Gary Keedy (born 27 November 1974) is a retired English
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er. A slow-left arm
spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
bowler, he played one match for
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
in 1994, having graduated from their cricket academy, before moving to
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
in 1995. He played for the club until 2012 taking over 500
first-class wickets. Although he had played youth internationals, he never played for the senior
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
team, although he was named in the squad a few times.
In 2011 he was part of the Lancashire squad that won the
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
for the first time since 1950. Keedy subsequently played one season for
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
and two for
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
before retiring as a professional cricketer in 2015. After studying
physiotherapy
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
at the
University of Salford
, caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford
, mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things"
, established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...
, he is currently Nottinghamshire's spin bowling coach and assistant physiotherapist.
Early life
He attended
Garforth Comprehensive School
Garforth Academy (formerly known as Garforth Comprehensive School until September 1992 and Garforth Community College until November 2010) is a secondary school and sixth form for pupils aged 11–18 and is located on Lidgett Lane (B6137) ...
.
Career
Youth cricket
Although Keedy never played for the England test or one-day senior team, between 1993 and 1994 he played 8 youth test matches taking 16 wickets at an average of 38.87 including the scalps of
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine "Shiv" Chanderpaul (born 16 August 1974) is a Guyanese cricket coach and former captain of the West Indies cricket team. Considered one of the greatest batsmen of his era, Chanderpaul is the first Indo-Caribbean to play 100 Tests for ...
and
Thilan Samaraweera
Thilan Thusara Samaraweera ( si, තිලාන් සමරවීර; born 22 September 1976) is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer. Samaraweera played international cricket for Sri Lanka. Known as Sri Lanka's crisis man and for his sl ...
. In the same period, he also played 6 youth ODIs, claiming 8 wickets at 16.37.
Keedy graduated from the
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
Cricket Academy and played only one match for Yorkshire before moving to
Roses
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
rivals Lancashire in the winter of 1994/5.
Lancashire
Keedy was signed by Lancashire's then-coach
David Lloyd in a motorway service station.
Although it took time for him to become a leading light of the Lancashire attack, he was awarded his county cap in 2000.
It was
in 2003 that Keedy first started to impress observers, taking sixty wickets in the
County Championship
The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...
as Lancashire narrowly missed out on their first Championship title since 1934 to
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
. Since then he has remained on the periphery of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
selection. He was considered unlucky not to win a place to tour
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in 2003–4. The selectors chose
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
's
Robert Croft
Robert Damien Bale Croft MBE (born 25 May 1970) is a former Welsh cricketer who played international cricket for England. He is an off-spin bowler who played for Glamorgan and captained the county from 2003 to 2006. He retired from first class c ...
instead.
In 2004, Keedy enjoyed the most successful season of his career so far, taking 72 Championship wickets, making him the leading first-class wicket-taker amongst England qualified players. Only Pakistan international
Mushtaq Ahmed of Sussex took more first-class wickets. Unfortunately for him, Lancashire were relegated to Division Two of the Championship despite being favourites for the title. As a result of his bowling efforts during the 2004 season, Keedy was awarded Lancashire's Player of the Year Award.
He again missed out on selection to tour with England, this time to South Africa, in favour of the more conservative pick of
Gareth Batty
Gareth Jon Batty (born 13 October 1977) is an English former cricketer who is best known as a spin-bowler. He has represented England in all formats and was the captain of Surrey County Cricket Club between 2015 and 2017. In October 2021, Batt ...
.
After taking 29 Championship wickets
in 2005, Keedy suffered a finger injury on his spinning finger which ruled him out for the final month of the season. The injury likely cost Keedy a place on England's tour to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and India.
Until recently, many observers believed the main reason that Keedy had never played for the national team is his lack of
batting Batting may refer to:
*Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs
*Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...
talent and poor fielding qualities. Despite this,
left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of Finger spin, left-arm finger spin bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket.
Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bow ...
ner
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In E ...
, who is also not renowned for his batting or fielding skills, played all three Tests in India, and was a permanent fixture in the England squad until 2009.
In
All Out Cricket
''All Out Cricket'' was a monthly cricket magazine. Launched in 2002, it was founded by Matt Thacker and was edited by Phil Walker. The magazine had its headquarters in London. It was part of Trinorth Media.
In 2012 John Stern, former editor of ' ...
's October 2006 edition, Gary Keedy was voted the best county player never to have played for England.
Although Keedy only took 28 wickets in the
2008 County Championship, he felt that the statistics did not reflect how well he bowled.
Keedy is studying for a four-year degree in
physiotherapy
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
at the
University of Salford
, caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford
, mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things"
, established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...
in preparation for life after his playing career.
For the
2009 season, former England coach
Peter Moores joined Lancashire as the club's coach, replacing
Mike Watkinson
Michael Watkinson (born 1 August 1961) is a former English cricketer who played four Test matches and one One Day International in the mid-1990s. A right-handed batsman and right-arm bowler of either medium-pace or off-spin, he was instrumenta ...
, who became Lancashire's director of cricket. Keedy admitted to being "nervous" and wanted to make a good impression.
Despite initial nerves, Keedy finished 2009 as the club's leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket, with 45 scalps from 17 matches. 2009 was also Keedy's benefit season. Events to raise money included a golf day with
Ian Botham
Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser.
Hailed as one ...
and a
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
-style ball.
In a warm-up match against Durham before the
2010 season started, Keedy broke his collar bone. The injury left him unable to play for several months.
In Keedy's absence, Lancashire's young spinners,
Stephen Parry and
Simon Kerrigan
Simon Christopher Kerrigan (born 10 May 1989) is an English cricketer who plays for Northamptonshire. He bowls slow left arm orthodox spin. Kerrigan signed for Lancashire in September 2008, and made his debut for the first team in 2010, fillin ...
, were given opportunities in the first team.
Kerrigan was chosen ahead of Parry in the four-day team and cemented his place in the side. When Keedy returned from injury he and Kerrigan sometimes bowled together in the County Championship. Their partnership began with them competing to out perform each other. After a discussion the pair decided they would be more effective if they worked together to build pressure while bowling. Keedy finished the season with 31 first-class wickets at an average of 22.19.
During the
2011 season Keedy was preferred to Kerrigan when Lancashire chose to play with one spinner in the County Championship. In August 2011 rumours emerged that Keedy had been approached by
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
. In September, in the last match of the season Lancashire won the County Championship for the first time since they shared the title in 1950. Keedy finished as the team's leading wicket-taker in the competition, taking 61 wickets to help them to the title. The same month he agreed to sign a new contract with the club. Speaking on the matter later, Keedy remarked that he felt the offer adversely affected his form as it distracted from playing for Lancashire; to deal with this, he deferred acting on the offer until the end of the season. Although Warwickshire offered a pay rise, Keedy chose to remain with Lancashire, saying "Ultimately the decision was based on what I've done here for the last 17 years. It boiled down to the support network around me, including my family."
The
Bangladesh Cricket Board
The Bangladesh Cricket board ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ক্রিকেট বোর্ড; abbreviated as BCB) is the governing body of cricket in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Cricket Board first became an associate member of the Inter ...
in 2012 founded the six-team
Bangladesh Premier League
The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ প্রিমিয়ার লীগ) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league consisting of seven franchises. The BPL is one of the three professional cricket leagues in ...
, a twenty20 tournament to be held in February that year. An auction was held for teams to buy players, and Keedy was bought by the
Sylhet Royals
Sylhet Strikers (Sylheti/ bn, সিলেট স্ট্রাইকার্স) is a professional cricket franchise team based in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The team competes in the Bangladesh Premier League. The franchise made their debut at th ...
for $25,000. He played a single match in the competition, and bowled just two overs against the
Dhaka Gladiators
The Dhaka Dominators (Dhakaiya/ bn, ঢাকা ডমিনেটর্স) is a franchise cricket team that plays in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), representing the country's Dhaka City, Dhaka.
The team was originally established in 20 ...
without taking a wicket. In June 2012, Keedy took the second five-wicket haul of his one-day career, taking 5/55 in Lancashire's 167-run loss to
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
; during the match he also claimed his 100th wicket in the format, that of batsman
Joe Denly
Joseph Liam Denly (born 16 March 1986) is an English professional cricketer who plays for Kent County Cricket Club. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional leg break bowler who plays as a top-order batsman. Denly played age group cricket f ...
, caught by
Ashwell Prince.
Surrey and Nottinghamshire
After playing just four Championship games in the
2012 season, Keedy signed a two-year deal with
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
with Lancashire's best wishes, for him to "fulfil my ambitions" and play as much cricket as possible.
On 19 December 2013, it was announced that for the 2014 season, Keedy would be joining
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. Although registered as a member of the playing staff, his primary role will be as assistant physio. He will continue in a physiotherapy role, as well as acting as spin bowling coach, after his retirement at the end of the 2015 season, in which he only played one first-class game.
References
External links
Gary Keedy SpinScience– Spin Bowling Cricket Coaching
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keedy, Gary
1974 births
Living people
English cricketers
Lancashire cricketers
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Nottinghamshire cricketers
Surrey cricketers
Sylhet Strikers cricketers
Yorkshire cricketers
Alumni of the University of Salford
People from Sandal Magna
Articles containing video clips
English cricket coaches
People educated at Garforth Academy
Cricketers from West Yorkshire