Alec Stewart
Encyclopedia
Alec James Stewart OBE
(born 8 April 1963) is a retired English
cricket
er, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team. He is the most capped
English cricketer of all time in Test matches
and 2nd most capped in One Day Internationals, having played in 133 Tests and 170 ODIs.
, Stewart was educated at Tiffin School in Kingston upon Thames
. He made his début for Surrey
in 1981, earning a reputation as an aggressive opening batsman and occasional wicketkeeper. He made his England début in the first Test of the 1989/90 tour of the West Indies
, along with Nasser Hussain
, who would eventually replace him as England captain.
At the start of his career, Stewart was a specialist opening batsman for England, with wicketkeeping duties being retained by Jack Russell
, who was generally recognised as the superior gloveman and who batted down the order. However, Russell, the inferior batsman, would often be dropped to improve the balance of the side (i.e. to accommodate an extra bowler or batsman), in which case Stewart would don the gloves. After enduring years of selection and deselection, Russell retired from international cricket in 1998, leaving Stewart unrivalled as England's keeper-batsman until his own retirement in 2003.
His highest Test score, 190, was against Pakistan
in the drawn first Edgbaston
Test on 4 June 1992; it was his fourth century in five Tests. In 1994 at the Kensington Oval
he became only the seventh Englishman to score centuries in both innings of a Test match, scoring 118 and 143 as the West Indies were beaten at their Bridgetown
"fortress" for the first time since 1935.
Stewart was groomed for the England captaincy under Graham Gooch
, deputising for him in four tests in India and Sri Lanka in 1993, but when Gooch retired from the captaincy later that year Michael Atherton was chosen to succeed him.
Always more of an establishment figure than any sort of rebel, it was no surprise when Stewart was asked to captain England in 1998 when Mike Atherton resigned. By this time, however, Stewart was 35 and even though his fitness record was impeccable - most players do not continue beyond 37. As it was Stewart went on to play for England beyond his 40th birthday - but as events were to transpire - his captaincy of England barely lasted 12 months.
In his first series as captain, against South Africa
, Stewart scored an outstanding 164 in the third Test at Old Trafford
to salvage a draw, a result which eventually enabled England to overturn a 1–0 deficit to win the series 2–1. Nonetheless, failures against Australia
and in the 1999 cricket World Cup
saw him sacked from the captaincy to be replaced by Hussain. During his captaincy, he had the unusual distinction of simultaneously captaining the side, opening the batting and keeping wicket. He continued to deputise occasionally as captain of England's one-day side, and became the second international captain to concede a match in 2001, after a pitch invasion during a One Day International against Pakistan rendered the continuation of play impossible. He continued as an England player for five more seasons, and became only the fourth player to score a century in his 100th Test, scoring 105 against the West Indies at Old Trafford
in 2000.
Stewart's batting average (39.54) is the lowest of any player to have scored 8000 or more runs in Test cricket: he is the only player to have scored over 8000 runs despite an average of under 40. However, this still represents a fine return given he had the burden of keeping wicket in 82 of his 133 Test matches. As a specialist batsman in Test cricket, Stewart averaged an impressive 46.90 in 51 games with 9 centuries. Since World War II
, only Len Hutton
, Geoff Boycott and Dennis Amiss
have bettered Stewart's average of 46 as a specialist opening batsman. As wicketkeeper-batsman he averaged 34.92 from 82 tests, higher than many of his contemporaries and many of the current batch of international wicketkeepers. He was unlucky enough to be on the losing side in a record 54 Test Matches.
Alec Stewart was probably the best example of England's "unique" selectorial policies throughout his international career. He was a superb player of fast bowling - probably the best in the country - but was nowhere near as fluent against spin - particularly early on in an innings. As a keeper, he was very good but there were better glovemen around during his time - notably Jack Russell, Steve Rhodes and Chris Read. Therefore it was no surprise that in the early 1990s England used him correctly as an opening batsman who did not keep wicket. When England were short of runs from their wicket keeper, the selectors gave the gloves to Stewart and shoved him down the order to number 6 - a policy that often backfired as Stewart was forced to start an innings against spin. Against top class spinners like Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill he struggled - not scoring a century against Australia until his 5th Ashes campaign. Had England left Stewart opening the batting (a position Stewart himself expressed a preference for - though at the same time said he would bat anywhere for England) and played a specialist wicket keeper who could bat at 7 - England may have fared better. The continual movement of Stewart up and down the order keeping and not keeping arguably did not allow Englnad to reap full reward from Stewart's proven ability against fast bowling. Garry Sobers once said that "Alec Stewart is your best player against real quicks because he is the only one who gets back and across" ("Captain Calypso", BBC TV, May 1994)
Stewart is a well-known supporter of Surrey County Cricket Club
and Chelsea F.C.
When shirt numbers were introduced for One Day International cricket, Stewart chose the number 4 shirt in honour of his favourite Chelsea player when growing up, John Hollins
, and kept that shirt number throughout his career.
, Ian Bell, Ashley Giles
and Matt Prior.
In 2009, Stewart rejoined Surrey as a part time consultant to the coaching staff specialising in batting, wicket keeping and mentoring.
Since retiring from playing Stewart has taken on the role as the Club Ambassador for Surrey CCC
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 8 April 1963) is a retired English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team. He is the most capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
English cricketer of all time in Test matches
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...
and 2nd most capped in One Day Internationals, having played in 133 Tests and 170 ODIs.
Career
The younger son of former English Test cricketer Micky StewartMicky Stewart
Michael James Stewart OBE is an English former cricketer, coach and administrator. He was awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to cricket....
, Stewart was educated at Tiffin School in Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
. He made his début for Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
in 1981, earning a reputation as an aggressive opening batsman and occasional wicketkeeper. He made his England début in the first Test of the 1989/90 tour of the 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,...
, along with Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain OBE is a former Essex and England cricketer.Beginning his career in a strong Essex side in the late 1980s, he was an outstanding fielder and a stylish but inconsistent batsman. In first-class cricket from 1987 to 2004 Hussain scored 20,698 runs in 334 matches at an average of 42.06,...
, who would eventually replace him as England captain.
At the start of his career, Stewart was a specialist opening batsman for England, with wicketkeeping duties being retained by Jack Russell
Jack Russell (cricketer and artist)
Robert Charles "Jack" Russell MBE is a retired English international cricketer, now known for his abilities as an artist, as a cricket wicketkeeping coach and football goalkeeping coach.-Biography:...
, who was generally recognised as the superior gloveman and who batted down the order. However, Russell, the inferior batsman, would often be dropped to improve the balance of the side (i.e. to accommodate an extra bowler or batsman), in which case Stewart would don the gloves. After enduring years of selection and deselection, Russell retired from international cricket in 1998, leaving Stewart unrivalled as England's keeper-batsman until his own retirement in 2003.
His highest Test score, 190, was against Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in the drawn first Edgbaston
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
Test on 4 June 1992; it was his fourth century in five Tests. In 1994 at the Kensington Oval
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
he became only the seventh Englishman to score centuries in both innings of a Test match, scoring 118 and 143 as the West Indies were beaten at their Bridgetown
Kensington Oval
The Kensington Oval is located to the west of the capital-city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. "The Oval" is one of the major sporting facilities on the island and is primarily used for cricket...
"fortress" for the first time since 1935.
Stewart was groomed for the England captaincy under Graham Gooch
Graham Gooch
Graham Alan Gooch OBE DL is a former cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, he became the most prolific run scorer of all time with 67,057 runs...
, deputising for him in four tests in India and Sri Lanka in 1993, but when Gooch retired from the captaincy later that year Michael Atherton was chosen to succeed him.
Always more of an establishment figure than any sort of rebel, it was no surprise when Stewart was asked to captain England in 1998 when Mike Atherton resigned. By this time, however, Stewart was 35 and even though his fitness record was impeccable - most players do not continue beyond 37. As it was Stewart went on to play for England beyond his 40th birthday - but as events were to transpire - his captaincy of England barely lasted 12 months.
In his first series as captain, against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, Stewart scored an outstanding 164 in the third Test at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
to salvage a draw, a result which eventually enabled England to overturn a 1–0 deficit to win the series 2–1. Nonetheless, failures against 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...
and in the 1999 cricket World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
saw him sacked from the captaincy to be replaced by Hussain. During his captaincy, he had the unusual distinction of simultaneously captaining the side, opening the batting and keeping wicket. He continued to deputise occasionally as captain of England's one-day side, and became the second international captain to concede a match in 2001, after a pitch invasion during a One Day International against Pakistan rendered the continuation of play impossible. He continued as an England player for five more seasons, and became only the fourth player to score a century in his 100th Test, scoring 105 against the West Indies at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
in 2000.
Stewart's batting average (39.54) is the lowest of any player to have scored 8000 or more runs in Test cricket: he is the only player to have scored over 8000 runs despite an average of under 40. However, this still represents a fine return given he had the burden of keeping wicket in 82 of his 133 Test matches. As a specialist batsman in Test cricket, Stewart averaged an impressive 46.90 in 51 games with 9 centuries. Since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, only Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
, Geoff Boycott and Dennis Amiss
Dennis Amiss
Dennis Leslie Amiss MBE was an English cricketer and cricket administrator.Amiss suffered a serious back injury whilst playing soccer in his teenage years, which entailed him starting each day of his sporting life undergoing stretching routines to loosen up.He played cricket for both Warwickshire...
have bettered Stewart's average of 46 as a specialist opening batsman. As wicketkeeper-batsman he averaged 34.92 from 82 tests, higher than many of his contemporaries and many of the current batch of international wicketkeepers. He was unlucky enough to be on the losing side in a record 54 Test Matches.
Alec Stewart was probably the best example of England's "unique" selectorial policies throughout his international career. He was a superb player of fast bowling - probably the best in the country - but was nowhere near as fluent against spin - particularly early on in an innings. As a keeper, he was very good but there were better glovemen around during his time - notably Jack Russell, Steve Rhodes and Chris Read. Therefore it was no surprise that in the early 1990s England used him correctly as an opening batsman who did not keep wicket. When England were short of runs from their wicket keeper, the selectors gave the gloves to Stewart and shoved him down the order to number 6 - a policy that often backfired as Stewart was forced to start an innings against spin. Against top class spinners like Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill he struggled - not scoring a century against Australia until his 5th Ashes campaign. Had England left Stewart opening the batting (a position Stewart himself expressed a preference for - though at the same time said he would bat anywhere for England) and played a specialist wicket keeper who could bat at 7 - England may have fared better. The continual movement of Stewart up and down the order keeping and not keeping arguably did not allow Englnad to reap full reward from Stewart's proven ability against fast bowling. Garry Sobers once said that "Alec Stewart is your best player against real quicks because he is the only one who gets back and across" ("Captain Calypso", BBC TV, May 1994)
Stewart is a well-known supporter of Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
and Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
When shirt numbers were introduced for One Day International cricket, Stewart chose the number 4 shirt in honour of his favourite Chelsea player when growing up, John Hollins
John Hollins
John William Hollins MBE is a retired English footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective centre back.Hollins' son, Chris Hollins is the main sport presenter on BBC Breakfast....
, and kept that shirt number throughout his career.
Post-playing career
In 2004, Stewart became a founding director of Arundel Promotions with specific responsibility for player management and representation. Cricket playing clients include Paul CollingwoodPaul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
, Ian Bell, Ashley Giles
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club where he is now employed as Director of Cricket...
and Matt Prior.
In 2009, Stewart rejoined Surrey as a part time consultant to the coaching staff specialising in batting, wicket keeping and mentoring.
Since retiring from playing Stewart has taken on the role as the Club Ambassador for Surrey CCC
Honours
- WisdenWisdenThe Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
Cricketer of the Year 1993 - Awarded the MBE on 13 June 1998
- Awarded the OBE on 14 June 2003
- Highest Test run scorer in the world during the 1990s
- As a mark of his achievements Surrey CCC have named the gates at the Vauxhall End after him: the Alec Stewart Gates
External links
- Alec Stewart's Greatest One-Day XI
- Alec Stewart at Cricket Archive
| Alec Stewart at the Cricket 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... |
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