Alan Knott

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Alan Knott
country = England
fullname = Alan Philip Eric Knott
nickname = Knotty, Flea
living = true
dayofbirth = 9
monthofbirth = 4
yearofbirth = 1946
placeofbirth = Belvedere, Kent
countryofbirth = England
heightft = 5
heightinch = 8
batting = Right-handed
bowling = Right arm off spin
role = Wicket-keeper
international = true
testdebutdate = 10 August
testdebutyear = 1967
testdebutagainst = Pakistan
testc

lasttestdate = 1 September
lasttestyear = 1981
lasttestagainst = Australia
odidebutdate = 5 January
odidebutyear = 1971
odidebutagainst = Australia
odic

lastodidate = 6 June
lastodiyear = 1977
lastodiagainst = Australia
club1 = Kent
year1 = 1964 – 1985
club2 = MCC
year2 = 1965 – 1977
club3 = Tasmania
year3 = 1969 – 1970
deliveries = balls
columns = 4
column1 = Tests
matches1 = 95
runs1 = 4389
bat avg1 = 32.75
100s/50s1 = 5/30
top score1 = 135
deliveries1 = –
wickets1 = –
bowl avg1 = –
fivefor1 = –
tenfor1 = –
best bowling1 = –
catches/stumpings1 = 250/19
column2 = ODI
matches2 = 20
runs2 = 200
bat avg2 = 20.00
100s/50s2 = 0/1
top score2 = 50
deliveries2 = –
wickets2 = –
bowl avg2 = –
fivefor2 = –
tenfor2 = n/a
best bowling2 = –
catches/stumpings2 = 15/1
column3 = FC
matches3 = 511
runs3 = 18105
bat avg3 = 29.63
100s/50s3 = 17/97
top score3 = 156
deliveries3 = 104
wickets3 = 2
bowl avg3 = 43.50
fivefor3 = –
tenfor3 = –
best bowling3 = 1/5
catches/stumpings3 = 1211/133
column4 = LA
matches4 = 317
runs4 = 3260
bat avg4 = 16.13
100s/50s4 = 0/6
top score4 = 65
deliveries4 = –
wickets4 = –
bowl avg4 = –
fivefor4 = –
tenfor4 = n/a
best bowling4 = –
catches/stumpings4 = 343/54
date = 14 November
year = 2007
source = http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/15917.html Cricinfo

Alan Philip Eric Knott (born 9 April 1946 in Belvedere, Kent, England) was a Kent County Cricket Club and English cricketer, as a wicket-keeper-batsman.

He played for the England Test side between 1967 and 1981, and was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970. He was particularly known for his habit of conducting limbering-up exercises at any inactive moment during a match. His major strengths were the sweep and the cut.

Career

Inspired by his father, he made his Kent debut in 1964 at the age of 19. He joined a long list of Kent-created wicket-keeper-batsman.

He gained his first Test cap at the age of 21, having been named Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year in 1965. When he made his debut, it was against the Pakistani tourists in 1967. Batting at number 8, he made a duck in his first Test, at Trent Bridge, but didn't concede a single bye in the match. He made 28 in the second match, but didn't make the starting eleven for the 1967-68 tour of the West Indies, as Jim Parks was initially preferred. However, for the fourth and fifth matches of the series, he was picked again. In the first of those, he made his first Test half-century, a score of 69 not out, and he once again excelled at wicket-keeping.

In the winter of 1967, again against Pakistan, he confirmed his position as England's premier wicketkeeper-batsman. He made two 50s in the series, including a score of 96 not out at Karachi when the match was prematurely ended by a pitch invasion by Pakistani fans, denying him a well-deserved hundred.

In 1970, he was Wisden's Cricketer of the Year. County captain Colin Cowdrey said:

"I think he is the most gifted and dedicated cricketer one could ever wish to play with, never satisfied with his performance and always seeking for a little more perfection."

In 1970 he finally did make his maiden Test century, 110 at Auckland against New Zealand. He had missed the first match of that 1970-71 series, Bob Taylor taking the gloves solely as a reward for patience. Knott did not miss a Test until 1977, making a sum of five centuries and twenty-eight 50s in that time.

He has the distinction of once scoring 7 runs from a single delivery in Test cricket, off Vanburn Holder in the Fourth England v West Indies Test at Headingley in 1976. Knott took a quick single to extra-cover where Bernard Julien fielded and overthrew the wicket-keeper. Knott and Tony Greig ran two overthrows before Andy Roberts, fielding at square-leg, retrieved the ball and threw it past the stumps at the bowler's end and over the long-off boundary for four more runs.

Knott helped England win the Ashes in England in 1977 but had been persuaded by England colleague Tony Greig to join Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. This effectively put his England career on hold as the 'Packer players' were banned from test cricket. When he returned to Tests after the end of World Series Cricket in 1980, he had very little success against a mighty West Indian side, averaging 5.14 in the series. He did not play in the tour of the West Indies that immediately followed, but was picked for the final two Tests of the famous 1981 Ashes series. Fittingly for one of England's greatest players, he ended his last Test against Australia at The Oval, with a score of 70 not out and an England series win.

He was replaced as England wicket keeper by Bob Taylor on two occasions - when he went to World Series Cricket, and when he retired. Knott retired from all cricket in 1985, at the age of 39. He then mentored his son James Knott and Jack Russell.

Knott was known for his idiosyncratic behaviour on the field. His trademarks included always keeping his shirt collar turned up to protect him from the sun; his sleeves rolled down to safeguard his elbows when diving; and, after a tip from former Northamptonshire and England wicket-keeper Keith Andrew, warming his hands with hot water before going on the field. According to Bob Taylor, Knott preferred strong-backed gloves with full webbing and plenty of padding in the palms, wearing two pairs of Chamois inners with strips of plasticine across the palms. [The Cricketer, Equipment supplement 1988, pg 23]

He now lives in Cyprus. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030208/ai_n12671753 WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ALAN KNOTT | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/allrounder/content/story/278464.html Cricinfo - The stumpy stopper ] ] [ [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/thespin/idx/0,12496,1234000,00.html How to become No1 again; and
Devon Loch revisited | The Spin | Guardian Unlimited Sport ] ]

In the October 2004 edition of The Wisden Cricketer magazine he was voted as the wicket-keeper in "England's Greatest post-war XI" receiving votes from 20 of the 25 panelists.

Trivia

* A fitness fanatic, who practiced Yoga
* He once owned a Sports Equipment shop and a Gymnasium in Herne Bay

References

External links

* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/15917.html Cricinfo Player Profile : Alan Philip Eric Knott]