Mark Ealham
Encyclopedia
Mark Alan Ealham is a retired English
cricket
er, who played domestic cricket for Kent C.C.C.
and Nottinghamshire C.C.C.
. He is an all-rounder
and is a former England
international at both Test
and one-day cricket.
Ealham was born in Willesborough
, Kent
, and began his career with Kent C.C.C.
; his father, Alan Ealham
, had spent his entire career with the club. He made his first-class
and list A cricket debuts for Kent in 1989.
Ealham was first called into the England team for the start of India
's tour of England in 1996. His one-day debut came on 23 May in the first one-day international. Although no result was possible due to rain, Ealham impressed as he reached 40 runs before being bowled by Anil Kumble
. He made his Test debut in the third Test, played between 4 July and 9 July 1996. Ealham once again impressed, he scored 51 runs in the first innings and took second-innings bowling figures of 4/21, which he never surpassed at Test level; the game ended in a draw.
Despite his promising Test debut, Ealham was always regarded as a limited-overs specialist. This belief is mainly due to his free-swinging batting style; during a Twenty20 Cup
match in 2005 against Durham C.C.C.
he scored 45 off 17 balls including 34 runs in a single over. However, his greatest performance as a player came on 30 January 2000 when England played Zimbabwe
in the fifth match of a triangular tournament held in South Africa
. Ealham took five wickets for only 15 runs. At the time this was the best bowling performance by an Englishman in a one-day international match ever. Even more remarkable is that all five wickets were LBWs
, this is still a record in one-day international cricket.
Ealham left Kent C.C.C. before the 2003 season and signed a three year contract with Nottinghamshire, with whom he won the 2005
County Championship
. Ealham took 56 wickets in 15 Championship matches that season, the most by a Nottinghamshire bowler, and the fifth-most in Division One - at an average of 20.80, the fourth-lowest in Division One among bowlers with more than 20 wickets.
He retired in September 2009, after 20 seasons in domestic cricket, to take charge of cricket at King's School, Canterbury.
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, who played domestic cricket for Kent C.C.C.
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...
and Nottinghamshire C.C.C.
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...
. He is an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
and is a former 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...
international at both 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 cricket.
Ealham was born in Willesborough
Willesborough
Willesborough is a residential suburb on the eastern side of Ashford, Kent, England.-The area:The South Willesborough Dykes area, on the west bank of the East Stour river, is an area of sheep fields drained by dykes. The area is designated as the South Willesborough Dykes Site of Nature...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and began his career with Kent C.C.C.
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...
; his father, Alan Ealham
Alan Ealham
Alan George Ernest Ealham was a cricketer with Kent.He made his debut in 1966 and won his county cap in 1970. Alan captained the club between 1978 and 1980 and had his benefit in 1982...
, had spent his entire career with the club. 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...
and list A cricket debuts for Kent in 1989.
Ealham was first called into the England team for the start of India
Indian 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....
's tour of England in 1996. His one-day debut came on 23 May in the first one-day international. Although no result was possible due to rain, Ealham impressed as he reached 40 runs before being bowled by Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
. He made his Test debut in the third Test, played between 4 July and 9 July 1996. Ealham once again impressed, he scored 51 runs in the first innings and took second-innings bowling figures of 4/21, which he never surpassed at Test level; the game ended in a draw.
Despite his promising Test debut, Ealham was always regarded as a limited-overs specialist. This belief is mainly due to his free-swinging batting style; during a Twenty20 Cup
Twenty20 Cup
The Twenty20 Cup was a cricket competition for English and Welsh county clubs.In 2010, it has been replaced by Friends Provident t20 as the domestic Twenty20 competition.-History:...
match in 2005 against Durham C.C.C.
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 scored 45 off 17 balls including 34 runs in a single over. However, his greatest performance as a player came on 30 January 2000 when England played Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
in the fifth match of a triangular tournament held in 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...
. Ealham took five wickets for only 15 runs. At the time this was the best bowling performance by an Englishman in a one-day international match ever. Even more remarkable is that all five wickets were LBWs
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
, this is still a record in one-day international cricket.
Ealham left Kent C.C.C. before the 2003 season and signed a three year contract with Nottinghamshire, with whom he won the 2005
2005 English cricket season
Before the beginning of the 2005 English cricket season began, a resurgent English cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by...
County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
. Ealham took 56 wickets in 15 Championship matches that season, the most by a Nottinghamshire bowler, and the fifth-most in Division One - at an average of 20.80, the fourth-lowest in Division One among bowlers with more than 20 wickets.
He retired in September 2009, after 20 seasons in domestic cricket, to take charge of cricket at King's School, Canterbury.