Ian Austin (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Ian David Austin was an English cricketer
.
He made his first-class
debut for Lancashire County Cricket Club
in 1987 (having played a single Sunday League
match for them the previous season) and remained with that county for his entire career, scoring 3,778 runs at 27.98
and taking 262 wickets at 30.35
with his medium-pace seamers
in his 124 matches.
Enormously popular with the Lancashire crowd thanks to his uncomplicated batting style and equally old-fashioned waistline, his most successful period came towards the end of his career. In 1998, he helped his county to both NatWest Trophy and Sunday League success. He then made his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka
later in the summer. For these performances he was made one of 1999's Wisden Cricketers of the Year
.
Austin was selected for the 1999 World Cup
squad, and opened the bowling with Darren Gough
in England's opening game, taking 2-25 against Sri Lanka
at Lord's. However, his international career was to last just one more match, against Kenya
later in the same tournament. He spent the rest of his career at Lancashire, where his benefit
in 2000 raised £155,000. Austin played no first-class cricket after early June 2001, but continued to appear in some one-day games for another year.
After a handful of appearances for Cumberland
in 2002, and a part in the Lancashire League's Worsley Cup final the following year, Austin retired from cricket at the end of the 2003 season.
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
.
He made his first-class
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...
debut for Lancashire County Cricket Club
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...
in 1987 (having played a single Sunday League
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
match for them the previous season) and remained with that county for his entire career, scoring 3,778 runs at 27.98
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
and taking 262 wickets at 30.35
Bowling average
Bowling 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 bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
with his medium-pace seamers
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
in his 124 matches.
Enormously popular with the Lancashire crowd thanks to his uncomplicated batting style and equally old-fashioned waistline, his most successful period came towards the end of his career. In 1998, he helped his county to both NatWest Trophy and Sunday League success. He then made his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The 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...
later in the summer. For these performances he was made one of 1999's Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
.
Austin was selected for the 1999 World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
squad, and opened the bowling with Darren Gough
Darren Gough
Darren Gough is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals with 234, and took 229 wickets in his 58 Test matches, making him...
in England's opening game, taking 2-25 against Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The 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...
at Lord's. However, his international career was to last just one more match, against Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
later in the same tournament. He spent the rest of his career at Lancashire, where his benefit
Benefit season
A benefit season is a method of financially rewarding professional cricketers that is used by English county cricket teams to compensate long serving players....
in 2000 raised £155,000. Austin played no first-class cricket after early June 2001, but continued to appear in some one-day games for another year.
After a handful of appearances for Cumberland
Cumberland County Cricket Club
Cumberland County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Cumberland and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
in 2002, and a part in the Lancashire League's Worsley Cup final the following year, Austin retired from cricket at the end of the 2003 season.