Ashwell Prince
Encyclopedia
Ashwell Gavin Prince is a cricket
er who plays Test
and One Day International cricket for South Africa
. A left-handed middle order batsman, he has a high-batted stance and is strong through the offside. He is noted for his gritty style of batting and also for being an athletic fielder in the covers. At the age of 29, he became the first non-white man to captain the mostly-white South African cricket team
.
He has an unusual ODI shirt number which reads '5+0'. This is as a mark of respect to the late Hansie Cronje
who wore the number 5 during his career: with Cronje's death his shirt number was retired and South African players do not sport the number 5 without a '+' or zero after it.
who saw potential in him. Ashwell played two seasons for English cricket team Morecambe Cricket Club
in his earlier career. After being named Western Province's player of the year in 2001, Prince came to the attention of the selectors. He made his Test debut in February 2002, against Australia at the Wanderers. His inclusion in the side was partly due to the quota system in South Africa. He however justified his spot in the side by making 49 and top scoring. In the third Test at Durban he narrowly missed out on a half century again but his 48 was influential in his sides victory.
In 2002/03 he struggled in series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and was dropped from the team. With good form in domestic cricket he came back into the side in 2004/05 and played two Tests against the Zimbabweans. In the second match he made his maiden Test hundred, finishing unbeaten on 139. This was enough to get him a ticket on the plane over to the West Indies and in the fourth Test at Antigua he made 131 and set a South African 5th wicket record partnership of 267 with Jacques Kallis
.
The South Africans travelled to Australia the following summer and then met up again on home soil. Throughout both legs of the series Prince had trouble facing up against Shane Warne
, being dismissed by him seven times in the six Test matches. Along with his debut series which was played against Australia Prince had fallen victim to Warne a total of eleven times. Despite this he still managed a couple of good innings. The first came in the third Test at Sydney where he again batted well with Kallis and made 119. Three matches later but this time in South Africa, Prince top scored in South Africa's first innings at the Wanderers and made 93.
During the Australia leg of the series the South Africans are said to have copped racial abuse with Prince being one of the victims. In the 1st Test at the WACA Ground
in Perth during the 2005/06 season he alleged that sections of the crowd were calling him kaffir
, a racial slur referring to "African slaves".
Later in 2006 New Zealand played an away series in South Africa and after they managed a 8 for 593 declared at Cape Town
Prince made an unbeaten 108 to help his side escape with a draw.
With Graeme Smith
and Jacques Kallis unavailable, Prince was named as South Africa's captain for their tour of Sri Lanka in July 2006. He became their first ever black captain and despite making two 50s in the series his side struggled and lost 2-0. The first Test saw Mahela Jayawardene
(who scored 374) and Kumar Sangakkara
(287) share a world record partnership of 624, and the second was lost by just one wicket.
In the One Day series which followed Prince lost the captaincy to Mark Boucher
and it was a sign of things to come as he was not included in South Africa's squad for the Champions Trophy. Still in the Test side, he impressed during South Africa's home series against India, making a hundred at Durban after making 97 at Johannesburg. He finished as the highest run scorer for the series and his form continued against the Pakistani highlighted by an innings of 138 at Centurion. This form earned him a recall to the one day side and he was named in South Africa's 15 man squad for the 2007 World Cup
in the Caribbean.
South Africa were knocked out in the semi-finals, and Prince scored 107 runs from six innings in nine matches. He has not played an ODI since the 2007 World Cup and has stated that
. He scored 149 in the 2nd test at Headingley Carnegie.
Back home, he scored a face saving 162* in the 2nd test against Bangladesh at Centurion, sharing in a South African record 6th wicket partnership of 271 with Mark Boucher
.
Before the first Test of South Africa's tour of Australia
in December, Prince suffered a broken thumb. Batsman JP Duminy was selected in his place. According to Prince, who scored 900 runs in 13 Tests including four centuries in 2008 at an average of 64.28, he had been promised that once he recovered from his injury he would be back in the side. Instead South Africa persisted with Duminy, and Prince did not play another Test until the next series. Dropped from the first 12-man squad for the two Tests when Australia toured South Africa
in February, Prince returned to the team for the third Test after captain Graeme Smith was injured and opener Neil McKenzie was dropped. Used to batting in the middle order, Prince was asked to open in the absence of South Africa's settled opening pair. On his recall he was also asked to captain the side in place of the injured Smith, however the following day Cricket South Africa
appointed Jaques Kallis to the role so that Prince could concentrate on his unfamiliar task of opening the batting.
In February 2009, Prince signed a contract to play for Lancashire County Cricket Club
the English season. He acted as cover for V. V. S. Laxman
, the club's other overseas player, who was unavailable at times because he was playing in the Indian Premier League
. Prince score his first century for Lancashire at the start of May during a match against Nottinghamshire
. The knock cameof 135 not out
from 189 balls came on the final day of the four-day match and helped Lancashire from a score of 39/3 to draw the match. From five County Championship
matches Prince scored 4979 runs. The following year, Lancashire signed Kumar Sangakkara
who was unavailable due to international commitments until May. Due to his performance in 2009, Prince was signed as cover.
Tests
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 plays 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...
and One Day International cricket for 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...
. A left-handed middle order batsman, he has a high-batted stance and is strong through the offside. He is noted for his gritty style of batting and also for being an athletic fielder in the covers. At the age of 29, he became the first non-white man to captain the mostly-white South African cricket team
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...
.
He has an unusual ODI shirt number which reads '5+0'. This is as a mark of respect to the late Hansie Cronje
Hansie Cronje
Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje was a South African cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s...
who wore the number 5 during his career: with Cronje's death his shirt number was retired and South African players do not sport the number 5 without a '+' or zero after it.
Career
Prince moved from Eastern Province to Western Province in the mid 1990s under the instruction of Duncan FletcherDuncan 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...
who saw potential in him. Ashwell played two seasons for English cricket team Morecambe Cricket Club
Morecambe Cricket Club
Morecambe Cricket Club is an English cricket club based in the tourist resort of Morecambe, Lancashire. The club plays its home matches at Woodhill Lane in the Northern League....
in his earlier career. After being named Western Province's player of the year in 2001, Prince came to the attention of the selectors. He made his Test debut in February 2002, against Australia at the Wanderers. His inclusion in the side was partly due to the quota system in South Africa. He however justified his spot in the side by making 49 and top scoring. In the third Test at Durban he narrowly missed out on a half century again but his 48 was influential in his sides victory.
In 2002/03 he struggled in series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and was dropped from the team. With good form in domestic cricket he came back into the side in 2004/05 and played two Tests against the Zimbabweans. In the second match he made his maiden Test hundred, finishing unbeaten on 139. This was enough to get him a ticket on the plane over to the West Indies and in the fourth Test at Antigua he made 131 and set a South African 5th wicket record partnership of 267 with Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
.
The South Africans travelled to Australia the following summer and then met up again on home soil. Throughout both legs of the series Prince had trouble facing up against 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...
, being dismissed by him seven times in the six Test matches. Along with his debut series which was played against Australia Prince had fallen victim to Warne a total of eleven times. Despite this he still managed a couple of good innings. The first came in the third Test at Sydney where he again batted well with Kallis and made 119. Three matches later but this time in South Africa, Prince top scored in South Africa's first innings at the Wanderers and made 93.
During the Australia leg of the series the South Africans are said to have copped racial abuse with Prince being one of the victims. In the 1st Test at the WACA Ground
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
in Perth during the 2005/06 season he alleged that sections of the crowd were calling him kaffir
Kaffir (racial term)
The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries...
, a racial slur referring to "African slaves".
Later in 2006 New Zealand played an away series in South Africa and after they managed a 8 for 593 declared at Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
Prince made an unbeaten 108 to help his side escape with a draw.
With Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith
Graeme Craig Smith is a South African cricketer and captain of the South African cricket team Test Match side, having succeeded Shaun Pollock after the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
and Jacques Kallis unavailable, Prince was named as South Africa's captain for their tour of Sri Lanka in July 2006. He became their first ever black captain and despite making two 50s in the series his side struggled and lost 2-0. The first Test saw Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
(who scored 374) and Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
(287) share a world record partnership of 624, and the second was lost by just one wicket.
In the One Day series which followed Prince lost the captaincy to Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
and it was a sign of things to come as he was not included in South Africa's squad for the Champions Trophy. Still in the Test side, he impressed during South Africa's home series against India, making a hundred at Durban after making 97 at Johannesburg. He finished as the highest run scorer for the series and his form continued against the Pakistani highlighted by an innings of 138 at Centurion. This form earned him a recall to the one day side and he was named in South Africa's 15 man squad for the 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...
in the Caribbean.
South Africa were knocked out in the semi-finals, and Prince scored 107 runs from six innings in nine matches. He has not played an ODI since the 2007 World Cup and has stated that
Test specialist
He started well in the South Africa tour of England in July 2008 with a score of 101 in his first innings at Lord's Cricket GroundLord'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...
. He scored 149 in the 2nd test at Headingley Carnegie.
Back home, he scored a face saving 162* in the 2nd test against Bangladesh at Centurion, sharing in a South African record 6th wicket partnership of 271 with Mark Boucher
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
.
Before the first Test of South Africa's tour of Australia
South African cricket team in Australia in 2008–09
The South Africa cricket team toured Australia between 6 December 2008 and 30 January 2009, playing three Test matches, two Twenty20 Internationals and five One Day Internationals against Australia....
in December, Prince suffered a broken thumb. Batsman JP Duminy was selected in his place. According to Prince, who scored 900 runs in 13 Tests including four centuries in 2008 at an average of 64.28, he had been promised that once he recovered from his injury he would be back in the side. Instead South Africa persisted with Duminy, and Prince did not play another Test until the next series. Dropped from the first 12-man squad for the two Tests when Australia toured South Africa
Australian cricket team in South Africa in 2008–09
The Australia cricket team toured South Africa from 20 February to 17 April 2009, playing three Test matches, two Twenty20 Internationals and five One Day Internationals against South Africa.-Squads:...
in February, Prince returned to the team for the third Test after captain Graeme Smith was injured and opener Neil McKenzie was dropped. Used to batting in the middle order, Prince was asked to open in the absence of South Africa's settled opening pair. On his recall he was also asked to captain the side in place of the injured Smith, however the following day Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in South Africa. The board was originally created as the United Cricket Board of South Africa in 1991.-History:...
appointed Jaques Kallis to the role so that Prince could concentrate on his unfamiliar task of opening the batting.
In February 2009, Prince signed a contract to play 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...
the English season. He acted as cover for V. V. S. Laxman
V. V. S. Laxman
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman , sometimes shortened to Venkatsai Laxman but generally known as V.V.S. Laxman, is an Indian cricketer. Laxman represents Hyderabad in domestic cricket and has played for Lancashire in English county cricket. Laxman is the great grand nephew of Dr. Sarvepalli...
, the club's other overseas player, who was unavailable at times because he was playing in the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
. Prince score his first century for Lancashire at the start of May during a match against Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
. The knock cameof 135 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
from 189 balls came on the final day of the four-day match and helped Lancashire from a score of 39/3 to draw the match. From five County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
matches Prince scored 4979 runs. The following year, Lancashire signed Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
who was unavailable due to international commitments until May. Due to his performance in 2009, Prince was signed as cover.
Test centuries
| Ashwell Prince's Test centuries | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |Match | |City/Country | |Year | ||||
| [1] | 139* | 9 | Zimbabwe | Centurion, South Africa Centurion, Gauteng Centurion is an area with 279,430 inhabitants in Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand . Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it is now part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality... |
SuperSport Park | 2005 |
| [2] | 131 | 12 | West Indies | St John's St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda St John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. St John's is located at... , Antigua Antigua Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la... |
Antigua Recreation Ground Antigua Recreation Ground Antigua Recreation Ground is the national stadium of Antigua and Barbuda. It is located in St. John's, on the island of Antigua. The ground has been used by the West Indies cricket team and Antigua and Barbuda national football team... |
2005 |
| [3] | 119 | 15 | Australia | Sydney, Australia | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
2006 |
| [4] | 108* | 20 | 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... |
Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... , South Africa |
Sahara Park Newlands | 2006 |
| [5] | 121 | 25 | India | Durban Durban Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism... , South Africa |
Old Wanderers Old Wanderers Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946... |
2006 |
| [6] | 138 | 27 | Pakistan | Centurion, South Africa Centurion, Gauteng Centurion is an area with 279,430 inhabitants in Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand . Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it is now part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality... |
SuperSport Park | 2007 |
| [7] | 123* | 36 | West Indies | Durban Durban Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism... , South Africa |
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead | 2008 |
| [8] | 101 | 42 | England | London, England | Lord's Cricket Ground 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... |
2008 |
| [9] | 149 | 43 | England | Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... , England |
Headingley Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie .... |
2008 |
| [10] | 162* | 47 | Bangladesh | Centurion, South Africa Centurion, Gauteng Centurion is an area with 279,430 inhabitants in Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand . Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it is now part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality... |
SuperSport Park | 2008 |
| [11] | 150 | 48 | Australia | Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... , South Africa |
Newlands Stadium Newlands Stadium Newlands Stadium, currently referred to as DHL Newlands for sponsorship reasons, is located in Cape Town, South Africa.The stadium currently has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all seater venue.... |
2009 |
Records
- South African 5th wicket record, 267 with Jacques KallisJacques KallisJacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
vs West Indies in Antigua 2004/05 - South African 6th wicket record, 271 with Mark BoucherMark BoucherMark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
vs Bangladesh at Centurion 2008
Man of the Match Awards
ODIs- 14 May 2005, vs West Indies at Queen's Park - 89*
- 17 August 2005, vs ACC Asian XI at Supersport Park - 78*
Tests
- 2-5 January 2008, vs West Indies at Newlands, Cape Town - 98, 12*
- 18-21 July 2008, vs England at Headingley Carnegie, Leeds 149*