Mike Selvey
Encyclopedia
Mike Selvey is an English
former Test
and county cricket
er, and now a cricket writer
and commentator. Selvey played in three Tests for England between 1976 and 1977. His county cricket commitments included service to Surrey
, Middlesex
and Glamorgan
.
and Cambridge University
before joining Middlesex
in 1972, where he spent the majority of his playing career.
Selvey made a dramatic debut in Test cricket
against the West Indies at Old Trafford
in 1976, when he opened the bowling
and took the wicket
s of Roy Fredericks
, Viv Richards
and Alvin Kallicharran
for only six run
s in his first 20 balls. He took 4 for 41
in that innings
, and 6 for 152 in the match, but still ended on the losing side as England were beaten by 425 runs.
He only played two more Tests and failed to take a single wicket in either of them, in part due to Alan Knott
dropping a routine chance from Roy Fredericks in his second test at the Oval in the same year, the West Indies went on to make 687 as England were blunted by Viv Richards' 291
Despite his exclusion from international cricket after 1976, Selvey was a key part of a Middlesex attack that won the county championship outright 3 times (1976, 1980 & 1982) while Selvey played for Middlesex and shared the title once, in 1977. In addition to their first-class successes, Selvey won 2 Gillette cups in front of his home crowd in 1977 (taking 12-4-22-2) and in 1980 in the London derby final, with Selvey once again bowling a tight spell to restrict the opposition (12-5-17-2 on this occasion).
Selvey took 101 first-class wickets for Middlesex in the 1978 season, a feat that has not been matched by any Middlesex fast bowler since.
Selvey features in Mike Brearley
's The Art of Captaincy
and is quoted by Brearley as lamenting his notable skills as an into-the-wind bowler by remarking that his nose seemed to get flatter every year, as he would inavriably be asked to bowl into the wind whilst Wayne Daniel
and Vince van der Bijl bowled downhill with the wind behind them.
In 1983 he moved to become captain
of Glamorgan
, but persistent injuries forced him to retire after only a season and a half.
He subsequently became a summariser on BBC Radio
's Test Match Special
, beginning his TMS career in 1984 in India, a role he continued with until being dropped from the team in 2008. Shortly after his retirement from playing cricket, Selvey became cricket correspondent for The Guardian
newspaper and still performs this role today.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
former 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 county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
er, and now a cricket writer
Sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...
and commentator. Selvey played in three Tests for England between 1976 and 1977. His county cricket commitments included service to 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...
, 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...
and Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan 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 Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
.
Life and career
Selvey played for SurreySurrey 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...
and Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
before joining 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...
in 1972, where he spent the majority of his playing career.
Selvey made a dramatic debut in Test cricket
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...
against the West Indies at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (cricket)
Old Trafford is a cricket ground situated on Talbot Road in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. It has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since its foundation in 1864, having been the ground of Manchester Cricket Club from 1857...
in 1976, when he opened the bowling
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
and took the 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 of Roy Fredericks
Roy Fredericks
Roy Clifton Fredericks was a West Indian cricketer who played from 1968 to 1977....
, Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
and Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Kallicharran
Alvin Isaac Kallicharran is a former West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981. His elegant, watchful batting style produced some substantial innings for a West Indian team very much in its formative years in the seventies...
for only six 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 in his first 20 balls. He took 4 for 41
Bowling analysis
In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
in that innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...
, and 6 for 152 in the match, but still ended on the losing side as England were beaten by 425 runs.
He only played two more Tests and failed to take a single wicket in either of them, in part due to Alan Knott
Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott is a former Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman....
dropping a routine chance from Roy Fredericks in his second test at the Oval in the same year, the West Indies went on to make 687 as England were blunted by Viv Richards' 291
Despite his exclusion from international cricket after 1976, Selvey was a key part of a Middlesex attack that won the county championship outright 3 times (1976, 1980 & 1982) while Selvey played for Middlesex and shared the title once, in 1977. In addition to their first-class successes, Selvey won 2 Gillette cups in front of his home crowd in 1977 (taking 12-4-22-2) and in 1980 in the London derby final, with Selvey once again bowling a tight spell to restrict the opposition (12-5-17-2 on this occasion).
Selvey took 101 first-class wickets for Middlesex in the 1978 season, a feat that has not been matched by any Middlesex fast bowler since.
Selvey features in Mike Brearley
Mike Brearley
John Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4. He was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2007–08.-Early life:...
's The Art of Captaincy
The Art of Captaincy
The Art of Captaincy is a book authored by cricketer Mike Brearley, published first in 1985 by Hodder and Stoughton Ltd. It was written by Brearley based on his experiences while captaining Middlesex and later leading England to the famous Ashes victory in 1981...
and is quoted by Brearley as lamenting his notable skills as an into-the-wind bowler by remarking that his nose seemed to get flatter every year, as he would inavriably be asked to bowl into the wind whilst Wayne Daniel
Wayne Daniel
Wayne Wendell Daniel played 10 Tests and 18 One Day Internationals for the West Indies.A hostile and muscular fast bowler, Daniel seemed assured of a long and potent test career when he, in partnership with the lithe Michael Holding and the brooding Andy Roberts, battered England into submission...
and Vince van der Bijl bowled downhill with the wind behind them.
In 1983 he moved to become captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
of Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan 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 Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
, but persistent injuries forced him to retire after only a season and a half.
He subsequently became a summariser on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
'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...
, beginning his TMS career in 1984 in India, a role he continued with until being dropped from the team in 2008. Shortly after his retirement from playing cricket, Selvey became cricket correspondent for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper and still performs this role today.
External links
- Mike Selvey at CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...
- Mike Selvey Guardian Profile and Articles
- Mike Selvey Test Match Special Profile