Graham Roy Dilley (born 18 May 1959 in Dartford,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
) is a former
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
er whose main role was as a fast bowler.
Early career
Graham was born and raised in
DartfordDartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, 16 miles east south-east of central London....
,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
and attended Dartford West Boys' School, prior to joining
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
for county cricket.
Dilley made an immediate impact in county cricket when he made his debut in the 1977 season. He was a surprise inclusion for the 1979/80 England touring team to Australia, making him the youngest cricketer to play for England in 30 years when he entered the field during the
PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
Test.
Dilley made his
first classFirst-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 virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for
KentKent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Kent. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires. Kit colours are dark blue with grey trim and gold facings...
at the age of 18 in 1977 against
Cambridge UniversityCambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the new Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence. Home fixtures are played at Fenner's....
, but did not take a wicket and had to wait until the next season for another chance. His next game, in June 1978, was against the touring
PakistanisThe Pakistan National Cricket Team is an international cricket team representing Pakistan. It is administrated by the Pakistan Cricket Board...
, but again he went wicketless. It was only in his third first-class match, against
MiddlesexMiddlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex...
, that he made his presence felt, taking seven wickets in the match to help his team to a
six-wicket winThe result in a game of cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with no result...
.
Dilley played two more first-class matches that season but took only one wicket, and perhaps more significant was his selection for England Young Cricketers against their West Indian counterparts for two of the three "Tests" and the single
one-dayLimited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
game. Real progress in
county cricketCounty cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2008 season, see County Cricket 2008.-First-class counties:...
, however, would have to wait for 1979, when Dilley played 31 senior games for Kent, including a useful effort of 4-41 in the
World CupThe 1979 Cricket World Cup was the second edition of the tournament and was won by the West Indies. It was held from June 9 to June 23, 1979 in England. The format had remained unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4...
warm-up match against the
New ZealandersThe New Zealand cricket team, also known as the Black Caps or BLACKCAPS, played their first Test in 1929–30 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth Test nation. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their...
. He finished with 49 first-class wickets at an
averageBowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowler divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. For fast bowlers in Test...
of 23.48 that season, and already his express pace was attracting attention.
England selection
The
EnglandThe England cricket team is the cricket team which represents England and Wales. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end of 1996.England and Australia were the first teams...
selectors, looking for a young fast bowler to take on that winter's tour of Australia, took the bold decision of including the 20-year-old Dilley in the squad, and he made his international debut in an ODI against
West IndiesThe West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of a dozen English-speaking Caribbean countries and British dependencies that form the British West Indies.From the mid 1970s to the early...
, played as part of the triangular tournament featuring those two teams and
AustraliaThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877 ....
themselves. A fortnight later Dilley appeared in his first
Test matchTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. It is generally considered the ultimate test of playing ability in the sport.The name "Test" may have arisen from the idea that the matches are a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved...
, and acquitted himself reasonably well, taking three wickets and scoring a handy unbeaten 38 in the first innings. The game is perhaps better remembered, however, for a chance occurrence on the second-innings scorecard, as follows:
D.K. LilleeDennis Keith Lillee, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
- c.
WilleyPeter Willey is a former English cricketer, who played as a right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler. In and out of the England team, he interrupted his international career for three years by taking part in the first of the England players' South African rebel tours in 1982...
,
bBowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
. Dilley 19.
On a more serious note, England lost the match by 138 runs, and although Dilley also played in the second Test, which was also lost, he was replaced by
John LeverJohn Kenneth Lever is an English former cricketer who played in 21 Tests and 22 ODIs from 1976 to 1986....
for the third and final game. The Australians triumphed in this match as well to win the
rubberRubber has several meanings including:*Natural rubber, a latex material, originally from the Para rubber tree*Latex, the sap from various plants, including the rubber tree, that is a major component in the production of natural rubber....
3-0, although
the AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of international cricket's most celebrated rivalries and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Since cricket is a summer game, the venues being in...
were not at stake and were retained by England on the basis of their 5-1 victory in the six-game series that had been played a year earlier.
In 1980, Dilley was overlooked for the first two Tests against West Indies, not helped by the rain that ruined Kent's game against the tourists a few days before the first Test, but was called up for the third game, at
Old TraffordOld Trafford Cricket Ground, usually referred to as Old Trafford, is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, although it was the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1856...
. Rain again intervened, as it was to do in the fourth and fifth Tests as well, and all were drawn, but Dilley's 11 wickets in the three innings he was able to make use of made sure of his place on the plane to face the same opponents in the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
that winter. England were outplayed in the Tests and lost the four-match series 2-0 (the
GuyanaGuyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean.Guyana was discovered in 1498 by the Europeans,Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won,...
Test having been cancelled over the
Robin JackmanRobin David Jackman is a former English cricketer who played in 4 Tests and 15 ODIs from 1974 to 1983. He was a seam bowler and useful tail-end batsman. During a first-class career lasting from 1966 to 1982, he took 1402 wickets...
affair) and both ODIs, but Dilley's ten wickets were enough for him to retain his place for the 1981 Ashes series.
Dilley began that series strongly, taking 12 wickets in the first two Tests and was thus retained for the third Test at
HeadingleyHeadingley 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 ....
. This game is best remembered for England's sensational victory after following on, and for the heroics of
Ian BothamSir Ian Terence Botham, OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator...
and
Bob WillisRobert George Dylan Willis, born Robert George Willis, known as Bob Willis is a former cricketer who played for Surrey, Warwickshire, Northern Transvaal and England. He adopted his second middle name "Dylan" by deed poll in honour of his idol Bob Dylan...
, but Dilley played his part as well, albeit in the unfamiliar role of batsman. At the crease with Botham, the two men put on 117 in just 80 minutes before Dilley was bowled by
Terry AldermanTerence Michael Alderman is a former Australian cricketer.He began his first-class career in 1974 with Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and came to international prominence when he was chosen for the Australian national team to tour England in 1981...
. He then held a fine boundary catch to dismiss
Rod MarshRodney William Marsh, MBE is a retired Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same as his pace bowling Western Australian...
. Despite his part in the win, however, Dilley did not play in the Fourth Test, nor in the two that followed, being replaced variously by
John EmbureyJohn Ernest Emburey is a former English cricketer who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England.-Playing career:...
,
Paul AllottPaul John Walter Allott is a former English cricketer who played county cricket for Lancashire, Minor Counties cricket for Staffordshire and first-class cricket in New Zealand for Wellington as well as 13 Test match appearances and 13 One Day International appearances for England...
and
Mike HendrickMichael Hendrick is a former English cricketer who played in 30 Tests and 22 ODIs from 1973 to 1981....
.
Injury and recovery
Despite being in and out of the side for the next couple of years, Dilley's future as a Test player seemed reasonably bright by 1983 as he played a full part in England's
World CupThe Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years....
campaign. Following the tournament, a dreadful neck injury forced him out of the game altogether for a full year, and though he returned to county cricket in 1985 there was some doubt as to his long-term prospects. A decent performance that winter for Natal (16 wickets at a shade under 20 apiece) helped in his rehabilitation, and by 1986 Dilley was once again a bowler to be feared, taking 63 first-class wickets and winning a recall to the England side.
Between 1986 and 1988 Dilley took 83 Test wickets at an average of 26.43, and was generally regarded as England's foremost strike bowler. Perhaps his most significant success came in 1986/87 when he took 5-68 in the first innings of the first Test at Brisbane to help his team to a victory that set them on their way to Ashes glory, and when he took 20 wickets at 15.85 in ODIs. In the drawn series against New Zealand the following winter he produced his career-best bowling figures, ripping through the Kiwi line-up with 6-38 (including the first five wickets to fall) at
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area. It is one third the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch.The city was named by...
. He was almost unplayable at times in this series and finished with 15 wickets at an average of just 14.
Bowling Style
During the 80s Dilley was widely regarded as the fastest bowler
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
had ever produced. Once in rhythm he could be almost unplayable at times. His bowling style often fascinated many, with his unusual
run-upRun-up, also runup, may be:*Run-up , type of movement made by a bowler*Run-up , aircraft verification procedure performed just prior to take-off*The maximum height on land reached by a tsunami as it encounters the shore...
a constant topic of discussion in the cricketing world. It's also believed that he tried to adopt the
Jeff ThomsonJeffrey Robert Thomson is a former Australian cricketer. Known as "Thommo", he was one of the fastest bowlers ever to play Test cricket and was the opening partner of fellow fast bowler Dennis Lillee; their combination was one of the most fearsome in Test cricket history...
bowling style and later Dilley's style was used by Chris Cairns in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
.
First Test
Dilley made Test debut on 14 December, 1979 during the
WACAThe WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
Test in
PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
against
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. English captain
Mike BrearleyJohn Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4...
showed great confidence in Dilley and gave him the new ball to start not only the Australian inning but the whole
AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of international cricket's most celebrated rivalries and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Since cricket is a summer game, the venues being in...
Series as well. Dilley did well during his initial bowling spell but had to wait until Australia lost their 5th wicket on 127 runs to claim his first ever Test Wicket. The batsman was
Peter TooheyPeter Michael Toohey is a former Australian cricketer who played in 15 Tests and 5 ODIs from 1977 to 1979....
whose individual score was 19 when he was caught by
Derek UnderwoodDerek Leslie Underwood MBE, known as Deadly, is a former English international cricketer and the present President of the Marylebone Cricket Club....
.
Dilley then claimed his second wicket when
Rod MarshRodney William Marsh, MBE is a retired Australian wicketkeeper.A colourful character, Marsh had a Test career spanning from the 1970–71 to the 1983–84 Australian season. In 96 Tests, he set a world record of 355 wicketkeeping dismissals, the same as his pace bowling Western Australian...
was caught behind by the wicket keeper
Bob TaylorRobert William Taylor was a cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire between 1961 and 1984 and for England between 1971 and 1984....
. Marsh had scored 42 runs and Australia were 7 down for 219 runs at that point. Australia were later all out for 244 and Dilley took figures of 18-1-47-2 with an economy rate of 2.61 in his first international appearance. However his debut bowling performance was over-shadowed by Ian Botham taking 6 for 78.
244 wasn't considered a good score for Australia but England didn't do well in return and they were all out for 228 giving a lead of 16 runs to Australia. Dilley scored unbeaten 38 and stayed at the wicket for 206 minutes, facing 57 balls. His 38 was the second highest score in the innings after captain
Mike BrearleyJohn Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4...
who scored 64 runs before losing his wicket to
Dennis LilleeDennis Keith Lillee, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
. Dilley's performance as left-handed batsman got him a lots of praise in the English and Australian newspapers as the media and public immediately started to recognize him as the next big all rounder in the English team.
Dilley again took the new ball in Australia's second innings but couldn't get a wicket until Dennis Lillee gave a catch to
Peter WilleyPeter Willey is a former English cricketer, who played as a right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler. In and out of the England team, he interrupted his international career for three years by taking part in the first of the England players' South African rebel tours in 1982...
at gully. Lillee scored 19 runs and Australia managed 337 runs altogether, giving a target of 354 runs for England to win.
England struggled in their battle to save the Test and it was only Geoff Boycott who showed some resistance with an unbeaten 99. Dilley made a partnership of 19 runs with Boycott for 8th wicket. It was interesting to note that Dilley couldn't stop himself from playing aggressive shots and he scored 16 runs from that 19 run partnership.
England were all out for 215 runs and Australia won the WACA Test by 138 runs on the 5th day of match. However, Dilley was able to make notable headlines in the newspapers and his fearsome bowling speed was talk of the town for the whole week. He went above 90 miles/hour during several occasions and was quickly recognized as the next speed gun.
First ODI Match
Dilley played his first One Day International match on the 24th of November, 1979 against West Indies at the
Sydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney. It is used for Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches, and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League...
during the 1979/80 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup. The match was won by
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by just 2 runs after a dramatic fight between the two teams.
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
scored 211 runs in 50 overs and Dilley was last man to go, off the last ball. He scored 1 run off 2 balls before getting run out.
Dilley was given the new ball to start with and he struck in his 3rd over when he claimed the wicket of
Desmond HaynesDesmond Leo Haynes is a West Indian cricketer and cricket coach. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991. Haynes formed a formidable partnership with Gordon Greenidge for the West Indies cricket teamin Test cricket during 1980s. Between them they managed 16 century stands, four in excess of...
. Haynes struggled against Dilley from the first over and was able to score just 4 runs off 24 balls. Dilley bowled his off stump and celebrated his first ever ODI wicket.
Rain forced the match to have a revised target and the West Indies needed to score 198 runs in 47 overs to win the match. They fell 2 runs short and lost the match in end by losing all wickets.
Ian BothamSir Ian Terence Botham, OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator...
bowled the last over and dismissed
Colin CroftColin Everton Hunte Croft is a former West Indian cricketer. He provides expert analysis on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Test Match Special.-Cricket career:...
by bowling his middle stump.
Dilley finished with an impressive performance of 6-2-21-1 with an economy rate of 3.50 runs per over.
Peter WilleyPeter Willey is a former English cricketer, who played as a right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler. In and out of the England team, he interrupted his international career for three years by taking part in the first of the England players' South African rebel tours in 1982...
was named man of the match for an innings of 58.
Later career and retirement
For the 1987 season, Dilley had moved to
WorcestershireWorcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
, and though a rather sudden move it proved a shrewd one as his new county were about to begin the most successful period in their history, winning four trophies in the next three years. Despite further injury problems, he proved a vital cog in the wheel as Worcestershire won the 1987 and 1988
County ChampionshipThe County Championship is the domestic first class cricket competition in England and Wales. All but one of the teams are named after, and were originally representatives of, historic English counties, the exception being Glamorgan, which is a Welsh county.-History:The official County Championship...
s; it was during this period that he wrote, with team-mate
Graeme HickGraeme Ashley Hick MBE is a Zimbabwean-born cricketer who played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for England. He played county cricket for Worcestershire for his entire English domestic career, a period of well over twenty years, and in 2008 he surpassed Graham Gooch's record for...
, an account of one of the title-winning seasons, somewhat painfully entitled
Hick'n'Dilley Circus.
Dilley's Test career was beginning to wind down by this time with the strains on his body beginning to tell. His final match for England was at
EdgbastonEdgbaston Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. It is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and is also used for Test matches and One Day Internationals.-Ground:...
in the one-sided 1989 Ashes series. He made certain that he would not be picked again by accompanying
Mike GattingMichael William Gatting OBE , is a former English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club . He also played for the English cricket team from 1977 to 1995, captaining it in 23 Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
on the
South African rebel toursThe South African rebel tours were a series of seven cricket tours staged between 1982 and 1990. They were known as the rebel tours because South Africa was throughout this period banned from international cricket due to the apartheid regime...
that winter, though he continued to play for his county for a couple more years. Dilley appeared in three of Worcestershire's matches in April 1992, but by then it was becoming increasingly obvious that his body was no longer up to the demands of professional cricket and, despite a couple of appearances in the Second XI in the summer, he called it a day at the end of the season.
Dilley was short of money in his early retirement, in part because his move from Kent to Worcestershire had cost him the chance of a
benefit seasonA benefit season is a method of financially rewarding professional cricketers that is used by English county cricket teams to compensate long serving players....
, but after a while he found employment again as a coach, first to the England women's team and then accompanying the men's side on the tour to India in 2001/02. He has also worked in a coaching capacity for
ZimbabweThe Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket ....
and
ScotlandThe Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. When they play in the English one-day Friends Provident Trophy, they compete as the Scottish Saltires...
, and for several county sides, as well as his current position as Head Coach to Loughborough UCCE.
English county
- Kent
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Kent. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires. Kit colours are dark blue with grey trim and gold facings...
- Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
Tests
- Test debut: vs Australia
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877 ....
, PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
, 1979/80
- Last Test: vs Australia, Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, 1989
- Highest score: 56 vs Australia, Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
, 1981
- Best bowling: 6-38 vs New Zealand
The New Zealand cricket team, also known as the Black Caps or BLACKCAPS, played their first Test in 1929–30 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth Test nation. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. They played their...
, ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area. It is one third the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch.The city was named by...
, 1987/88
One Day International
- ODI debut: vs West Indies
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of a dozen English-speaking Caribbean countries and British dependencies that form the British West Indies.From the mid 1970s to the early...
, SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, 1979/80
- Last ODI: vs West Indies, Leeds, 1988
- Highest score: 31* vs New Zealand, The Oval
The Brit Insurance Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, London. In the past it was also sometimes called the 'Kennington Oval'...
, 1983
- Best bowling: 4-23 vs West Indies, Brisbane
Brisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, 1986/87
First-class
- First-class debut: Kent
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the county of Kent. The club's limited overs team is called the Kent Spitfires. Kit colours are dark blue with grey trim and gold facings...
vs Cambridge UniversityCambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the new Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence. Home fixtures are played at Fenner's....
, CanterburyCanterbury lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, 1977
- Last first-class match: Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
vs NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire...
, WorcesterWorcester is a city and county town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, 29 miles north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people...
, 1992
- Highest score: 81 for Kent vs Northamptonshire, Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. It is about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, and lies on the River Nene...
, 1979
- Best bowling: 7-63 for Natal vs Transvaal
The Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. Originally the bulk of the independent Boer South African Republic, after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 it became the Transvaal Colony, and one of the founding provinces of the Union of South Africa, with its regional capital in...
, JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi or Jo'burg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, 1985/86
List A Limited Overs
- List A debut: Kent vs Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Brown Caps...
, The OvalThe Brit Insurance Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, London. In the past it was also sometimes called the 'Kennington Oval'...
, 1978
- Last List A match: Worcestershire vs Derbyshire
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. Its limited overs team is called the Derbyshire Phantoms , although this will change to the Derbyshire Falcons for the...
, Worcester, 1992
- Highest score: 37* for Kent vs Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Hampshire. Its limited overs team is called the Hampshire Hawks...
, CanterburyCanterbury lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, 1983
- Best bowling: 5-29 (twice):
- for Kent vs Scotland
The Scotland national cricket team represents Scotland in the game of cricket. When they play in the English one-day Friends Provident Trophy, they compete as the Scottish Saltires...
, EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
, 1986
- for Worcestershire vs Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex...
, Lord's, 1988 (NatWest Trophy final)
Personal life
Graham Dilley is the father of Worcester Rugby star
Chris PennellChris Pennell is an English rugby union player. He currently plays for Worcester Warriors in the Guinness Premiership. He plays as a fullback....