Mark Ealham
Mark Alan Ealham (born 27 August 1969) is a former English cricketer, who played Test and One Day International cricket. He played domestic cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club as an all-rounder.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mark Alan Ealham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 August 1969 Willesborough, Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Ealy, Border, Skater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right arm medium-fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Alan Ealham (father) Simon Willis (brother-in-law) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 580) | 4 July 1996 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 21 June 1998 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 136) | 23 May 1996 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 12 June 2001 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–2003 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2009 | Nottinghamshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 14 October 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He retired in September 2009, after 20 seasons in domestic cricket,[1] to take charge of cricket at King's School, Canterbury.[2] During his time at King's, he coached several Kent academy players including Ollie Robinson.
Domestic career
Ealham was born in Willesborough in Kent and began his career with Kent County Cricket Club. His father, Alan Ealham, had spent his entire career with Kent. He made his first-class and list A cricket debuts for Kent in 1989.
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[citation needed] – during a Twenty20 Cup match in 2005 against Durham he scored 45 off 17 balls including 34 runs in a single over.
Ealham left Kent 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.
International career
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. He made his Test debut in the third Test in July. 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. Ealham made his highest Test score, 53 not out, and took 3-60, in the first Test of the 1997 Ashes series at Edgbaston,[3] England's only victory in an Ashes Test that was not a dead rubber between the 1986-7 and 2005 series. However Ealham was dropped after England fell behind in the fourth Test of that series and only played two more Tests.[4]
His greatest performance as a player, however, came in 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.[5]
References
- ^ No regrets on retirement – Ealham bbc.co.uk Thursday, 9 July 2009 09:57 UK
- ^ Ealham Prepares For Life After Notts 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine NCCC News 29 September 2009
- ^ Cricinfo – Full Scorecard of Australia vs England 1st Test, 1997
- ^ Cricinfo - Statistics, M A Ealham, Test Matches
- ^ Cricinfo – A legend is born
External links
Mark Ealham at ESPNcricinfo