Azeem Rafiq
Encyclopedia
Azeem Rafiq is an English cricket
er. A right arm off-spin bowler with a scholarship to Yorkshire, Azeem he current loan short-term signing of Derbyshire
season 2011. Azeem was also captain of the England Under-15s and Under-19s, and the first Yorkshire cricket player of an Asian background to captain any England cricket side at any level. His use of a successful doosra
delivery against Michael Vaughan
during a nets session at Headingley
drew attention of England bowling coach David Parsons, and ear marked Azeem as a possible future England bowler. Azeem was also the recipient of a Sport England award
in 2006.
, and played cricket for Barnsley Cricket Club. He was called up for the England Under-15s, which he captained, and currently plays for Yorkshire Cricket Club's academy team, where he was names as Junior Performer of the Year. At two One Day Internationals at Loughborough University
against Scotland
where England's spinners took 17 of the 20 wickets, Azeem took 1-5 and 2-14. Azeem has also had success as a right-handed batsman, scoring 59 against Barbados U16 again while captaining the England U15s. The team coach, John Wake, stated:
Of Azeem's England prospects, David Parsons remarked that "he's a decent bowler for a 16-year-old and is generally quite an orthodox bowler....there's no doubt he's an exciting prospect and a genuine all-rounder - not one of these bowlers seeking to improve his batting." As well as from Parsons, Azeem has received coaching and advice from Saqlain Mushtaq
, a former Pakistani
spin bowler.
On 7 July 2008, the proposed Twenty-20 match between Yorkshire and Durham was postponed due to Yorkshire fielding Azeem Rafiq during a Twenty-20 game against Nottinghamshire in the previous round. The controversy surrounded the registering of Azeem Rafiq, who wasn't registered with the ECB as a full-time player for Yorkshire. As a result the ECB excluded Yorkshire from the 2008 competition and awarded the match points to Nottinghamshire, which would have meant they went through to the quarter final to play Durham. However at an appeal with the ECB, heard on Monday 14 July 2008, Yorkshire were handed a reduced punishment. The result of the match stood, but Yorkshire's 2 points earned were deducted. This meant that neither Nottinghamshire nor Yorkshire went through, instead Glamorgan went through to the quarter finals.
Rafiq was a recipient of a Brian Johnston Memorial Trust
Scholarship to give young cricketers financial support, and was awarded the Yorkshire CCC Academy Player of the Year in 2008. Rafiq was captain for the England U-19 squad in the 2010 World Cup, but was dropped for the second England Under-19 Test against Sri Lanka for breaking mid-match curfews; he responded by publishing a strongly worded attack against coach John Abrahams
on his Twitter
account, deleting them once he realised they were made public. On 26 July 2010, he was given a one month ban from all cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board
.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. A right arm off-spin bowler with a scholarship to Yorkshire, Azeem he current loan short-term signing of Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
season 2011. Azeem was also captain of the England Under-15s and Under-19s, and the first Yorkshire cricket player of an Asian background to captain any England cricket side at any level. His use of a successful doosra
Doosra
A doosra is a particular type of delivery by an off-spin bowler in the sport of cricket, invented by Pakistani cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq. The term means " second ", or " other " in Urdu...
delivery against Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan
Michael Paul Vaughan OBE is a retired cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England. A classically elegant right-handed batsman and occasional off-spinner, Vaughan was ranked one of the best batsmen in the world following the 2002/3 Ashes, in which he scored 633 runs, including three centuries...
during a nets session at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
drew attention of England bowling coach David Parsons, and ear marked Azeem as a possible future England bowler. Azeem was also the recipient of a Sport England award
Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
in 2006.
Biography
Barnsley raised Azeem Rafiq attended Holgate School near his home of BarnsleyBarnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, and played cricket for Barnsley Cricket Club. He was called up for the England Under-15s, which he captained, and currently plays for Yorkshire Cricket Club's academy team, where he was names as Junior Performer of the Year. At two One Day Internationals at Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
against Scotland
Scottish cricket team
The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. They compete in the Clydesdale Bank 40 as the Scottish Saltires...
where England's spinners took 17 of the 20 wickets, Azeem took 1-5 and 2-14. Azeem has also had success as a right-handed batsman, scoring 59 against Barbados U16 again while captaining the England U15s. The team coach, John Wake, stated:
Of Azeem's England prospects, David Parsons remarked that "he's a decent bowler for a 16-year-old and is generally quite an orthodox bowler....there's no doubt he's an exciting prospect and a genuine all-rounder - not one of these bowlers seeking to improve his batting." As well as from Parsons, Azeem has received coaching and advice from Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricketer, regarded as one of the finest off spin bowlers of all time.He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", which he employed to great effect during his career...
, a former Pakistani
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
spin bowler.
Rafiq was a recipient of a Brian Johnston Memorial Trust
Brian Johnston
Brian Alexander Johnston CBE, MC was a cricket commentator and presenter for the BBC from 1946 until his death.-Early life and education:...
Scholarship to give young cricketers financial support, and was awarded the Yorkshire CCC Academy Player of the Year in 2008. Rafiq was captain for the England U-19 squad in the 2010 World Cup, but was dropped for the second England Under-19 Test against Sri Lanka for breaking mid-match curfews; he responded by publishing a strongly worded attack against coach John Abrahams
John Abrahams
John Abrahams was a left-handed batsman and right arm off break bowler. His brothers Basil and Peter Abrahams, and his late father Cec Abrahams, were also cricketers....
on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account, deleting them once he realised they were made public. On 26 July 2010, he was given a one month ban from all cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...
.