Michael Kasprowicz
Encyclopedia
Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australia
n Test
cricket
er. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland
as a seventeen year old in the 1989–1990 domestic season. Kasprowicz was one of the top performing fast bowlers in Australian cricket over the past decade, and his solid performances for Queensland earned him a Test
debut against West Indies
in his native Brisbane in November 1996. However, he would go through his first two Test matches for Australia wicketless.
The start to his international career was patchy and resulted in his omission from the Australian team, but his performances for Queensland and various counties in England meant he stayed in the eyes of the national selectors. After being in and out of the side since his debut, Kasprowicz returned in 2004 to hold down a regular spot ahead of Brett Lee
. To highlight his return to the team, Kasprowicz enjoyed a successful 2004, capturing an impressive 47 Test wickets for the calendar year.
After the 2005 Ashes loss to England, Kasprowicz was dropped from the Australian team and his Cricket Australia contract was not extended. However, he had a successful 2005/06 domestic season with Queensland, taking 44 wickets. This effort earned him a tenth recall to the national side to replace Glenn McGrath as Brett Lee's new ball partner. McGrath had stayed home from the South Africa tour after his wife's recurrence of cancer.
Kasprowicz represents Mumbai Champs
in the Indian Cricket League
. Kasprowicz's name was not added to the list of national contract awardees announced by the ACB on 1 May 2007, and on 8 February 2008 he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket effective 16 February.
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 Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
cricket
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. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
as a seventeen year old in the 1989–1990 domestic season. Kasprowicz was one of the top performing fast bowlers in Australian cricket over the past decade, and his solid performances for Queensland earned him a Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in his native Brisbane in November 1996. However, he would go through his first two Test matches for Australia wicketless.
The start to his international career was patchy and resulted in his omission from the Australian team, but his performances for Queensland and various counties in England meant he stayed in the eyes of the national selectors. After being in and out of the side since his debut, Kasprowicz returned in 2004 to hold down a regular spot ahead of Brett Lee
Brett Lee
Brett Lee is an Australian cricketer.After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket...
. To highlight his return to the team, Kasprowicz enjoyed a successful 2004, capturing an impressive 47 Test wickets for the calendar year.
After the 2005 Ashes loss to England, Kasprowicz was dropped from the Australian team and his Cricket Australia contract was not extended. However, he had a successful 2005/06 domestic season with Queensland, taking 44 wickets. This effort earned him a tenth recall to the national side to replace Glenn McGrath as Brett Lee's new ball partner. McGrath had stayed home from the South Africa tour after his wife's recurrence of cancer.
Kasprowicz represents Mumbai Champs
Mumbai Champs
Mumbai Champs was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League . The team is based in Mumbai, India and its captain is former New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle.- Players :...
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...
. Kasprowicz's name was not added to the list of national contract awardees announced by the ACB on 1 May 2007, and on 8 February 2008 he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket effective 16 February.
Career highlights
Kasprowicz was known for his swing and relentless and hard-working approach, and was particularly known for his contributions in 2004 to Australia's success in the Indian subcontinent, where they had struggled in the past, especially with pace bowling. He was also called the "Subcontinent Specialist",for his unique ability to generate considerable amounts of pace from subdued tracks and in the process picking up regular wickets. Kasprowicz played in all the Tests on the tours of Sri Lanka and India, which were won 3–0 and 2–1. Australia had not won a Test series in India for 34 years until then, and their whitewash of Sri Lanka contrasted with their previous two tours there, which ended 1–0 and 0–1.Tests
- Kasprowicz's best Test batting score of 25 was made against IndiaIndian cricket teamThe Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, KolkataKolkataKolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, 1997–1998 - His best Test bowling figures of 7 for 36 came against EnglandEnglish cricket teamThe England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. 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...
, The OvalThe OvalThe Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, 1997
One-day internationals
- Kasprowicz's best ODI batting score of 28 not out was made against England, Lord's, 1997
- His best ODI bowling figures of 5 for 45 came against Sri LankaSri Lankan cricket teamThe Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
, ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, 2003–2004