Martyn Ball
Encyclopedia
Martyn Charles John Ball (born 26 April 1970 in Bristol
) is an English
former cricket
er. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler. He spent his 19 year career at Gloucestershire
.
Ball made his first-class debut in 1988 and continued to bowl a trademark floating off-break for several years, and in 1996 was offered his first county cap. Ball was at the forefront of Gloucestershire's rise to the top of the English game, in a county which at the time was producing few top-quality players.
Ball replaced Robert Croft
when the latter revealed he was uncomfortable about going on the 2001-02 tour to India
, but the selectors handed starts to Richard Dawson and Ashley Giles
over Ball on tour.
Ball was involved with the Professional Cricketers' Association, initially as a player's representative before rising to the rank of chairman at the end of his career.
He retired in January 2007 and now works for an American real estate company.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
) is 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...
former 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. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler. He spent his 19 year career at Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire 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 Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
.
Ball made his first-class debut in 1988 and continued to bowl a trademark floating off-break for several years, and in 1996 was offered his first county cap. Ball was at the forefront of Gloucestershire's rise to the top of the English game, in a county which at the time was producing few top-quality players.
Ball replaced Robert Croft
Robert Croft
Robert Damien Bale Croft is a Welsh cricketer who has played international cricket for both England and Wales. He is an off-spin bowler who plays for Glamorgan and captained the county from 2003 to 2006...
when the latter revealed he was uncomfortable about going on the 2001-02 tour to 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...
, but the selectors handed starts to Richard Dawson and Ashley Giles
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles MBE is a retired English cricketer. 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...
over Ball on tour.
Ball was involved with the Professional Cricketers' Association, initially as a player's representative before rising to the rank of chairman at the end of his career.
He retired in January 2007 and now works for an American real estate company.