David Steele (cricketer)

For other people named David Steele, see David Steele (disambiguation).

David Steele

Personal information
Full name	David Stanley Steele
Born	29 September 1941 (1941-09-29) (age 70) Bradeley, Staffordshire, England
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Slow left-arm orthodox
Relations	Arran Steele (son) Mark Steele (son) John Steele (brother)
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	ODIs
Matches	8	1
Runs scored	673	8
Batting average	42.06	8.00
100s/50s	1/5	–/–
Top score	106	8
Balls bowled	88	6
Wickets	2	–
Bowling average	19.50	–
5 wickets in innings	–	–
10 wickets in match	–	n/a
Best bowling	1/1	–
Catches/stumpings	7/–	–/–
Source: CricInfo, 1 January 2006

David Stanley Steele (born 29 September 1941)^[1] was an English international cricketer. Tony Greig picked him for England in 1975, when he was close to retirement from county cricket for Northamptonshire.

Steel, who was born in Bradeley, Staffordshire, England, was a middle-order batsman. In his eight Test matches, he played against fast bowlers including Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson for Australia; and Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Wayne Daniel, and Vanburn Holder for the West Indies. His arrival followed a period of great difficulty for the national team, mired in a difficult 1975 Ashes series. It led to the infamous phrase that he was like a "bank clerk that went to war".^[2]

He went on to play for Derbyshire from 1979 to 1981.

Life and career

Making his debut against Australia at Lord's in 1975, he got lost in the pavilion as he went out to bat. Steele went down one too many flights of stairs and found himself in the basement toilets.^[1] He managed to make the field of play without becoming the first Test batsman to be timed out.^[2] Once he did arrive at the crease, fast bowler Dennis Lillee gave Steele a typically Australian welcome. Eyeing Steele's prematurely greying hair at 34, Thompson asked: "Bloody hell, who've we got here, Groucho Marx?".^[3]

That summer however, Steele scored 50, 45, 73, 92, 39 and 66 against the Australians in his trademark staunch, courageous and steady manner.^[1]

The following year, he commenced against the even more fearsome fast bowling attack of the West Indies, by scoring a century at Trent Bridge. Oddly he was overlooked for that winter's tour to India, on the theory that he could not play spin bowlers. He duly returned to county cricket, and finished his career back at Northampton in 1984, having scored over 22,000 runs, of which 673 came at the top level of the sport.^[1]

Steele was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1975, and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1976.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Bateman, Colin (1993). If The Cap Fits. Tony Williams Publications. p. 155. ISBN 1-869833-21-X. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Player Profile: David Steele". CricInfo. http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/20345.html. Retrieved 18 April 2010. 
3. ^ , 11 August 2011 

External links

• Player Profile: David Steele (cricketer) from ESPNcricinfo

Preceded by Brendan Foster

BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1975

Succeeded by John Curry

Persondata
Name	Steele, David
Alternative names	Steele, DAvid Stanley
Short description	English Test and County cricketer
Date of birth	29 September 1941
Place of birth	Bradeley, Staffordshire, England
Date of death
Place of death