Dennis Amiss
Encyclopedia
Dennis Leslie Amiss MBE
(born 7 April 1943, Harborne
, Birmingham
, Warwickshire
) was an English
cricket
er 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 County Cricket Club
and England. A right-handed batsman, Amiss was a brilliant stroke maker particularly through extra cover and midwicket - his two favourite areas to score runs. He was an accomplished batsman in all forms of the game. He averaged 42.86 in first-class, 35.06 in List-A, 46.30 in Tests
and 47.72 in One Day Internationals. In first-class cricket he scored 102 centuries, and his England record amassed over 50 Tests ranks him with the best England has produced.
After retiring as a player in 1987, he served Warwickshire as Chairman of the Cricket Committee, and he followed David Heath
as Chief Executive from 1994 until 2005. In 1992 he was selected as an England selector. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Birmingham
in the summer of 2007.
Test, an innings that saved the Test match for England after they conceded a first innings lead of 230. The next highest score in England's innings was 38. After being dropped by England in 1975, he made a successful return against the West Indies at The Oval in the final Test of 1976, although his 203 in the first innings did not prevent England losing the match. Amiss's last Test came in 1977 when he was left out to make way for Geoff Boycott's return from self imposed exile.
His former Warwickshire team mate, Jack Bannister
, stated "Dennis was always tinkering with his game, he was a bigger perfectionist than Colin Cowdrey
".
Amiss was also a handy One Day International batsman scoring 859 runs, including four centuries and one half-century, with a top score of 137 against India which is still England's highest individual score in the Cricket World Cup
. He has the distinction of scoring the first ever One Day International century (103 in only the second One Day International in 1972). He ended with an ODI batting average of 47.72, which excepting those players to have played fewer than five times, remains the highest of any England batsman who has completed his career. The still-active Kevin Pietersen
averaged over 50 throughout the first 60 matches of his ODI career up until September 2007, but that figure had fallen to under 41 by June 2011.
He was selected as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1975.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(born 7 April 1943, Harborne
Harborne
Harborne is an area three miles southwest from Birmingham city centre, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward in the formal district and in the parliamentary constituency of Birmingham Edgbaston.- Geography :...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
) was an 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 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 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...
and England. A right-handed batsman, Amiss was a brilliant stroke maker particularly through extra cover and midwicket - his two favourite areas to score runs. He was an accomplished batsman in all forms of the game. He averaged 42.86 in first-class, 35.06 in List-A, 46.30 in Tests
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 47.72 in One Day Internationals. In first-class cricket he scored 102 centuries, and his England record amassed over 50 Tests ranks him with the best England has produced.
After retiring as a player in 1987, he served Warwickshire as Chairman of the Cricket Committee, and he followed David Heath
David Heath (cricket administrator)
David Michael William Heath was an English cricketer and cricket administrator....
as Chief Executive from 1994 until 2005. In 1992 he was selected as an England selector. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
in the summer of 2007.
England career
Amiss made his Test debut for England in the fifth Test of the 1966 series with West Indies, and he proved an accomplished Test match batsman. He was one of the first batsman to use a protective helmet. In scoring 3,612 Test runs, Amiss made eleven half-centuries and eleven centuries, including two double centuries against the West Indies. His highest Test match score, also his highest first-class score, was 262 not out against the West Indies in the 1973-74 KingstonKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
Test, an innings that saved the Test match for England after they conceded a first innings lead of 230. The next highest score in England's innings was 38. After being dropped by England in 1975, he made a successful return against the West Indies at The Oval in the final Test of 1976, although his 203 in the first innings did not prevent England losing the match. Amiss's last Test came in 1977 when he was left out to make way for Geoff Boycott's return from self imposed exile.
His former Warwickshire team mate, Jack Bannister
Jack Bannister
Jack Bannister is the current Talksport radio cricket correspondent, and was, for many years, a BBC television cricket commentator. He had previously played professionally on the county scene for Warwickshire as a fast-medium bowler, taking 1198 first-class wickets in a career that lasted from...
, stated "Dennis was always tinkering with his game, he was a bigger perfectionist than Colin Cowdrey
Colin Cowdrey
Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
".
Amiss was also a handy One Day International batsman scoring 859 runs, including four centuries and one half-century, with a top score of 137 against India which is still England's highest individual score in 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...
. He has the distinction of scoring the first ever One Day International century (103 in only the second One Day International in 1972). He ended with an ODI batting average of 47.72, which excepting those players to have played fewer than five times, remains the highest of any England batsman who has completed his career. The still-active 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...
averaged over 50 throughout the first 60 matches of his ODI career up until September 2007, but that figure had fallen to under 41 by June 2011.
He was selected as one of the five 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"...
in 1975.
External links
- Dennis Amiss at Cricinfo
- Dennis Amiss at CricketArchive