James Kirtley

England|Bowler
James Kirtley
INTL CAREER: 2001 - 2007
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Alphabetically sorted top ten of players who have played the most matches across formats in the last 12 months

Full Name

Robert James Kirtley

Born

January 10, 1975, Eastbourne, Sussex

Age

49y 69d

Nicknames

Ambi

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Fast medium

Playing Role

Bowler

Height

6ft

Education

St Andrews School, Eastbourne; Clifton College, Bristol

RELATIONS

(brother)

England's willing bridesmaid, James Kirtley was rarely a first-choice bowler, but responded to every opportunity with an unrivalled eagerness. Slim-bodied but whole-hearted, he has a rare gift for swinging the ball at pace, and speeds to the crease from a die-straight run, before completing a chest-on action with an eye-watering wrench of the back. His fitness record is solid enough, but there have been murmurs about the legality of his bowling action. Before he played for England, he was filmed by biomechanics experts and cleared by an eight-man ECB panel, but no sooner had he made his international debut, in a Harare one-dayer in October 2001, than suspicions were aired again by the match referee, Colonel Naushad Ali. With the backing of both the Sussex and England management, Kirtley carried on regardless, and returned to the side the following summer, following extensive remedial work. But he was reported twice in 2005 and again sent for remedial work at the end of the summer. There was an irony in Kirtley's return to Zimbabwe in an England shirt, as he started the rot on Mike Atherton's horror tour of 1996-97 by collecting seven wickets as Mashonaland's overseas player. In 2003 he finally made his Test debut against South Africa at Trent Bridge, and bowled England to victory with second-innings figures of 6 for 34. He was initially overlooked for the subsequent tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but stayed on as cover for the injured James Anderson, and ended up playing in the final two Tests. Until then the highlight of his brief international career was an amazing one-handed outfield catch, off Sourav Ganguly, at Lord's in 2002. However, his career at international level was stunted by his lack of pace and the emergence of Steve Harmison and Simon Jones. A lesser character would have folded under the pressure of the questions about his action, but Kirtley came through the turmoil and bowled Sussex to victory in the 2006 C&G final with 5 for 27. Further consistent performances in domestic one-day cricket, plus England's continued inability to find reliable bowlers, then brought him a surprise international recall for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa but his tournament amounted to one match, and one over (which cost 17), against Australia. That was his last taste of the international scene and he gradually played less first-class cricket for Sussex before ending his career in 2010 as a one-day specialist - but still a very fine performer.
Simon Briggs September 2010

James Kirtley Career Stats

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests471079561196/348/11429.523.1156.7010
ODIs111154948192/332/3353.445.2561.0000
T20Is116170---17.00-000
FC170-31915166076147/21-27.043.1251.9-294
List A260-1136791353956/506/5023.124.8228.71490
T20s706812521674644/224/2226.158.0219.5100

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests47132125.3312924.80001130
ODIs1120211.001118.18000050
T20Is11122*-450.00000000
FC1702317620405913.16--04--600
List A260945044730*10.15--00--710
T20s7021133311*4.126055.000030180

Explore Statsguru Analysis

Test
ODI
T20I

Recent Matches of James Kirtley

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
Sussex vs Surrey2*3/6104-Sep-2010HoveList A
Sussex vs Somerset--1/4522-Aug-2010HorshamList A
Sussx 2nd XI vs Middx 2nd XI--0/1517-Aug-2010HoveOTHEROD
Sussex vs Surrey--4/6008-Aug-2010GuildfordList A
Sussex vs Lancashire--3/3503-Aug-2010ManchesterList A

Photos of James Kirtley

James Kirtley and Ian Salisbury will split head-coaching responsibilities at Sussex
James Kirtley took three wickets to help set up a thrilling tie in his final game for Sussex
James Kirtley claimed the key wicket of Ian Harvey
James Kirtley roars an appeal
James Kirtley does some fielding practice
Robin Uthappa takes off for a single as James Kirtley looks on