Ashley Giles
Encyclopedia
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE
(born 19 March 1973) is a retired English
cricket
er. 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. Giles played 54 Test matches
and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.
Giles started his career as a fast bowler
before an early injury forced him to become a slow left-arm spinner. He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in 1993, but it was 1996 when he gained a regular place in the side, winning the NBC Denis Compton Award
for being 'The Most Promising Young Player' at the club. Giles was awarded his One Day International debut against Australia in May 1997, and 36 wickets in the 1998 season led to his first Test match against South Africa, although it would be a further two years before he would play another Test for England.
He did not have the most fluent bowling action and was unable to turn the ball a huge amount, although at 6 in 4 in (1.93 m), he was able to use his height to extract plenty of bounce. As a right-handed batsman, Giles scored three first-class
centuries, but his highest international score was only 59, an innings which helped England win The Ashes
in 2005. Between November 2000 and the emergence of Monty Panesar
in 2006 (during his first prolonged injury lay-off), Giles was England's first-choice spin bowler, although he was constantly having to justify his selection. This came to a head in 2004 when Giles considered retirement before a match-winning 9-wicket haul against the West Indies gave him the confidence to perform at the highest level.
, attending the Kingfield First and Middle Schools. Giles benefited from a cricket-loving teacher, and became involved with District and County Cricket at Under-9 level. After his parents moved to Ripley, Surrey
, he attended the George Abbot School
in Guildford
, completing his GCSEs and A-levels. The Giles family was heavily involved with Ripley Cricket Club: Ashley's father, brother Andrew, cousins and uncles all played for the club, as did both paternal and maternal grandfathers previously. Giles soon moved into the Saturday 2nd XI, opening the bowling with close friend Ian Ward. At this stage, both players were aspiring fast
bowlers, and a deadly force for Surrey Under-9s. Giles moved to Guildford Cricket Club, working under coach Brian Ruby alongside future professionals Darren
and Martin Bicknell
.
Giles advanced through the county age-groups, and toured Barbados
with Surrey Young Cricketers in 1990/01. While at Guildford, an injury forced Giles to try bowling spin
, which brought him some success. Giles made his debut for the Surrey
Second XI in 1990, and was named Surrey Young Cricketer of the Year in 1991. The following season, he played one further match for Surrey but they were unable to offer him a professional contract. After an initial trial with Dennis Amiss
, Giles was awarded a one-year contract Warwickshire County Cricket Club
.
Between 1992 and 1995, Giles played the majority of his games for Warwickshire Second XI, scoring over 2,500 run
s and taking 165 wicket
s in this period. He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire against Kent
in May 1993; his second match was against Durham
later that season. In September 1993, he made his List A debut against the touring Zimbabweans, his first wicket being that of Grant Flower
, although it would not be until the tail-end of the 1995 season before Giles began to cement his place in the Warwickshire side taking 16 wickets at an average of 22.12 (in 6 matches). In 1996 Giles won the NBC Denis Compton Award, and before his debut for the full national side in 1998 he toured Australia, Sri Lanka
and Kenya
with the England A team.
for Vredenberg & Saldanha (1992–95) and Avendale (1995–96). On 2 July 1998, Giles made his Test debut against South Africa
, and took 1 for 106 in 36 overs. He then went on to tour Australia
in the One Day squad. On 31 December, it was announced that Giles was to step out of the One Day match between the ODI squad and the Bradman XI, and into the Test squad for the final Test match in Sydney
. He was chosen in light of Australia's selection of Shane Warne
, Colin Miller
and Stuart MacGill
, England captain Alec Stewart
stating that the selection of Giles gave England another option.
Giles took part in England's 2000—01 tour of Pakistan
, establishing himself as "England's No. 1 slow bowler." He suffered a achilles tendon
injury in February which affected his bowling, conceding 83 runs from his 19 overs, with Duncan Fletcher
citing the injury as the cause of this. Giles returned, however, to take part in the Test matches. The press at the time suggested that Giles was to match Muttiah Muralitharan
in wicket taking, but he dismissed this idea. His tendon injury recurred in April, however, and was rested for six weeks.
Giles then impressed during India
's tour of England in the winter of 2001. In Domestic Cricket, Giles scored 96 from 139 balls for Warwickshire against Middlesex
, as well as taking the wicket of Andrew Strauss
. He went on to take three more wickets as Middlesex reeled. During the 2002 tour of Australia, Giles took six wickets at Brisbane
, but he was forced to end his tour when Steve Harmison
injured Giles' wrist during nets practice. In the winter of 2003, Giles took eight wickets against Sri Lanka
in the first Test, and hit 18 and 17 to keep England in the series with a draw. Giles was later named for the 2004 touring squad to the West Indies.
and Sri Lanka
, and that year started with an uninspiring performance in the Caribbean
. In July 2004, he recorded match-figures of 9-210 in the first Test at Lord's (including his 100th Test wicket, Brian Lara
), which won him the Man of the Match
award. He followed this with his best Test-figures of 9-122 in the second Test at Edgbaston
, and was instrumental in England beating West Indies
twice. In that series he gained the nickname "King of Spain", after a set of mugs ordered in 2000 (for his testimonial year) had been erroneously printed with that slogan, instead of "King of Spin". There were originally only two of these mugs produced, one of which Giles used for his coffee in the dressing room (this mug was subsequently stolen), and another on display in the club shop. However, after the error was publicised, a further two hundred mugs were produced with King Juan Carlos
on the other side and were snapped up by Warwickshire fans.
Fans during the Ashes series of 2005 also regularly sang "Y viva España
" in Giles' honour. Giles was, until that successful run of form, also gently derided by commentators: the BBC
's Test Match Special
commentator Henry Blofeld
famously labelled him a "Wheelie bin" because of his trundling run-up, much to Giles' disgust. Blofeld however, insisted that the moniker was not malicious. (It was originally bestowed on Giles by The Guardian
journalist David Hopps.)
. In the 2005 Ashes series, Giles captured the wickets of all of the top Australian batsmen at least once during the series. He hit the winning runs in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge
to give England a 2-1 lead. He contributed a Test-best 59 runs and a century partnership with Kevin Pietersen
to ensure the draw in the final Test at The Oval
and a 2-1 series victory. However, his ten wickets in the series came at a high average
of 57.80.
that year. His number 8 spot was taken first by left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell
and then fast bowler Liam Plunkett
, and Giles admitted that left-arm spinner Monty Panesar
was another threat to his place. In the final Test, veteran off-break bowler Shaun Udal
replaced him, with some success. In the Tests of summer 2006, whilst Giles was injured for the entire season, Panesar played against both Sri Lanka
and Pakistan
, with conspicuous success. On 24 April 2006, Giles gave an interview stating that although he had at one point feared his career might be in danger, he was now "a lot more confident and happy" after being diagnosed with a sportman's hernia. At the end of October 2006, after spending time in India with the England Champions Trophy squad, Giles was passed fit for selection, and took Panesar's place in the team for the first Test at Brisbane. However, he was dropped for the third Test in the series, with Panesar reclaiming his place.
Giles flew home from the 2006 Ashes tour of Australia on 1 December in order to care for his wife who had a brain tumour. He was not selected for England's 2007 World Cup
squad, nor in their 2007 summer performance squad. On Warwickshire's pre-season tour he suffered some hip discomfort, which revealed a need for an operation. It kept him out for most of the 2007 English county series, and on 9 August, Giles officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, following advice from doctors in light of his injury.
, ahead of Dermot Reeve
. In November two months later, Giles was named the official spin coach in the England Performance Programme. On 18 January 2008, Giles was added to a new four-man panel, along with Peter Moores
and James Whitaker
, headed by Geoff Miller
, which replaced David Graveney
in the role of national selector for the England team, the latter having been removed from the position and reinstated as a national performance manager.
, Worcestershire
and was named an 'Honorary Citizen' of the town by the Mayor after the 2005 Ashes success. The award was created for him, as he did not meet the usual criteria to become a Freeman
. Giles was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for his role in the successful Ashes-winning squad. He is married to the Norwegian
Stine (née
Osland), with whom he has two children, Anders Fraser and Matilde. He is a lifelong supporter of Queens Park Rangers F.C.
.
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 19 March 1973) is a retired English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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. Giles played the entirety of his 14-year 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...
career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club
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...
where he is now employed as Director of Cricket. Giles played 54 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 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.
Giles started his career as a fast bowler
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....
before an early injury forced him to become a slow left-arm spinner. He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in 1993, but it was 1996 when he gained a regular place in the side, winning the NBC Denis Compton Award
NBC Denis Compton Award
The NBC Denis Compton Award is an annual award given to 'The Most Promising Young Player' at each of the 18 English first-class counties. A player may receive the award more than once.-History:...
for being 'The Most Promising Young Player' at the club. Giles was awarded his One Day International debut against Australia in May 1997, and 36 wickets in the 1998 season led to his first Test match against South Africa, although it would be a further two years before he would play another Test for England.
He did not have the most fluent bowling action and was unable to turn the ball a huge amount, although at 6 in 4 in (1.93 m), he was able to use his height to extract plenty of bounce. As a right-handed batsman, Giles scored three 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...
centuries, but his highest international score was only 59, an innings which helped England win The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
in 2005. Between November 2000 and the emergence of Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
in 2006 (during his first prolonged injury lay-off), Giles was England's first-choice spin bowler, although he was constantly having to justify his selection. This came to a head in 2004 when Giles considered retirement before a match-winning 9-wicket haul against the West Indies gave him the confidence to perform at the highest level.
Early domestic career and influences
Ashley Giles spent his early years living in WokingWoking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, attending the Kingfield First and Middle Schools. Giles benefited from a cricket-loving teacher, and became involved with District and County Cricket at Under-9 level. After his parents moved to Ripley, Surrey
Ripley, Surrey
Ripley is a village and parish in Surrey, which grew on the main A3 road from London to Portsmouth. The road was renumbered as B2215 when a bypass was built. The village is situated close to the M25 motorway and southeast of Woking, northeast of Guildford and some southwest of central London...
, he attended the George Abbot School
George Abbot School
George Abbot School is a large state secondary school with Arts College status in Burpham, north-east of the town of Guildford. The school is named after the 17th-century Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbot. Surrey County Cricket Club's Cricket Academy is located in the grounds of the school.The...
in Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, completing his GCSEs and A-levels. The Giles family was heavily involved with Ripley Cricket Club: Ashley's father, brother Andrew, cousins and uncles all played for the club, as did both paternal and maternal grandfathers previously. Giles soon moved into the Saturday 2nd XI, opening the bowling with close friend Ian Ward. At this stage, both players were aspiring fast
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....
bowlers, and a deadly force for Surrey Under-9s. Giles moved to Guildford Cricket Club, working under coach Brian Ruby alongside future professionals Darren
Darren Bicknell
Darren John Bicknell is an English former cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler.Born in Guildford, Darren is the brother of former England seam bowler Martin Bicknell. However, he struggled to have similar international impact in the 1990s, the selectors instead...
and Martin Bicknell
Martin Bicknell
Martin Paul Bicknell is a former English cricketer. He played only four Test matches, but the last two, against South Africa in 2003, came ten years after the first two in the 1993 Ashes series. England had played 114 matches between his appearances, a record...
.
Giles advanced through the county age-groups, and toured Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
with Surrey Young Cricketers in 1990/01. While at Guildford, an injury forced Giles to try bowling spin
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
, which brought him some success. Giles made his debut for the 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...
Second XI in 1990, and was named Surrey Young Cricketer of the Year in 1991. The following season, he played one further match for Surrey but they were unable to offer him a professional contract. After an initial trial with 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...
, Giles was awarded a one-year contract Warwickshire County Cricket Club
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...
.
Between 1992 and 1995, Giles played the majority of his games for Warwickshire Second XI, scoring over 2,500 run
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
s and taking 165 wicket
Wicket
In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch...
s in this period. He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
in May 1993; his second match was against 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...
later that season. In September 1993, he made his List A debut against the touring Zimbabweans, his first wicket being that of Grant Flower
Grant Flower
Grant William Flower is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his handy left arm spin and fine batting skills. He was a fitness fanatic who spends hours in the gym, and was also regarded as a brilliant fielder who was usually seen in the gully...
, although it would not be until the tail-end of the 1995 season before Giles began to cement his place in the Warwickshire side taking 16 wickets at an average of 22.12 (in 6 matches). In 1996 Giles won the NBC Denis Compton Award, and before his debut for the full national side in 1998 he toured Australia, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
with the England A team.
England debut to 2004
Giles played winter cricket in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for Vredenberg & Saldanha (1992–95) and Avendale (1995–96). On 2 July 1998, Giles made his Test debut against South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and took 1 for 106 in 36 overs. He then went on to tour Australia
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...
in the One Day squad. On 31 December, it was announced that Giles was to step out of the One Day match between the ODI squad and the Bradman XI, and into the Test squad for the final Test match in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He was chosen in light of Australia's selection of Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
, Colin Miller
Colin Miller (cricketer)
Colin Reid Miller is a former Australian cricketer. Known for his ever-changing hair colour; he played with blue hair in a test match against the West Indies in 2001. His hair apparently made West Indies captain Courtney Walsh laugh.Miller began as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but changed to...
and Stuart MacGill
Stuart MacGill
Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill is a former right-arm leg spin bowler of the Australian cricket team, with a domestic career at Western Australia, New South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Somerset...
, England captain Alec Stewart
Alec Stewart
Alec James Stewart OBE is a retired English cricketer, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team...
stating that the selection of Giles gave England another option.
Giles took part in England's 2000—01 tour of 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...
, establishing himself as "England's No. 1 slow bowler." He suffered a achilles tendon
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.- Anatomy :The Achilles is the tendonous extension of 3 muscles in the lower leg:...
injury in February which affected his bowling, conceding 83 runs from his 19 overs, with Duncan Fletcher
Duncan Fletcher
Duncan Andrew Gwynne Fletcher OBE is a former Zimbabwean cricketer, formerly captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team and the current coach of the Indian Cricket Team. He has been appointed as coach of the Indian Cricket Team on April 27, 2011...
citing the injury as the cause of this. Giles returned, however, to take part in the Test matches. The press at the time suggested that Giles was to match Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
in wicket taking, but he dismissed this idea. His tendon injury recurred in April, however, and was rested for six weeks.
Giles then impressed during India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's tour of England in the winter of 2001. In Domestic Cricket, Giles scored 96 from 139 balls for Warwickshire against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, as well as taking the wicket of Andrew Strauss
Andrew 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...
. He went on to take three more wickets as Middlesex reeled. During the 2002 tour of Australia, Giles took six wickets at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, but he was forced to end his tour when Steve Harmison
Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison MBE is an English cricketer. Primarily a fast bowler, he represented England in 63 Tests, 58 ODI's, and 2 T20's. He also plays county cricket for Durham....
injured Giles' wrist during nets practice. In the winter of 2003, Giles took eight wickets against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
in the first Test, and hit 18 and 17 to keep England in the series with a draw. Giles was later named for the 2004 touring squad to the West Indies.
Hundredth Test wicket
Until 2004, his most successful bowling had been in PakistanPakistan
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...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, and that year started with an uninspiring performance in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. In July 2004, he recorded match-figures of 9-210 in the first Test at Lord's (including his 100th Test wicket, Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
), which won him the Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award. He followed this with his best Test-figures of 9-122 in the second Test at 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...
, and was instrumental in England beating 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,...
twice. In that series he gained the nickname "King of Spain", after a set of mugs ordered in 2000 (for his testimonial year) had been erroneously printed with that slogan, instead of "King of Spin". There were originally only two of these mugs produced, one of which Giles used for his coffee in the dressing room (this mug was subsequently stolen), and another on display in the club shop. However, after the error was publicised, a further two hundred mugs were produced with King Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
on the other side and were snapped up by Warwickshire fans.
Y viva España
"Eviva España" is a 1971 song sung by Belgian singer Samantha with music and lyrics written by Leo Roozenstraten and Leo Caerts...
" in Giles' honour. Giles was, until that successful run of form, also gently derided by commentators: the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 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...
commentator Henry Blofeld
Henry Blofeld
Henry Calthorpe Blofeld is a sports journalist. He is best known as a cricket commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.Blofeld had an exceptional career as a schoolboy cricketer, cut short by injury...
famously labelled him a "Wheelie bin" because of his trundling run-up, much to Giles' disgust. Blofeld however, insisted that the moniker was not malicious. (It was originally bestowed on Giles by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
journalist David Hopps.)
2005 Ashes
In 2005, he was named as one of five cricketers of the year by Wisden Cricketers' AlmanackWisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
. In the 2005 Ashes series, Giles captured the wickets of all of the top Australian batsmen at least once during the series. He hit the winning runs in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
to give England a 2-1 lead. He contributed a Test-best 59 runs and a century partnership 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...
to ensure the draw in the final Test 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...
and a 2-1 series victory. However, his ten wickets in the series came at a high average
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...
of 57.80.
2006, injury and retirement
In February 2006, a recurring hip injury forced Giles out of both the Test and ODI sections of England's tour to IndiaIndian cricket team
The 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....
that year. His number 8 spot was taken first by left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell
Ian Blackwell
Ian David Blackwell is an English cricketer. A left-arm orthodox spinner and powerful middle-order batsman, he has played for England in one-day and Test sides, and plays county cricket for Durham, having left Somerset at the end of the 2008 season.-Career:Blackwell was called up for the England...
and then fast bowler Liam Plunkett
Liam Plunkett
Liam Edward Plunkett is an English cricketer, who plays for Durham and England. In the 2005 season he was Durham's leading first-class wicket-taker, with 51 wickets at a bowling average of 30.84, including eight for 88 in his first game of the season against Leicestershire.-Test cricket:Plunkett...
, and Giles admitted that left-arm spinner Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
was another threat to his place. In the final Test, veteran off-break bowler Shaun Udal
Shaun Udal
Shaun David Udal is an English cricketer. An off spin bowler and lower-middle order batsman, he was a member of England's Test team for their tours to Pakistan and India in 2005/06.-International career:...
replaced him, with some success. In the Tests of summer 2006, whilst Giles was injured for the entire season, Panesar played against both 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...
and Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
, with conspicuous success. On 24 April 2006, Giles gave an interview stating that although he had at one point feared his career might be in danger, he was now "a lot more confident and happy" after being diagnosed with a sportman's hernia. At the end of October 2006, after spending time in India with the England Champions Trophy squad, Giles was passed fit for selection, and took Panesar's place in the team for the first Test at Brisbane. However, he was dropped for the third Test in the series, with Panesar reclaiming his place.
Giles flew home from the 2006 Ashes tour of Australia on 1 December in order to care for his wife who had a brain tumour. He was not selected for England's 2007 World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
squad, nor in their 2007 summer performance squad. On Warwickshire's pre-season tour he suffered some hip discomfort, which revealed a need for an operation. It kept him out for most of the 2007 English county series, and on 9 August, Giles officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, following advice from doctors in light of his injury.
Coaching
Following his retirement, in September 2007, Giles became Warwickshire's director of cricket, replacing Mark GreatbatchMark Greatbatch
Mark John Greatbatch was a New Zealand cricketer. He scored more than 2,000 runs in his 41 Tests for New Zealand...
, ahead of Dermot Reeve
Dermot Reeve
Dermot Alexander Reeve OBE is an English former cricketer, best known as an unorthodox all-rounder and, until recently, coach of the New Zealand side, Central Districts....
. In November two months later, Giles was named the official spin coach in the England Performance Programme. On 18 January 2008, Giles was added to a new four-man panel, along with Peter Moores
Peter Moores (cricketer)
Peter Moores is a former English county cricketer. He played as a wicketkeeper for Worcestershire and Sussex He became the coach of Lancashire County Cricket Club, on 11 February 2009....
and James Whitaker
James Whitaker (cricketer)
John James Whitaker is an English former cricketer, who played in one Test and two ODIs for England in 1986.-Life and career:...
, headed by Geoff Miller
Geoff Miller
Geoffrey Miller is an English former cricketer, who played in thirty four Tests and twenty five ODIs for England from 1976 to 1984...
, which replaced David Graveney
David Graveney
David Anthony Graveney OBE is a leading figure in English cricket and former chairman of the England Test selectors, a post he held from 1997 until 2008. Graveney attended Millfield School in Somerset....
in the role of national selector for the England team, the latter having been removed from the position and reinstated as a national performance manager.
Personal life
Giles is a resident of Droitwich SpaDroitwich Spa
Droitwich Spa is a town in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe.The town is situated on massive deposits of salt, and salt has been extracted there since ancient times. The natural Droitwich brine contains 2½ lbs...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and was named an 'Honorary Citizen' of the town by the Mayor after the 2005 Ashes success. The award was created for him, as he did not meet the usual criteria to become a Freeman
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
. Giles was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for his role in the successful Ashes-winning squad. He is married to the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Stine (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Osland), with whom he has two children, Anders Fraser and Matilde. He is a lifelong supporter of Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
.
Awards
- NBC Denis Compton Award 1996 and 1997
- Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2005
- Awarded the MBE in 2005
- Honorary Citizen of Droitwich Spa 2005