Mike Atherton

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Mike Atherton
England
Personal information
Full name	Michael Andrew Atherton
Nickname	Athers, Cockroach, Dread, FEC
Born	23 March 1968 (1968-03-23) (age 40)
	Failsworth, Lancashire, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Role	Batsman
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm leg spin
International information
Test debut (cap 538)	August 10, 1989: v Australia
Last Test	August 27, 2001: v Australia
ODI debut (cap 108)	July 18, 1990: v India
Last ODI	August 20, 1998: v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1987-1989	Cambridge University
1987-2001	Lancashire
1987-1990	MCC
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs	FC	LA
Matches	115	54	336	287
Runs scored	7728	1791	21929	9343
Batting average	37.69	35.11	40.83	36.49
100s/50s	16/46	2/12	54/107	14/59
Top score	185*	127	268*	127
Balls bowled	408	0	8981	287
Wickets	2	-	108	24
Bowling average	151.00	-	43.82	29.62
5 wickets in innings	0	-	3	0
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	1/20	-	6/78	4/42
Catches/stumpings	83/-	15/-	268/-	111/-
As of September 1, 2007 Source: [1]

Michael Andrew Atherton, OBE (born March 23, 1968, in Failsworth, Lancashire, England) is a broadcaster, journalist and retired cricketer. He captained England in a record 54 Test matches.^[1]

Contents 1 Cricketing career 2 Post-playing career 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Cricketing career

The young Mike Atherton captained the Manchester Grammar School cricket team. His performances led to selection for the England under-19 team, which he captained aged 16. Entering Downing College, Cambridge to read history, he was selected at 18 to play for Cambridge University Cricket Club and awarded a blue. A year later he made his county debut for Lancashire County Cricket Club. During this time he represented both his University, the British Universities cricket team (which he captained to the quarter finals of the Benson & Hedges cup in 1989) and his county. This early rise through the ranks, and extensive leadership experience earned him the nickname "FEC". It stood for Future England Captain.

His heady rise continued when he made his debut for England in the fifth test against Australia at Trent Bridge, where he scored 0 and 47 ^[2]. Atherton's chance came when several England players had just announced their decision of go on a rebel tour to South Africa and so were banned from the test team. However, despite these defections, he was not selected for the subsequent 1989-90 tour of the West Indies.

Atherton returned to the England side in the summer of 1990, partnering Graham Gooch at the top of the order, and giving the first demonstration of his abilities. Test centuries against New Zealand and India earned him the title of Young Cricketer of the Year.

During the winter of 1990-91, Atherton faced a sterner test on The Ashes tour of Australia. Although he made a century in the third Test at Sydney, he averaged just 31 for his 279 runs, and England lost 3-0.

In 1991 came the first signs of a degenerative back condition, Ankylosing Spondylitis, which was to dog Atherton for the remainder of his playing career and cause his premature retirement. The problem caused him to miss England's winter tour to New Zealand and forced him to stop bowling his sometimes effective leg-spin. Now an irregular member of the England team, Atherton toured India and Sri Lanka in 1992-93 without significant success.

When Australia arrived for the 1993 Ashes series, Atherton's place in the team was not assured. However, a consistent summer in which he scored six 50s in six tests (including 99 at Lord's) cemented his place in the side at a fortunate time. Graham Gooch, frustrated by continual losses to Australia, resigned as captain after the fourth test and Atherton, aged just 25, replaced him. He lost his first match in charge but England managed to beat Australia in a morale-boosting final Test: England had not beaten Australia in the previous 18 Test matches.

Atherton's first tour as captain, to the West Indies in the winter of 1993-94, was not a success, as England lost 3-1. This was a series of highs and lows: Brian Lara of the West Indies compiled a world record of 375 against them at Antigua; England was bowled out for 46 to lose the third Test (and with it the series) but then roared back at Bridgetown to win the 4th Test thanks to two centuries from Alec Stewart. For his part, Atherton was the best of the English batsman with 510 runs at 56.67.

Earning plaudits for his determination and leadership, Atherton followed up with two centuries in the first two tests at home against New Zealand. His reputation suffered a blow, however, when he was implicated in a ball-tampering controversy during the first test against South Africa at Lord's, for which he was fined £2000 by Ray Illingworth. Atherton was accused of lying to Peter Burge, the match referee. Atherton claimed in his autobiography that he answered 'no' when asked if he had anything in his pockets. He believed that Burge was referring to nefarious substances such as resin or lip salve, etc. Nevertheless, the TV pictures were damning, showing Atherton very deliberately putting dirt, taken from the pitch, on the ball. Strictly speaking, Atherton was not breaking the rules - he pointed out himself that plenty of bowlers improve their grip on the ball by rubbing their hands on the pitch.

After this incident Atherton and England headed to Headingley for the second test. Atherton played one of his best innings, grinding out 99, before being caught and bowled by Brian McMillan. Atherton said that his innings was the best answer he could have given to the 'gutter press'. He led England to a win in the third test at The Oval, thus tying the series, but failed a score a century.

After winning over South Africa, Atherton faced the supreme test of his leadership: an Ashes tour of Australia. His form stood well with 407 runs at 40.7, but he was unable to convert any of his five half-centuries into a hundred. Although England had a thrilling win at Adelaide, the team stumbled to a 1-3 loss.

The next two years followed a similar pattern, England appearing to improve with success against lower rated sides such as India and New Zealand, but struggling against the talent of Australia and Pakistan. The lack of true progress and the continuing effects of his back ailment contributed to Atherton's decision to resign after five years as captain.

However, Atherton continued to play test cricket for a further 4 years and finally retired at the end of the 2001 Ashes. Dogged by his chronic back condition, his batting never again reached earlier levels.

Some teammates say^{[citation needed]} that Atherton put up his finest performances when he was "against the wall", like his monumental 185* in 643 minutes against South Africa ^[3][4], and the onslaught from Allan Donald in 1998 ^[5][6] and that this prompted Steve Waugh to dub him "The Cockroach" (being very hard to stamp out)^[7]. However, the fact that Atherton was dismissed 19 times by Glenn McGrath, the Australian opening bowler (a record for any bowler against one batsman ^[8]) suggests that this was a side of Atherton that Waugh seldom saw first-hand. Atherton's record against Australia is modest; he averaged under thirty, with only one century in 33 tests ^[9].

Atherton has the dubious honour of having the lowest batting average of any player to have scored 6000 or more runs in Test cricket.

[edit] Post-playing career

Since his retirement from the game, Atherton has worked in the media. He was a journalist for The Sunday Telegraph and succeeded Christopher Martin-Jenkins as The Times cricket correspondent on 1 May 2008.^[10]

Between 2002 and 2005, he was a member of the Channel 4 commentary team for the coverage of Test cricket in England. During this period he also worked as a commentator for BBC Radio and Talksport on Test matches outside England. Atherton joined the Sky Sports commentary team in 2005, after they won the rights to live Test cricket in England. He commentates on all forms of the game, home and abroad, as well as covering some domestic matches.

In 2002 he released an autobiography, Opening Up. He has also written Gambling: A Story of Triumph and Disaster, released in 2006.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Player Profile: Mike Atherton from Cricinfo

Preceded by Graham Gooch

English national cricket captain 1993 - 1998

Succeeded by Alec Stewart

v • d • e Englishmen with 100 or more Test caps Alec Stewart 133 • Graham Gooch 118 • David Gower 117 • Mike Atherton 115 • Colin Cowdrey 114 • Geoffrey Boycott 108 • Ian Botham 102 • Graham Thorpe 100

v • d • e England squad - 1996 Cricket World Cup 1 Atherton (c) • 2 Cork • 3 DeFreitas • 4 Fairbrother • 5 Gough • 6 Hick • 7 Martin • 8 Illingworth • 9 Russell (wk) • 10 NMK Smith • 11 RA Smith • 12 Stewart • 13 Thorpe • 14 White

Persondata
NAME	Atherton, Mike
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Atherton, Michael Andrew
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	23 March 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH	Oldham, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH