A fierce hitter and a tidy left-arm spinner whose first first-class wicket was Steve Waugh, the chunky Ian Blackwell was called up by England when Andrew Flintoff pulled out of the ICC Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2002. He owed that to an innate sense of timing: Blackwell whacked 28 off Matthew Hoggard in front of Duncan Fletcher in the County Championship earlier that season - though he didn't know Fletcher was at the ground - and smeared a matchwinning 86 off 53 balls in the televised C&G Trophy semi-final the same year. He started off at Derbyshire, before moving to Somerset in 2000, an appropriate move for a man who says he bases his batting style on Ian Botham. He has established a reputation as a retriever of lost causes with bat and ball. Despite a run of outs that left his face even redder than usual in the 2002-03 VB Series in Australia - he finished with 0, 0, 0 and 1 - he claimed a place in the 2003 World Cup squad. An unwillingness to adhere to England squad's strict fitness regime meant that he spent much of the following two years in the wilderness, but his appointment as Somerset captain heralded a new responsible outlook, and a recall to the England one-day squad for the tour of Pakistan. His Test debut came in India, but he looked out of his depth with both bat and ball, and the experiment lasted one match. Sadly, his progress stalled when he missed almost all of the 2006 season after surgery on his shoulder. After overcoming his injury problems he slowly restored his form and remained a consistent allrounder. Under Justin Langer's tough regime at Taunton he tried to change his lifestyle, with mixed results, but surprisingly lost his one-day place in 2008. At the end of the season, after nine years at Somerset, he made a significant move to Durham. He enjoyed a productive 2009 season as Durham defended their Championship title, scoring 801 runs at 40.05 and taking 43 wickets at 23.53 after his move from Somerset. He held on to hopes of an England re-call ahead of the 2011 World Cup, but Michael Yardy's resurgence ruled that out. He plays golf off a handicap of six, and lists Eminem among his favourite artists.
Andrew Miller May 2011