Graeme Fowler
Encyclopedia
Graeme "Foxy" Fowler is a former English professional cricket
er, who played for Lancashire
, England
, and later for Durham
. He appeared in twenty one Test matches
and twenty six ODIs for England, averaging 35.32 in his Test batting career.
The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted "a risk-taking left-hander, Fowler rarely bored anyone with his batting".
, Fowler made his debut in first-class cricket
in 1979. He usually opened the batting for both county and country, and his most successful opening partnership was with Gehan Mendis
between 1986 and 1993.
He made his Test
debut in 1982, when sixteen England players were banned for three years for participating in the rebel tour of South Africa during the apartheid era. His highest Test score was 201, made in a nine-hour innings
in Madras
(now Chennai); this was the first double century
by an English cricketer in India. Mike Gatting
also scored a double century in the same innings: this was the first time that two English batsmen had made double centuries in the same Test innings.
However, he lost his place in the England team when the rebel tourists were reinstated, and he had neck trouble. He was not re-selected in Tests for the remainder of his career.
Against New Zealand
at The Oval
in 1983, Fowler scored his first Test hundred (105 off 303 balls), as Chris Tavare
and he became the first England openers to score a century in the same Test innings for twenty three years. His second Test century came against the West Indies at Lord's
in 1984.
Fowler's highest One Day International score of 81 not out against Pakistan came during the 1983 World Cup
, in which he scored four consecutive half-centuries to help England to the semi-finals, averaging 72.00 for the tournament. These would be the only occasions that Fowler passed fifty in ODIs.
Against Leicestershire
in the same year he scored ten sixes in successive shots, and five fours to make a century, although Leicestershire were employing non-specialist bowlers.
He is the only batsman to score two complete hundreds in a match with the aid of a runner. Playing for Lancashire at Southport
in 1982, he strained his thigh while fielding on the first day during Warwickshire's
innings of 523–4 declared, but batted without a runner to score 26 not out at stumps. He then scored exactly 100 before lunch on the second day with David Lloyd
as his runner. In the second innings, Ian Folley
ran for him (and acknowledged the crowd's applause for the century) when 'Foxy' scored 128 not out on the third day. In 1987, Fowler scored an unbeaten century in a Sunday League
match against Somerset
, despite an injury which forced him to bat with a runner.
In 1992, Fowler suffered amongst others as Lancashire had a widescale clear-out of its playing staff.
. Since 1987, he has been a cricket broadcaster, sometimes with Test Match Special
, and also holds the post of Senior Cricket Coach at Durham University
.
, Fowler was a constant smoker.
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, who played for Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
, England
English cricket team
The 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...
, and later for Durham
Durham County Cricket Club
Durham 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 Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...
. He appeared in twenty one 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 twenty six ODIs for England, averaging 35.32 in his Test batting career.
The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted "a risk-taking left-hander, Fowler rarely bored anyone with his batting".
Lancashire and England career
Educated at Accrington Grammar School and Durham UniversityDurham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, Fowler made his debut in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
in 1979. He usually opened the batting for both county and country, and his most successful opening partnership was with Gehan Mendis
Gehan Mendis
Gehan Dixon Mendis was an opening batsman for Sussex County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club ....
between 1986 and 1993.
He made his 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 in 1982, when sixteen England players were banned for three years for participating in the rebel tour of South Africa during the apartheid era. His highest Test score was 201, made in a nine-hour innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
in Madras
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is a cricket stadium in Chennai , India, named after M. A. Chidambaram, the former President of BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground or Chepauk Stadium. Commonly known as Chepauk, its first match was...
(now Chennai); this was the first double century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
by an English cricketer in India. Mike Gatting
Mike Gatting
Michael "Mike" William Gatting OBE is a former English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Middlesex and for England from 1977 to 1995, captaining the national side in twenty-three Test matches between 1986 and 1988...
also scored a double century in the same innings: this was the first time that two English batsmen had made double centuries in the same Test innings.
However, he lost his place in the England team when the rebel tourists were reinstated, and he had neck trouble. He was not re-selected in Tests for the remainder of his career.
Against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at The Oval
The Oval
The 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...
in 1983, Fowler scored his first Test hundred (105 off 303 balls), as Chris Tavare
Chris Tavaré
Christopher James Tavaré is an English retired cricketer, who played in thirty one Tests and twenty nine One Day Internationals from 1980 to 1989.-Life and career:...
and he became the first England openers to score a century in the same Test innings for twenty three years. His second Test century came against the West Indies at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
in 1984.
Fowler's highest One Day International score of 81 not out against Pakistan came during the 1983 World Cup
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
, in which he scored four consecutive half-centuries to help England to the semi-finals, averaging 72.00 for the tournament. These would be the only occasions that Fowler passed fifty in ODIs.
Against 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....
in the same year he scored ten sixes in successive shots, and five fours to make a century, although Leicestershire were employing non-specialist bowlers.
He is the only batsman to score two complete hundreds in a match with the aid of a runner. Playing for Lancashire at Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
in 1982, he strained his thigh while fielding on the first day during Warwickshire's
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire 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 Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
innings of 523–4 declared, but batted without a runner to score 26 not out at stumps. He then scored exactly 100 before lunch on the second day with David Lloyd
David Lloyd (cricketer)
David Lloyd is a former English cricketer who played county cricket for Lancashire and Test and One Day International cricket for England. He also played semi-professional football for Accrington Stanley...
as his runner. In the second innings, Ian Folley
Ian Folley
Ian Folley was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a left-arm bowler, initially a medium-pacer and latterly a spinner....
ran for him (and acknowledged the crowd's applause for the century) when 'Foxy' scored 128 not out on the third day. In 1987, Fowler scored an unbeaten century in a Sunday League
Sunday League
Sunday League may refer to:*Sunday league football, amateur football played on Sundays in the United Kingdom.*The Sunday League, the precursor tournament to the National League in English cricket....
match against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset 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 Somerset...
, despite an injury which forced him to bat with a runner.
In 1992, Fowler suffered amongst others as Lancashire had a widescale clear-out of its playing staff.
Post Lancashire career
After leaving Lancashire, Fowler played for Durham and coached at their academy, setting up a Cricket School of Excellence in 1996. Among the players he coached was Andrew StraussAndrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
. Since 1987, he has been a cricket broadcaster, sometimes with Test Match Special
Test Match Special
Test Match Special is a British radio programme covering professional cricket, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 , Five Live Sports Extra and the internet to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world...
, and also holds the post of Senior Cricket Coach at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
.
Later life
He wrote a book entitled Fox on the Run (ISBN 978-0670815609) describing a difficult county season, after being dropped from the England side. According to his Lancashire teammate, Mike AthertonMike Atherton
Michael Andrew Atherton OBE is a broadcaster, journalist and retired England international cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England,and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the captaincy of England at the age of 25 and led the side in a record 54 Test matches...
, Fowler was a constant smoker.