket. The 1990 English season was one of the most batsmen-friendly summers in living memory He scored well over 4,000 first-class runs in the two years combined and averaged 90. 46 in 1990, his highest average in any English summer and overall second only to his aforementioned New Zealand season. He followed that up with a reasonably successful winter playing for Queensland, and in March 1991 scored 91 for Worcestershire against Zimbabwe at Harare, but already the public's mind was firmly on the summer, when he would qualify to play for England. The Queensland Bulls are the Brisbane -based Queensland representative Cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments Sheffield The 1991 English cricket season was notable for some outstanding fast bowling performances by Messrs Ambrose Donald and Waqar

Playing for England

By the time the 1986 season was out, the possibility of Hick's playing at Test level was being taken seriously, and the debate was shifting from whether he would play international cricket to which country he would represent. At the time, Zimbabwe seemed a long way from Test status, and so — with some reluctance — he set himself instead to fulfill the residency requirements for England qualification, and despite an offer of a four-year qualification period from New Zealand he opted to take the longer path of a seven-year wait to play for his newly adopted home. The New Zealand cricket team, also known as the Black Caps or BLACKCAPS, played their first Test in 1929-30 against England in Christchurch By the time he became eligible, public interest in his seeming destiny as a great batsman for country as well as county was intense; David Lloyd was later to write that he doubted "any cricketer [had] ever come into the international game burdened by such impossible expectations". David Lloyd (born March 18, 1947 in Accrington, Lancashire, England) is a former English Cricketer who played county ^[16] Hick's Worcestershire team-mate Graham Dilley had been in no doubt that he would succeed, perhaps ironically given what was to follow writing that Hick exerted "psychological pressure on the bowlers, like Viv Richards or Javed Miandad. Graham Roy Dilley (born 18 May 1959 in Dartford, Kent) is a former English Cricketer whose main role was as a Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, (born St John's, Antigua on 7 March 1952 is a former West Indian Cricketer. Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan ( Urdu:) (born June 12, 1957 in Karachi, Pakistan) popularly known as Javed Miandad " ^[17]

Hick made his first appearances as an England batsman in a three-match One Day International series against West Indies, the first being played at Edgbaston on 23 May 1991. Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. Edgbaston Cricket Ground (also known as Edgbaston Stadium) is a Cricket venue in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. He made only 14 in a low-scoring game, but a few days later, in the third and final match of the series, he hit 86* and shared in a match-winning stand of 213 with Neil Fairbrother. Neil Harvey Fairbrother (born 9 September 1963 in Warrington, then Lancashire) is a former English Cricket player named The stage seemed set for Hick's Test debut at Headingley on 6 June, and Hick was even pictured on the cover of the Radio Times. Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year For the US radio series see WHYY-FM. Radio Times is the BBC 's weekly Television and Radio programme ^[18] He was given a hero's reception by the crowd as he came out to bat, but a tortured 51 minutes later he was back in the pavilion having made only six, and he could do no better in the second innings. After further innings of 0, 43, 0, 19 and 1 he was dropped before the last match of the series. Although Worcestershire did win the Benson & Hedges Cup, in first-class cricket Hick finished with an average for the season of just 32. This article is about the cricket trophy for the similar named trophy for Ice Hockey see Benson & Hedges Cup (UK Ice Hockey The Benson & Hedges Cup was a 91, which remains his lowest in any English summer.

He then played all three Tests in New Zealand, but apart from a marathon bowling performance in the first innings at Wellington where he and Phil Tufnell shared 140 overs almost equally (Hick's 69-27-126-4 was to be his best in Tests), he again had little to smile about. This article describes the history of New Zealand cricket from the 1970-71 season until 2000. The Basin Reserve (commonly known by locals as " The Basin " is a Cricket ground in Wellington New Zealand, used for Test, first-class Philip (Phil Clive Roderick "Tuffers" Tufnell (born April 29, 1966 in Barnet) is a Television personality and former English In the sport of Cricket, a bowling analysis (sometimes shortened to just analysis, especially in the phrase innings analysis) usually refers to a notation Considerably more enjoyable for him was the 1992 World Cup which immediately followed: England reached the final, thanks in no small part to Hick's three half-centuries. The 1992 Cricket World Cup (aka Benson & Hedges World Cup) was the fifth edition of the tournament and was won by Pakistan The most important of these came in the semi-final against South Africa at the SCG. The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national Cricket team representing South Africa The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG is a sports Stadium in Sydney. Although this game is now more often remembered for the rain-related fiasco which left South Africa needing an impossible 22 runs from one ball, it was Hick's Man-of-the-Match-winning knock of 83 (in an innings where the second top score was 33) which made England's victory possible in the first place. He could not replicate it in the final, being lbw to Mushtaq Ahmed for 17. Mushtaq Ahmed ( Urdu: مشتاق احمد) (born 28 June, 1970 in Sahiwal) is a retired Pakistani cricketer who specalised

In 1992 Hick finally made a Test half-century, 51 against Pakistan, but as with the West Indian series he was dropped before the end of the summer. The 1992 English cricket season saw Essex win a second successive County Championship The Pakistan National Cricket Team is an international Cricket team representing Pakistan. This time at least he scored heavily for Worcestershire, averaging nearly seventy for his county. This domestic form, together with his ability against spin bowling, secured Hick a place on the 1992-93 tour of India, and in a generally disastrous tour for England (they lost two Tests by an innings and the other by eight wickets) he was one of the very few bright spots; indeed, he topped both batting and bowling averages for his country, as well as scoring 249 runs in the six ODIs. Spin bowling, sometimes known as slow bowling, is a technique used for bowling in the Sport of Cricket. This article describes the history of cricket in India from the 1985-86 season to 2000 India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The personal highlight for Hick was his long-awaited maiden Test hundred: 178 in the third Test at Bombay; he added another 47 in the second innings. Ground Facts and Figures Capacity 40000 Floodlights Yes End names Garware Pavilion End Tata End Curator Sudhir He then scored 68 and 26 in the one-off Test against Sri Lanka which immediately followed. The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. For his achievements in the subcontinent, he was named one of Indian Cricket's five Cricketers of the Year in 1993. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. Indian Cricket was a cricket yearbook published by The Hindu. ^[19]

The good years

The Indian tour proved to be the start of by far the most successful period of Hick's Test career. At the end of 1992 his average was a mere 18. 06, but by the end of the South African series just over three years later it had improved to a very respectable 38. 66; his average over those three years alone was an impressive 46. 44. In the first ODI of 1993 Hick made 85, but in the first Ashes Test at Old Trafford, he was famously sledged by Merv Hughes, leading umpire Dickie Bird to ask him: "What has that nice Mr Hick ever done to you?" Hughes later commented that although he had been "a bit OTT with Hick", he "only sledged batsmen [he] respected". The 1993 English cricket season saw the dramatic arrival on the scene of Shane Warne and his incredible " Gatting Ball " The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The Old Trafford Cricket Ground, usually known as simply Old Trafford, is a Cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, an area of Sledging is the practice in Cricket of insulting opponents to break their concentration and cause them to make mistakes Mervyn Gregory Hughes (born 23 November 1961 Euroa Victoria) is a Australian former Cricket player Harold Dennis Bird MBE, commonly known as "Dickie" Bird (born in Barnsley, Yorkshire on April 19, 1933) is a ^[20]

Despite scores of 34, 22, 20 and 64, Hick — along with Mike Gatting — was dropped after the second Test at Lord's; the decision amazed Shane Warne. Michael William Gatting OBE (born Kingsbury 6 June 1957 usually known as Mike, was an English Cricketer who played First-class cricket Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969 is a former Australian international Cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the ^[21] Hick was recalled for the sixth Test at The Oval and hit 80 and 36 in a 161-run England victory, giving him a series average of 42. The Oval PavilionJPG|250px|right|thumb|The Members Pavilion]] The Oval is an international Cricket ground in Kennington, London 66, behind only Gooch, Atherton and Thorpe among England's specialist batsmen in a series in which England used 24 players. Graham Alan Gooch, OBE (born July 23 1953) is a former Cricketer who captained Essex and England. Michael Andrew Atherton, OBE (born March 23, 1968, in Failsworth Lancashire, England) is a broadcaster journalist and retired Graham Paul Thorpe MBE (born 1 August 1969 in Farnham, Surrey) is an English Cricketer who played for Surrey

A reasonable tour of West Indies followed, although Hick narrowly failed to make a maiden hundred against this opposition when he was dismissed for 96 in the Jamaican Test, and did not make a fifty in five ODI innings. This article describes the history of West Indies cricket from 1991 to 2000 Sabina Park is the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test Cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica. Then came two short series against New Zealand and South Africa; he played in all six Tests and reached double figures in all ten innings, although he was not particularly successful against New Zealand, with a top score of only 58. The 1994 English cricket season saw the emergence of a very strong Warwickshire team who won both the County Championship and the Sunday League The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national Cricket team representing South Africa Against the South Africans, however, he averaged over sixty, making 110 in the Second Test and a match-winning 81* (at a run a ball) in England's dash to victory in the Third. He played in three of the four ODIs and failed in two of them, but made another 81 against South Africa.

The 1994-95 Ashes tour came to be known for one incident in particular. In the third Test at Sydney, England captain Mike Atherton had let it be known to his players that he intended to declare. Hick was nearing what would have been his first Ashes century, but Atherton felt he was scoring too slowly and that as a result the team were "dawdling". ^[22] He took the decision to call the players in with Hick 98 not out. Hick was surprised and hurt not to be allowed to reach his hundred: Alec Stewart wrote later that his team-mates "couldn't believe" the decision, and he felt that it "cost [England] dearly". ^[23] Atherton admitted in his autobiography that although he still felt the declaration had been justified in strictly cricketing terms, he would not have taken such a decision again. ^[22] Phil Tufnell felt similarly, saying that while there was a match to win, "a few of [the team] were also very sorry for Hick. Philip (Phil Clive Roderick "Tuffers" Tufnell (born April 29, 1966 in Barnet) is a Television personality and former English " ^[24] Jonathan Agnew's sympathies, however, lay with the captain, telling Atherton that his "conscience should be clear". Jonathan Philip Agnew (nicknamed Aggers) is an English Cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer ^[25]

Hick seemed to be overcoming his disappointment over the next few days, making a match-winning 91 in a World Series Cup ODI — a performance which lifted him to second behind only Brian Lara in the world rankings ^[26] — and following up with 143 in a four-day game against Victoria. The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International Cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia Brian Charles Lara (born 2 May 1969 ( nicknamed, "The Prince of Port-of-Spain" "The Prince of Trinidad" or simply "The Prince" is a The Victorian Bushrangers is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. But he did not get a chance to make that Ashes century: a slipped disc ended his tour just before the fourth Test. ^[27] He never came so close to one again. Hick's injury and the declaration affair overshadowed what up to that point had been a somewhat mixed series as far as the Tests had been concerned: in his other five innings he had been dismissed cheaply three times, but he had also made 80 at Brisbane. The 'Gabba is a major sports Stadium in the Queensland capital of Brisbane.

West Indies visited in 1995, and Hick — an "automatic pick" for Atherton at this point in his career ^[22] — enjoyed a good summer, averaging just over 50 in the Tests with the highlights being 118* at Trent Bridge (he had been told the previous day by Ray Illingworth that he had a "soft centre" ^[22] ) and then 96 and 51* in the final Test at The Oval. The 1995 English cricket season saw a continued dominance of the domestic scene by Warwickshire Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County Cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, Raymond ("Ray" Illingworth (born 8 June 1932 in Pudsey) is a former English Cricketer, Cricket commentator and cricket administrator The Oval PavilionJPG|250px|right|thumb|The Members Pavilion]] The Oval is an international Cricket ground in Kennington, London He also averaged over 50 in the County Championship, and took a career-best 5-18 against Leicestershire in early July. The County Championship is the domestic first class Cricket competition in England and Wales. Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic In the Benson & Hedges Cup, he scored three hundreds in five matches as Worcestershire reached the semi-final. In that game, Hick made 109 and took two wickets, but Lancashire won a close contest with four balls to spare. Lancashire County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic

That winter's tour was to South Africa, and Hick made a superb hundred on the first day of the first Test at Centurion Park; Allan Donald later conceded that "he hammered us". This article describes the history of South African Cricket from the 1990-91 season to 2000 SuperSport Park, is a Cricket ground in Centurion, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Allan Anthony Donald, (born 20 October 1966 in Bloemfontein) was a South African Cricketer and one of their most successful pace bowlers ever ^[28] He advanced his score to 141 the next day before falling lbw to Pollock, but appalling weather washed out the last three days of the game and the match was drawn. In the Sport Cricket, leg before wicket (LBW is one of the ways in which a Batsman can be dismissed. Shaun Maclean Pollock (born July 16, 1973 in Port Elizabeth) is a retired South African Cricketer who is considered a bowling Hick, having reached his highest ever Test ranking of seventh, ^[29] played in all five Tests and seven ODIs on that tour, but passed fifty only twice. The 1996 World Cup in the subcontinent immediately followed, but 85 against New Zealand was his only major contribution against top-class opposition. The 1996 Cricket World Cup (aka Wills World Cup was won by Sri Lanka who beat Australia by 7 wickets at the final in Lahore.

Back to the struggle

Hick seemed set fair for another productive season in 1996, especially after making 215 for Worcestershire against the Indians in May, but it was not to be. The 1996 English cricket season saw England host tours by India and Pakistan, who each played three Tests and three ODIs Against India His form completely deserted him as he could manage just 35 runs in four innings against India, and when he was dismissed cheaply twice in the first Test against Pakistan the selectors had had enough and he was dropped from both Test and ODI teams, not to be selected again for a year and a half. Back at Worcestershire, he scored unevenly: immediately after his being dropped by England he made 148 and 86 against Kent, but he then endured a run of ten innings in all cricket without making more than 30, before hitting 54 and 106 against Gloucestershire in the penultimate Championship game of the season. Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic

For the first time since becoming eligible to play for England, Hick was omitted from the winter tour parties altogether, an omission particularly painful as the programme was to include not only a return to New Zealand but the first ever Tests between Zimbabwe and England. In the event Hick did play in the country, but only as part of Worcestershire's own tour; he took six wickets in their match against a Matabeleland Invitation XI in what must have been a bittersweet experience. Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe currently divided into two provinces Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South. The 1997 English season was the first for seven years in which Hick had no international duties to perform, and he averaged 69 in scoring over 1,500 first-class runs, the highlight being an unbeaten 303 in the final match of the season against Hampshire, sharing in an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 438 with Tom Moody, an English record for that wicket ^[30] and a Worcestershire record for any wicket. The 1997 English cricket season centred on the six Test Ashes series against Australia. Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county Thomas Masson Moody (born 2 October 1965 Adelaide, South Australia) is a former Australian Cricketer and coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team ^[31] Hick was recalled to England duties for the Singer-Akai Champions Trophy ODI series at Sharjah in December 1997, and in April 1998 for just the ODI portion of the West Indies series. Location The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium is in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. This article describes the history of West Indies cricket from 1991 to 2000 He played in nine games altogether, but though he got starts on several occasions he never reached fifty.

Hick began the 1998 season slowly and was left out of the England team at the start of the year, but he responded with four hundreds in successive first-class innings in late May and early June. In the 1998 English cricket season Leicestershire won the championship for the second time in three seasons while Lancashire performed the one day double Although this form left him somewhat thereafter, he was nevertheless selected for the final two Tests against South Africa. A total of nine runs from three innings left his hopes of a place on the Ashes tour looking extremely shaky, but after two half-centuries in ODIs and then 107 in the one-off Test against Sri Lanka it seemed he might have done just enough. However, his century was outshone by John Crawley's 156 in the same innings and in the end it was the Lancashire man who got the nod. This article is about the English cricketer for the Australian football player see John Crawley (footballer. Hick was left at home, to console himself with the memory of the adulation of the Worcestershire crowd: in May at New Road he had made his hundredth first-class century.

Just before the first Test, however, Hick received an emergency call-up — officially as "reinforcement" rather than a replacement — as Atherton's chronic back problem (ankylosing spondylitis) had been causing him severe pain. Ankylosing spondylitis ( AS; previously known as Bechterew's disease, Bechterew syndrome, Marie Strümpell disease and a form of Spondyloarthritis ^[32] Hick ended up playing in four Tests, but he had a rather poor series overall, averaging 25, although his defiant 68 in a losing cause at Perth stuck in the memory and his 39 and 60 contributed significantly to England's 12-run win at Melbourne (even if Dean Headley's 6-60 was more remarked upon). The WACA (pronounced wakka) is a sports Stadium in Perth Western Australia. Dean Warren Headley (born 27 January, 1970 in Stourbridge) is an English Cricketer He comes from a famous cricketing family In the ODIs against both Australia and Sri Lanka Hick did much better, making more than 500 runs — including a fine run of 108, 66*, 126* and 109 in successive innings — and being named England's Man of the Series.

The 1999 World Cup was held in England, and after Hick's ODI achievements in Australia Allan Donald felt he would be the home team's danger man. The 1999 Cricket World Cup was hosted primarily by England, but Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands also hosted some games ^[28] David Lloyd also "strongly fancied [Hick] to have a serious influence" on the competition, but he was frustrated by Hick's reluctance to accept a flexible batting order, only with considerable difficulty at a "frosty team meeting" getting him to agree to drop down from three when required. ^[16] Despite Hick's uneasiness over the issue, and England's general incompetence in the tournament, he averaged 53 — second only to Nasser Hussain, the only one of his team-mates to average more than 30. Nasser Hussain OBE (born March 28 1968, Madras, India) is a former Essex and England Cricketer He Frustratingly for Hick, the series against New Zealand that followed contained no one-dayers at all, and he was picked for only the third of the four Tests, making 12 in his only innings. It was no real surprise that he was picked for only the ODI part of the winter tour to South Africa and the short ODI series in Zimbabwe which followed. This article describes the history of South African Cricket from the 1990-91 season to 2000 This article describes the history of cricket in Zimbabwe from the 1992-93 season until the end of the country's involvement in Test cricket in 2006 He failed badly in South Africa (averaging a desperate 12. 40) and by the time the Zimbabwe leg of the tour began he had not reached 30 in nine successive innings, by far the worst run of his ODI career, but 87*, 13 and 80 (as well as an international career-best 5-33 in the last game) against the Zimbabweans rescued his winter.

The 2000 Test series against West Indies began with humiliation both for England, who lost by an innings inside three days at Edgbaston, and for Hick, who made his only Test pair. The 2000 English cricket season was marked by the dominance of Surrey in first-class cricket and Gloucestershire in limited overs Edgbaston Cricket Ground (also known as Edgbaston Stadium) is a Cricket venue in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. Cricket is a team sport played between two teams of eleven It is known for its rich terminology Things improved for the team thereafter, with England recovering to win the series 3-1, but Hick's real influence was limited to the fourth Test at Headingley, where his 59 (from number eight, as Caddick had come in ahead of him as night-watchman) and his stand of 98 with Michael Vaughan rescued England from 124/6 and paved the way for Caddick's extraordinary burst of 5-14 and England's own victory inside two days. Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. Andrew' ("Andy" Richard Caddick' (born 21 November 1968 is a domestic and former international fast-medium bowler. In the sport of Cricket, a nightwatchman is a lower-order Batsman who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play Michael Paul Vaughan OBE (born 29 October 1974 in Eccles, Salford, England is a Cricketer for Yorkshire and England. In the ODIs Hick had a very mixed summer, sharing in two century partnerships but averaging barely 25 with a top score of 50 in seven games. It was the beginning of the end for his international career.

The end, and after

On what was to prove his last winter tours for England, of Kenya, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Hick played five Tests and six ODIs, but only twice were his contributions of real value. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south In an ODI at Karachi he came in at 13/2 and put on 114 with Hussain, then in the deciding Test at the same venue his 40 gave vital support to Graham Thorpe (64*) as England clinched a nail-biting win in the face of Pakistani delaying tactics and light so bad that Alec Stewart said they "wouldn't have played in light like that for club games". The National Stadium is a Cricket Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan. ^[33] Despite these bright spots, overall Hick's winter had been far from a success, and the Test series ended in early March with scores of 0 and 16 at Kandy. Asgiriya International Stadium, is a Cricket stadium situated in Kandy, Sri Lanka He took the field in Colombo only as a substitute, but still managed to incur a one-match suspended ban for sledging. The Sinhalese Sports Club is the home of Sri Lanka cricket housing the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL as well as being an important ground for major domestic A substitute in the Sport of Cricket is a replacement player that the umpires allow when a player has been injured or become ill after the nomination of ^[34] It was irrelevant: he never played Test cricket again. Later that month he played in the three ODIs against Sri Lanka, and in the last of them he top scored with 46. England, though, were crushed by ten wickets, and Hick's international playing days were at an end.
By the time of his final eviction from the England team in 2000-01, Hick had been already spent one summer as captain of Worcestershire, a post which he held for three seasons (2000 to 2002 inclusive). The 2000 English cricket season was marked by the dominance of Surrey in first-class cricket and Gloucestershire in limited overs The 2002 English cricket season saw 2001 county champions Yorkshire relegated He enjoyed the responsibility of captaincy, and was "surprised and disappointed" to be relieved of the position in favour of Ben Smith for the 2003 season. Benjamin Francis Smith (born 3 April 1972 in Corby, Northamptonshire) is an English Cricketer: a right-handed batsman and The 2003 English cricket season was notable for the long overdue first official County Championship of the oldest county club Sussex ^[35] Hick's personal form during his captaincy was generally good, although his overall statistics in 2000 — the first time he had failed to reach 1,000 runs since 1984 — were depressed by his England travails; in the County Championship alone in those three summers he averaged 43. 41, 60. 43 and 52. 58, and by making 200* at Durham he completed the set of having made first-class hundreds against all 17 other counties, both home and away. The Riverside County Cricket Ground is a Cricket venue in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. In one-day games the picture was somewhat more mixed, though in June 2001 he did make 155, his highest List A score for 14 years, against Hertfordshire in the C&G Trophy. Hertfordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic Cricket structure representing The Friends Provident Trophy is a one day Cricket competition in the United Kingdom.

Hick suffered badly from injuries at this time. He had missed the very end of the 2002 season with a broken thumb, and newly returned to the ranks for 2003 he endured a summer to forget. He began solidly enough, with two centuries and four fifties in his first 14 innings in all cricket, but in early June he broke his hand and was unable to play for six weeks. ^[36] At this point Hick was averaging 53 in first-class cricket, but the 13 innings he played after his return in late July produced only 246 runs, leaving him with a season's average of just 33. 50, his worst showing since the dark days of 1991. 2004, however, saw him return to form with a vengeance, his 1,589 first-class runs (at 63. The 2004 English cricket season saw the English cricket team record a 4-0 Test series whitewash over the West Indies. 56) his best aggregate since 1990 and the lowest of his four centuries being 158, and he was picked for the FICA World XI team in three one-day games against New Zealand in January 2005, these matches having List A but not ODI status. This article describes the history of New Zealand cricket from the 2000-01 season

The 2005 season saw Hick return to earth with a bump, enduring another very mixed year. Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year A 176 and four further fifties in eight innings near the start of the summer was followed by an awful trot in which he batted 17 times without reaching 40, only 107 against Essex in the very last innings of the season saving his average from dropping below thirty for the first time ever. The following summer was much better, and he had the satisfaction first of scoring his hundredth century for Worcestershire, only the second man (after Boycott) since the war to achieve the feat for a single county; ^[37] and then of helping Worcestershire to promotion in the last game of the Championship season — his 500th first-class match — scores of 70 and 30* against Northamptonshire taking him past 1,000 runs for the season. The 2006 English cricket season includes home international series for England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Geoffrey Boycott OBE (born 21 October 1940 is a former Cricketer for Yorkshire and England. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county of The previous month he had signed a one-year extension to his county contract, having turned down an offer from Derbyshire. Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic Cricket structure representing the historic county Hick commented: "My heart has always been with Worcestershire and I very much look forward to the next 12 months. " ^[38]

In April 2007, just before Worcestershire's 2007 campaign got underway, Hick said that despite being contracted only for the season, he did not want to retire at the end of the summer. The 2007 English cricket season began on Saturday 14 April 2007 with the match between MCC and the 2006 county champions Sussex at Lord's He said, "I am not looking at it as my last season . . . a lot of people say you are a long time retired . . . I am still one of the fitter members of the side and I love and enjoy what I do . . . Why should I pack it in if I am contributing?" ^[39] In June he became the 16th player to score 40,000 first-class runs, ^[40] and the following month he agreed another extension to his contract to keep him at New Road for the 2008 season. ^[41]

Assessment

Hick's inability to replicate in Test cricket on a consistent basis the form which he had shown for his county was and remains the subject of much debate. Steve Waugh, in his autobiography, theorised that county cricket attacks, which Hick regularly "carved up", "were (in fact) a dangerous impendiment to his improvement, because any technical weakness went largely untested", due to these attacks being of a "largely innocuous" nature. ^[10] Indeed, much of the criticism aimed at him has been on the subject of perceived technical flaws in his game: Atherton felt as early as 1991 that Hick was "good, but not in the Lara or Tendulkar class", and that his technique was flawed, allowing "little give in his hands and no touch in his shots", although by the mid-1990s he had adjusted to an "altogether more fluid and natural" style. ^[22] Many writers adjudged Hick, in Christopher Martin-Jenkins' words, "suspect against the short ball", ^[8] and Allan Lamb felt that the one-bouncer-per-over regulation in force in county cricket in the early 1990s hindered Hick too, ^[42] despite the fact that Wasim Akram believed that the introduction of a similar rule in Test cricket had been specifically for Hick's benefit. Allan Joseph Lamb (born 20 June 1954 is a former English Cricketer. County cricket is the highest level of domestic Cricket in England and Wales Wasim Akram ( Urdu: وسیم اکرم) (born June 3, 1966 in Lahore, Punjab) is a former Pakistani Cricketer ^[43] (Hick's performance in Tests against Pakistan was far worse than against any other nation. ) Alec Stewart's analysis was that Hick "didn't get out all that much" to the short ball, but nevertheless "didn't play it as confidently as other shots", because his height (6'3") made him uncertain as to whether to duck or attack the bouncers. In the Sport of Cricket, a bouncer (or bumper) is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. ^[23] Geoff Boycott famously labelled him as "a big soft lad" due to his perceived weaknesses against the short ball. Geoffrey Boycott OBE (born 21 October 1940 is a former Cricketer for Yorkshire and England. Dickie Bird's opinion was that "the positioning of his feet [was] all wrong . . . and that [threw] his head and eyes off line". ^[44]

Hick's mental approach to the game is the other main weapon in his critics' armoury, and indeed Hick himself admitted to seeking psychological help after having failed. ^[45] Prior to Hick's England debut Graham Dilley was bullish, claiming that Hick was "a lot tougher than people realise", ^[17] but Ian Botham, another Worcestershire team-mate, noticed "the amount of reassurance [Hick] seemed to need from others around him" ^[46] and Peter Roebuck, in a famous piece in the 1999 Wisden, said that it was "Hick's fate to be given an ability that did not suit his temperament". Peter Michael Roebuck (born March 6, 1956, in Oxford, United Kingdom) is a former Cricket player and is now a newspaper columnist Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (often referred to simply as Wisden or colloquially as "the Bible of Cricket" is by far the best ^[47] Jonathan Agnew felt his body language against Curtly Ambrose back in 1991 had been poor, and had almost invited his dismissal, ^[25] and Atherton wrote that if Hick had indeed failed to do justice to his talent, it was surely "down to a vital missing ingredient in his mental make-up". Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose (born September 21, 1963) nicknamed the 'Little Bird' following on from Joel Garner who was nicknamed "Big Bird" ^[22] Waugh appears to link this 'missing ingredient' to his dominance in county cricket, stating that "prior to his Test debut his capacity to overcome hardship was never called upon". Waugh also cites the aforementioned 1995 declaration by Michael Atherton as a possible reason for Hick's lack of success in Test cricket, stating that "just as Hick's . . . gifts were about to re-emerge, in stepped . . . Atherton to extinguish the flame. " ^[10] George Dobell was tougher, stating bluntly that Hick "should have been strong enough to cope". ^[48]

Some felt that Hick was the victim of poor man-management, and Hick himself let his feelings slip in 2002, when asked who had been his best coach. "That's the trouble," he replied. "There haven't been any. " ^[45] Shane Warne felt he was "a classic example of a player who [had] really been messed around", ^[21] and Ian Botham complained that when England had failed it always seemed to be "Hicky's neck [that was] the first on the line", ^[46] although the journalist Leo McKinstry criticised Botham's "noisy advocacy of Hick in the face of all the evidence". Shane Keith Warne (born 13 September 1969 is a former Australian international Cricketer who is widely regarded as one of the ^[49]

Ray Illingworth's treatment of Hick has also come under considerable scrutiny. Raymond ("Ray" Illingworth (born 8 June 1932 in Pudsey) is a former English Cricketer, Cricket commentator and cricket administrator Botham considered Illingworth to be "totally out of touch with the modern game", ^[50] while the 1995 incident mentioned briefly above, when Illingworth told Hick he had "a soft centre" because of his "mollycoddled upbringing", made even Atherton wince at his bluntness. ^[22] (Hick, told by Illingworth to "go out and prove [him] wrong", went on to score 118* against West Indies the following day. ) However, Illingworth himself, while considering that Hick, along with Mark Ramprakash, was "intense, too much so for [his] liking", did allow that the length of time Hick had had to wait to qualify for England was a factor in his becoming "much more set in his ways than an inexperienced batsman. Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English Cricketer A right-handed Batsman, he first made his name playing for " ^[51]

Hick's ODI statistics are considerably better than his equivalent Test figures, and his eventual career average of 37. 33 is higher than any of Gooch, Thorpe and Gower. David Ivon Gower, OBE (born April 1, 1957) is a retired Cricket player and current cricket broadcaster Indeed, for a period of more than two years from February 1994 Hick was never ranked lower than tenth in the world ODI rankings, and at the time of his omission from the one-day team halfway through 1996 he was rated number six. Even for the final two years of his ODI career, he was always ranked in the top twenty, ^[52]

In this form of the game, he could destroy even the best: Andrew Flintoff recalled an innings of 65 against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1999 when Hick "was murdering" the "seriously rapid" Shoaib Akhtar: "If he dropped short, he pulled him and if [he] bowled full, he was driven. Andrew Flintoff, MBE, (born 6 December 1977 in Preston, Lancashire) is a Cricketer who plays for Lancashire and England. Location The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium is in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Shoaib Akhtar ( Urdu:) (born 13 August 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab) is a Pakistani Cricketer and is the fastest " ^[53] Calls for Hick's recall to the one-day team continued long after his Test career had been given up as a lost cause: Kent captain Matthew Fleming said in September 2001 that Hick was "still the best one-day batsman in the country" ^[54] and as late as 2004 Andrew Miller would write: "whisper it softly, there is still a case for his inclusion in the one-day squad". Matthew Valentine Fleming (b 12 December, 1964 in Macclesfield, Cheshire) is a former Cricketer who represented Kent and ^[55] Hick himself still felt in early 2002 that he could "offer more in the one-day environment than the majority of people playing in the side". ^[45]

Despite his difficulties, Hick's cricketing contemporaries have generally been quite complimentary about him. Atherton "liked and respected" him, ^[22] while Andrew Flintoff, as a newcomer to the England side, remembered Hick as "being good to [him] during those early stages [of Flintoff's Test career]". Andrew Flintoff, MBE, (born 6 December 1977 in Preston, Lancashire) is a Cricketer who plays for Lancashire and England. ^[53] As a batsman, Allan Donald wrote that Hick was "highly rated by the South African guys". ^[28] and Warne called him "purely and simply a quality player". ^[21] Steve Waugh said that Hick "had as much talent as any player I ever came across. " ^[10] David Lloyd noted, not altogether with approval, that other players would rally around Hick protectively, and that "in Alec Stewart he had a man who would champion his cause endlessly". ^[16] Stewart himself wrote that Hick was "someone whose talents [he] admire[d] greatly". ^[23]

Botham summed up the unending nature of the debate when he wrote: "I have no answers. All I can do is wonder how much more English cricket might have got out of Graeme Hick had he been handled differently. I know he does as well. " ^[46] As for Hick himself, he was asked after the end of his England career whether he considered himself a success or a failure. His answer: "a bit of both". ^[45]

Notes

External links

• Player Profile: Graeme Hick from Cricinfo
• Statistical summary from CricketArchive

Cricinfo is the largest Cricket -related website and one of the largest websites in the world with more than 20 million users CricketArchive is a Website that aims to provide a comprehensive Archive of records relating to the Sport of Cricket.

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