Tim May
Encyclopedia
Timothy Brian Alexander May (born 26 January 1962 at North Adelaide, South Australia) is a former cricketer
for South Australia and Australia, who is currently a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations
(FICA). May played in 24 Tests
and 47 ODIs in an injury-interrupted career between 1987 and 1995.
An off-spin bowler, May propelled the ball from a high action with considerable accuracy, a skill that made him Australia's first-choice bowler in One Day Internationals prior to the ascent of Shane Warne
. May was also a prodigious spinner of the ball and could be devastating on turning wickets. During the 1993 Ashes series in England, May often bowled in tandem with Warne and they captured 55 wickets between them. His best bowling in Tests was 5/9 in 1992–93 against the West Indies
in the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval
.
May was also a handy batsman good enough to score a first-class century. He recorded his best Test score (42 not out) in the Adelaide Oval match mentioned above, almost seeing Australia through to an unlikely victory against the rampant West Indies pace attack.
Though not a good fielder, May was regularly selected as twelfth man for Australia, and holds the record for most appearances in this role. On one occasion during the 1992–93 World Series Cup
, May was substituting
for the injured Dean Jones
and dropped a catch from Rameez Raja
at extra cover, forcing Jones to return. May was also known for being accident prone. This was a common theme in May's 1998 book 'Mayhem', a satirical, semi-autobiographical tour diary.
In 1997, May became the inaugural CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association
and was a significant influence in its establishment as an important organisation in Australian cricket. In June 2005, he was appointed as the CEO of FICA, which is based in Austin, Texas
. May was the driving force behind the staging of the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal
match in 2004.
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
for South Australia and Australia, who is currently a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations
Federation of International Cricketers' Associations
The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations is an organisation that co-ordinates the activities of all the national players’ associations that represent professional cricketers...
(FICA). May played in 24 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 ODIs in an injury-interrupted career between 1987 and 1995.
An off-spin bowler, May propelled the ball from a high action with considerable accuracy, a skill that made him Australia's first-choice bowler in One Day Internationals prior to the ascent of 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...
. May was also a prodigious spinner of the ball and could be devastating on turning wickets. During the 1993 Ashes series in England, May often bowled in tandem with Warne and they captured 55 wickets between them. His best bowling in Tests was 5/9 in 1992–93 against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
.
May was also a handy batsman good enough to score a first-class century. He recorded his best Test score (42 not out) in the Adelaide Oval match mentioned above, almost seeing Australia through to an unlikely victory against the rampant West Indies pace attack.
Though not a good fielder, May was regularly selected as twelfth man for Australia, and holds the record for most appearances in this role. On one occasion during the 1992–93 World Series Cup
World Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
, May was substituting
Substitute (cricket)
A substitute in the sport of cricket is a replacement player that the umpires allow when a player has been injured or become ill after the nomination of the players at the start of the game...
for the injured Dean Jones
Dean Jones (cricketer)
Dean Mervyn Jones AM is a retired Australian cricketer, and is presently a coach. He also worked as a media commentator.-Career:...
and dropped a catch from Rameez Raja
Rameez Raja
Rameez Hasan Raja is a former Pakistani right handed batsman in cricket, who represented the Pakistan cricket team during the 1980s and 1990s. He also worked as captain of the national team...
at extra cover, forcing Jones to return. May was also known for being accident prone. This was a common theme in May's 1998 book 'Mayhem', a satirical, semi-autobiographical tour diary.
In 1997, May became the inaugural CEO of the Australian Cricketers' Association
Australian Cricketers' Association
The Australian Cricketers’ Association is an organisation that represents the professional first-class cricketers of Australia, both past and present. It is not a formally registered Trade Union, but an Incorporated Association...
and was a significant influence in its establishment as an important organisation in Australian cricket. In June 2005, he was appointed as the CEO of FICA, which is based in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. May was the driving force behind the staging of the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal
World Cricket Tsunami Appeal
The World Cricket Tsunami Appeal was an effort by the International Cricket Council to raise funds to support the humanitarian relief efforts following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. It was scheduled to be held over two games but was reduced to one due to an over-crowded...
match in 2004.