Vikram Solanki
Encyclopedia
Vikram Singh Solanki is an India
n-born English
cricket
er, who plays county cricket
for Worcestershire
. In 2007, he became the 24th Worcestershire batsman to pass 10,000 career runs for the county. He also captained Worcestershire from 2005 to 2010, before resigning mid-season. He as also played over 50 One Day Internationals for his country as a batsman and occasional off-spinner
and wicket-keeper
.
in Rajput
family, but moved to Wolverhampton
with his family at the age of eight. Solanki played junior and senior cricket for Wolverhampton cricket club where he was a childhood prodigy under coach Arthur Pickering he often starred as a wicket keeper, bowler and batsman, Solanki once scored over 100 in a twenty over game by himself. He made his first-class
debut for Worcestershire
in 1995, although he had played one-day cricket
for the county two seasons earlier. In 1996 he was awarded the NBC Denis Compton Award
. Although generally an occasional bowler, Solanki produced a ten-wicket haul, five wickets in each innings, against Lancashire
at Old Trafford in 1996. In 1999 he achieved a batting average
of over 40, something he repeated in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. 2006 was also the first season since 2000 in which he managed to top 1,000 first-class runs, making 1,252. Possessed with the priceless gift of timing and placement, he is able to play every shot in the game with supreme elegance and grace.Once seen, along with Owais Shah
, as being part of a new breed of supremely confident British Asian cricketer who would be a key component of the English batting lineup going into the 21st century, Solanki has failed to live up to the huge acclaim he received as a youngster, and his chances of playing Test Cricket for England- something that looked like being a formality 10 years ago- now appear to have faded.
and Zimbabwe
in 1998-99, and to Bangladesh
and New Zealand
in 1999-2000. His fine performances on these latter tours led to his making his full One Day International
debut against the South Africans later that same winter. However, he was unable to translate his A-team feats into runs for the senior England side, and after eight innings yielding just 96 runs, he was dropped and not picked again for more than three years.
On 1 July 2006, Solanki took his first wicket in ODIs at Headingley
, removing Sri Lankan
opener Sanath Jayasuriya
for 152. It was something of a hollow triumph, however, as Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga
(109) had put on 286, a world record for the first wicket in ODIs,
and England were crushed as Sri Lanka scored 324/2 to win by eight wickets
in just 37.3 overs.
Solanki made history against Australia in 2005 when he became the first supersub in a One Day International, replacing Simon Jones
to strengthen England's tail after a batting collapse; coming to the crease at no.8 with England 93/6, Solanki made 53 not out. He also took part in the final two matches of England's time in the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship
, replacing the injured Matt Prior. Keeping wicket and opening the batting in both of his matches in that tournament, he took two catches in the first, conceded no byes
in either match, and scored 24 and 43. Those were (to date) his last international appearances.
Solanki has represented England on 51 occasions in one-day cricket, but still not been selected for a Test Match
. His undoubted natural talent has only rarely come through into his performances for his country, and his England batting average languishes in the mid-twenties. He has made only two international hundreds, 106 off 108 balls against South Africa at The Oval
in 2003 (when he shared an opening partnership of 200, an English record, with Marcus Trescothick
), and exactly 100 off 93 balls versus Zimbabwe at Bulawayo
in 2004/05.
for Worcestershire, although he has only bowled a handful of overs for England. Worcestershire appointed Solanki as captain of the county for 2005, succeeding the retiring Steve Rhodes
. In September 2006 he agreed an extension to his contract which will see him remain at the county until 2009. Following a defeat by Glamorgan on 12 August 2010, he announced his resignation as captain with immediate effect stating that "it was time for somebody else to be at the helm".
After showing good form in the first half of the 2009 season Solanki was called up to the England Lions squad for their fixture against Australia.
, Solanki accepted an offer to play for Rajasthan
in the Indian Ranji Trophy
during the 2006–07 season.
(ICL) in 2007, he made six appearances for the Mumbai Champs
in his single season of ICL.
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...
n-born 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, who plays 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:...
for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire 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 Worcestershire...
. In 2007, he became the 24th Worcestershire batsman to pass 10,000 career runs for the county. He also captained Worcestershire from 2005 to 2010, before resigning mid-season. He as also played over 50 One Day Internationals for his country as a batsman and occasional off-spinner
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
and wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
.
Early life and career
Solanki was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan, IndiaIndia
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...
in Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
family, but moved to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
with his family at the age of eight. Solanki played junior and senior cricket for Wolverhampton cricket club where he was a childhood prodigy under coach Arthur Pickering he often starred as a wicket keeper, bowler and batsman, Solanki once scored over 100 in a twenty over game by himself. 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...
debut for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire 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 Worcestershire...
in 1995, although he had played one-day cricket
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
for the county two seasons earlier. In 1996 he was awarded the NBC Denis Compton Award
NBC Denis Compton Award
The NBC Denis Compton Award is an annual award given to 'The Most Promising Young Player' at each of the 18 English first-class counties. A player may receive the award more than once.-History:...
. Although generally an occasional bowler, Solanki produced a ten-wicket haul, five wickets in each innings, against Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
at Old Trafford in 1996. In 1999 he achieved a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of over 40, something he repeated in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. 2006 was also the first season since 2000 in which he managed to top 1,000 first-class runs, making 1,252. Possessed with the priceless gift of timing and placement, he is able to play every shot in the game with supreme elegance and grace.Once seen, along with Owais Shah
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah is an English cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex between 1996-2010, before joining Essex CCC in the winter of 2010. He has represented England in all forms of the games.Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs and 17 Twenty20 Internationals...
, as being part of a new breed of supremely confident British Asian cricketer who would be a key component of the English batting lineup going into the 21st century, Solanki has failed to live up to the huge acclaim he received as a youngster, and his chances of playing Test Cricket for England- something that looked like being a formality 10 years ago- now appear to have faded.
England A tours
Solanki was picked for two England A tours: to South AfricaSouth 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...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
in 1998-99, and to Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1999-2000. His fine performances on these latter tours led to his making his full One Day International
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
debut against the South Africans later that same winter. However, he was unable to translate his A-team feats into runs for the senior England side, and after eight innings yielding just 96 runs, he was dropped and not picked again for more than three years.
One day internationals
Solanki played in four of the five One Day Internationals when England toured Pakistan in December 2005, his best score of 49 also being the highest in England's innings in the final match, which England went on to win by 6 wickets. However, Solanki was not selected for the team to go on the tour to India, instead being chosen to captain the 'A' team in the West Indies.On 1 July 2006, Solanki took his first wicket in ODIs at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, removing Sri Lankan
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
opener Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
for 152. It was something of a hollow triumph, however, as Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
(109) had put on 286, a world record for the first wicket in ODIs,
and England were crushed as Sri Lanka scored 324/2 to win by eight wickets
The result in cricket
The result in a game of cricket may be a win for one of the two teams playing, a draw or a tie. In the case of a limited overs game, the game can also end with no result...
in just 37.3 overs.
Solanki made history against Australia in 2005 when he became the first supersub in a One Day International, replacing Simon Jones
Simon Jones (cricketer)
Simon Philip Jones MBE is a Welsh cricketer, who played internationally for England. Formerly playing his county cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and then Worcestershire before moving in September 2009 to Hampshire. He is currently on a month's loan with his first county, Glamorgan...
to strengthen England's tail after a batting collapse; coming to the crease at no.8 with England 93/6, Solanki made 53 not out. He also took part in the final two matches of England's time in the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship
2007 Twenty20 World Championship
The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural Twenty20 cricket World Championship and it took place in South Africa from 11 September to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament, comprising the ten Test playing nations as well as the finalists of the 2007 WCL...
, replacing the injured Matt Prior. Keeping wicket and opening the batting in both of his matches in that tournament, he took two catches in the first, conceded no byes
Bye (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bye is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batsman and the ball has not hit the batsman's body.-Scoring byes:...
in either match, and scored 24 and 43. Those were (to date) his last international appearances.
Solanki has represented England on 51 occasions in one-day cricket, but still not been selected for a Test Match
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...
. His undoubted natural talent has only rarely come through into his performances for his country, and his England batting average languishes in the mid-twenties. He has made only two international hundreds, 106 off 108 balls against South Africa at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in 2003 (when he shared an opening partnership of 200, an English record, with Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
), and exactly 100 off 93 balls versus Zimbabwe at Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
in 2004/05.
Worcestershire
Solanki is also an occasional bowler of off-spinSpin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
for Worcestershire, although he has only bowled a handful of overs for England. Worcestershire appointed Solanki as captain of the county for 2005, succeeding the retiring Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes is a former English cricketer. He was best known as a wicket-keeper, but was also a useful number six or seven batsman, making twelve first-class centuries....
. In September 2006 he agreed an extension to his contract which will see him remain at the county until 2009. Following a defeat by Glamorgan on 12 August 2010, he announced his resignation as captain with immediate effect stating that "it was time for somebody else to be at the helm".
After showing good form in the first half of the 2009 season Solanki was called up to the England Lions squad for their fixture against Australia.
Rajasthan
Together with Worcestershire team-mate Kabir AliKabir Ali
Kabir Ali is an English cricketer who currently plays for Hampshire in the English County Championship. A right-arm seam bowler and useful lower-order right-handed batsman, outside cricket he works as a model...
, Solanki accepted an offer to play for Rajasthan
Rajasthan cricket team
The Rajasthan cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Team emerged as the champion of the Ranji Trophy in 2011, after finishing runners-up eight times . It is currently in the Ranji Trophy elite group."Rajasthan cricket team" is also popularly known as...
in the Indian Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
during the 2006–07 season.
Indian Cricket League
Solanki joined the rebel Indian Cricket LeagueIndian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India...
(ICL) in 2007, he made six appearances for the Mumbai Champs
Mumbai Champs
Mumbai Champs was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League . The team is based in Mumbai, India and its captain is former New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle.- Players :...
in his single season of ICL.
Career milestones
- 22 June 1995: First-class debut for Worcestershire: v HampshireHampshire County Cricket ClubHampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
at the County Ground, SouthamptonSouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... - 16 May 1997: Maiden first-class century: 128* v Oxford University at The Parks, OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
- 23 January 2000: One Day International debut: v South Africa at BloemfonteinBloemfonteinBloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, South Africa - 28 June 2003: Maiden ODI century: 106 v South Africa, The OvalThe OvalThe Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - 1 August 2008: Highest First-Class Innings: 270 v Gloucestershire, CheltenhamCheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
- 24 June 2009: First T20 century: 100 v Glamorgan, New RoadNew Road, WorcesterNew Road, Worcester, England, has been the home cricket ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896. Immediately to the northwest is a road called New Road, part of the A44, hence the name.- Overview :...
, WorcesterWorcesterThe City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
External links
- Statistical summary from 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...