Michael Bevan
Encyclopedia
Michael Gwyl Bevan is a former Australia
n left-handed cricket batsman and a slow left arm chinaman bowler. He played 232 ODI matches for Australia, and was a part of the 1999 and 2003 teams that won the World Cup
. He was known as a "finisher" for Australia, particularly in ODIs, often leading the team to victory in the company of tail-enders.
He holds the world record One Day International batting average for retired players of 53.58. In List A cricket as a whole, Bevan has an average of over 58, the highest of any player to have scored 10,000 runs in List A games (second is Dean Jones
, on 46.93).
Although Bevan played most of his domestic career for the New South Wales Blues
, he moved to the Tasmanian Tigers
for the 2004–05 season, where he continued his successes up until his retirement in January 2007. He has also played for South Australia
and in England for Yorkshire
, Leicestershire
and Sussex
.
and by the 1995–96 season he became a regular in the side.
Bevan is one of only two players with 30 ODI innings or more to maintain a batting average above 50. Critics have claimed this was an inflated average due to a high level of not outs (67 in 232 ODI's), a result of batting in the lower-middle order. However, Bevan's best performance was as a number four. Of the players to have played 30 or more ODI innings, he is one of only three (with Kevin Pietersen
and Michael Hussey
) whose batting average never dropped below 40. This, coupled with the high price he put on his wicket, resulted in many not-out innings.
Nonetheless, he proved a reliable anchor at the bottom of the middle order, and he would often patiently guide Australia to victory following a rare top-order collapse – leading to him being nicknamed "The Finisher". One of his most famous "anchor" innings was in the New Years Day One Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground
against the West Indies in 1996. With the Australians at one stage 6/38 chasing 173, his unbeaten 150-minute 78 got the Australians over the line with a four on the last ball of the innings. By the end of his ODI career, Bevan was known as the "Pyjama Picasso".
, where Australia lost the final to Sri Lanka, and the victorious 1999 Cricket World Cup
side.
Bevan entered the 2003 World Cup injured. He played his first game in the group stage against India. He didn't bat until the fifth group game against Namibia
and he registered a rusty 17 before being caught and bowled by Louis Burger
. In the final group game against England, he came in with Australia struggling at 48–4. He then was joined by Andy Bichel
at 135–8 with 70 runs still required to win. Bevan finished on 74 not out and Bichel 34 not out as Australia managed to win in the final over. An unbeaten group stage was followed by an unbeaten Super Six stage. He made 56 against New Zealand helping Australia recover from 84–7 again batting with Bichel to help Australia win. His last knock was an unfortunate golden duck in the semi-final against Sri Lanka and he was not required to bat in the final which Australia won.
during this time averaging almost 60 with the bat. He performed well during his limited time as a bowler in Test matches, with his bowling style of unorthodox left-arm chinaman spin, including taking ten wickets in a Test match against the West Indies touring side in 1996.
The major teams he has played for are: South Australia
, New South Wales
, Yorkshire
, Sussex
, Leicestershire
and of course Australia
. He finished his career playing for Tasmania
, where in the 2004/05 season, he scored a Sheffield Shield record for number of runs scored in a season. Despite this form, he was dismissed for Australian selection due to his age.
in the Indian Cricket League
, Bevan now participates in the Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series
for Australia. On January, 2011, Bevan was announced the coach for Indian Premier League
team Kings XI Punjab
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n left-handed cricket batsman and a slow left arm chinaman bowler. He played 232 ODI matches for Australia, and was a part of the 1999 and 2003 teams that won the World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC 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...
. He was known as a "finisher" for Australia, particularly in ODIs, often leading the team to victory in the company of tail-enders.
He holds the world record One Day International batting average for retired players of 53.58. In List A cricket as a whole, Bevan has an average of over 58, the highest of any player to have scored 10,000 runs in List A games (second is Dean Jones
Dean Jones (cricketer)
Dean Mervyn Jones AM is a retired Australian cricketer, and is presently a coach. He also worked as a media commentator.-Career:...
, on 46.93).
Although Bevan played most of his domestic career for the New South Wales Blues
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, he moved to the Tasmanian Tigers
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
for the 2004–05 season, where he continued his successes up until his retirement in January 2007. He has also played for South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
and in England for Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
and Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
.
ODI career
Bevan made his One Day International debut for Australia in the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup at SharjahSharjah Cricket Association Stadium
The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium is in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It was originally constructed in the early 1980s and has been much improved over the years...
and by the 1995–96 season he became a regular in the side.
Bevan is one of only two players with 30 ODI innings or more to maintain a batting average above 50. Critics have claimed this was an inflated average due to a high level of not outs (67 in 232 ODI's), a result of batting in the lower-middle order. However, Bevan's best performance was as a number four. Of the players to have played 30 or more ODI innings, he is one of only three (with Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
and Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective...
) whose batting average never dropped below 40. This, coupled with the high price he put on his wicket, resulted in many not-out innings.
Nonetheless, he proved a reliable anchor at the bottom of the middle order, and he would often patiently guide Australia to victory following a rare top-order collapse – leading to him being nicknamed "The Finisher". One of his most famous "anchor" innings was in the New Years Day One Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, 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...
against the West Indies in 1996. With the Australians at one stage 6/38 chasing 173, his unbeaten 150-minute 78 got the Australians over the line with a four on the last ball of the innings. By the end of his ODI career, Bevan was known as the "Pyjama Picasso".
2003 Cricket World Cup
Bevan previously appeared for Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
, where Australia lost the final to Sri Lanka, and the victorious 1999 Cricket World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
side.
Bevan entered the 2003 World Cup injured. He played his first game in the group stage against India. He didn't bat until the fifth group game against Namibia
Namibia national cricket team
The Namibia cricket team is the team that represents the country of Namibia in international cricket matches. It is governed by Cricket Namibia, an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1992 and became part of the High Performance Program in 2007. They took part in the 2003...
and he registered a rusty 17 before being caught and bowled by Louis Burger
Louis Burger
Louis Jacobus Burger is a Namibian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler....
. In the final group game against England, he came in with Australia struggling at 48–4. He then was joined by Andy Bichel
Andy Bichel
Andrew John Bichel is a retired Australian cricket player and was the bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2009 Indian Premier League....
at 135–8 with 70 runs still required to win. Bevan finished on 74 not out and Bichel 34 not out as Australia managed to win in the final over. An unbeaten group stage was followed by an unbeaten Super Six stage. He made 56 against New Zealand helping Australia recover from 84–7 again batting with Bichel to help Australia win. His last knock was an unfortunate golden duck in the semi-final against Sri Lanka and he was not required to bat in the final which Australia won.
Test career
Despite his ODI success, Bevan's Test career was not nearly as successful. Thought to be susceptible to short-pitched deliveries, he never really succeeded in the longer form of the game, with an average of only 29. It must be noted that his problems with short pitched bowling are more myth than reality – he continued to perform consistently in ODIs, despite a rule change which allowed short pitch bowling in ODIs. He also scored heavily in domestic first-class cricket for New South WalesNew South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
during this time averaging almost 60 with the bat. He performed well during his limited time as a bowler in Test matches, with his bowling style of unorthodox left-arm chinaman spin, including taking ten wickets in a Test match against the West Indies touring side in 1996.
The major teams he has played for are: South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
, New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
and of course Australia
Australian cricket team
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...
. He finished his career playing for Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
, where in the 2004/05 season, he scored a Sheffield Shield record for number of runs scored in a season. Despite this form, he was dismissed for Australian selection due to his age.
Retirement
On 17 January 2007, due to injuries Bevan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. "It got to the stage where injuries and pain were holding back my motivation, and it got to the stage where I was finding it hard to get up for matches and that was probably a pretty clear indication that it was time to move on," Bevan said. Apart from coaching the Chennai SuperstarsChennai Superstars
Chennai Superstars was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League founded in 2007. The team is based in Chennai, coached by Michael Bevan and captained by Stuart Law, both reputed Australian cricketers....
in the Indian Cricket League
Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...
, Bevan now participates in the Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series
Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series
The XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series is a beach cricket competition created and sponsored by Australian beer brand XXXX. It was launched on 27 September 2006, and the event coincided with the 2006-07 Ashes series being played in Australia with the first series being played in January...
for Australia. On January, 2011, Bevan was announced the coach for Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
team Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab is a cricket franchise based in Mohali, Punjab in the Indian Premier League. For the IPL3, an additional venue has been chosen at Dharamsala.-Franchise History:...
.
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