Alec Stewart
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Alec James Stewart (born 8 April 1963) is an English former cricketer, and former captain of the
England cricket team The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engl ...
, who played
Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...
and
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
s as a right-handed
wicket-keeper-batsman A wicket-keeper-batter is a type of player in cricket who fields primarily as a wicket-keeper and is particularly adept as a batsman. While they offer a similar advantage to a team as an all-rounder, that term is usually used to refer to players ...
. He is the fourth-most-
capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
English cricketer ever in Test matches and third-most-capped in
One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
s (ODIs), having played in 133 Tests and 170 ODIs. An attacking batsman in tests against the new ball, Stewart is regarded as one of England's greatest openers. Legendary Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram considers him one of the most difficult batsmen he ever bowled to.


Domestic career

The younger son of former English Test cricketer
Micky Stewart Michael James Stewart (born 16 September 1932) is an English former cricketer, coach and administrator. A right-handed batsman, Stewart's international career was hampered by illness that curtailed his first overseas tour – serving as vice-ca ...
, Stewart was educated at Coombe Hill Infants' School, Coombe Hill Junior School and
Tiffin School Tiffin School is a boys' grammar school in Kingston upon Thames, England. It has specialist status in both the performing arts and languages. The school moved from voluntary aided status to become an Academy School on 1 July 2011. Founded in 1 ...
in
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
. He made his debut 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. ...
in 1981, earning a reputation as an aggressive opening batsman and occasional wicketkeeper. Stewart is a well-known supporter of Surrey County Cricket Club and
Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...
When shirt numbers were introduced for One Day International cricket, Stewart chose the number 4 shirt in honour of his favourite Chelsea player when growing up,
John Hollins John William Hollins (born 16 July 1946) is an English retired footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective full-back. Hollins, throughout his footballing career, featured for clubs such a ...
, and kept that shirt number throughout his career.


International career

Stewart made his England debut in the first Test of the 1989/90 tour of the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
, along with
Nasser Hussain Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968) is a British cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-ha ...
, who would eventually replace him as England captain. At the start of his career, Stewart was a specialist opening batsman for England, with wicketkeeping duties being retained by Jack Russell, who was generally recognised as the superior gloveman and who batted down the order. However, Russell, the inferior batsman, would often be dropped to improve the balance of the side (i.e. to accommodate an extra bowler or batsman), in which case Stewart would don the gloves. After enduring years of selection and deselection, Russell retired from international cricket in 1998, leaving Stewart unrivalled as England's keeper-batsman until his own retirement in 2003.


Prominence

His highest Test score, 190, was against
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 ...
in the drawn first
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...
Test on 4 June 1992; it was his fourth century in five Tests. In 1994 at the
Kensington Oval The Kensington Oval is a stadium located to the west of the capital city Bridgetown on the island of Barbados. It is the pre-eminent sporting facility on the island and is primarily used for cricket. it has hosted many important and exciting ...
he became only the seventh Englishman to score centuries in both innings of a Test match, scoring 118 and 143 as the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
were beaten at their
Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...
"fortress" for the first time since 1935. Stewart's batting average (39.54) is the lowest of any player to have scored 8000 or more runs in Test cricket: he is the only player to have scored over 8000 runs despite an average of under 40. However, when played as a specialist batsman in Test cricket, Stewart averaged 46.90 in 51 games with 9 centuries. Since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, only
Len Hutton Sir Leonard Hutton (23 June 1916 – 6 September 1990) was an English cricketer. He played as an opening batsman for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1934 to 1955 and for England in 79 Test matches between 1937 and 1955. '' Wisden Cricke ...
,
Geoff Boycott Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...
,
Dennis Amiss Dennis Leslie Amiss (born 7 April 1943) is a former English cricketer and cricket administrator. He played for both Warwickshire and England. A right-handed batsman, Amiss was a stroke maker particularly through extra cover and midwicket – his ...
and
Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...
have bettered Stewart's average of 46 as a specialist opening batsman for England. As wicketkeeper-batsman he averaged 34.92 from 82 tests, higher than many of his contemporaries and many of the current batch of international wicketkeepers. He was unlucky enough to be on the losing side in a record 54 Test Matches. Stewart holds the record for scoring most test runs without a career double century in test history (8463).


Captaincy

Stewart was groomed for the England captaincy under
Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, h ...
, deputising for him in four tests in India and Sri Lanka in 1993, but when Gooch retired from the captaincy later that year
Mike Atherton Michael Andrew Atherton (born 23 March 1968) is a broadcaster, journalist and a former England international first-class cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman for Lancashire and England, and occasional leg-break bowler, he achieved the ca ...
was chosen to succeed him. Stewart was asked to captain England in 1998 when Mike Atherton resigned. Despite being the age of 35 at the time, Stewart's level of fitness was impeccable, especially bearing in mind that most players do not continue beyond 37. As it was Stewart went on to play for England beyond his 40th birthday – but as events were to transpire, his captaincy of England barely lasted 12 months. In his first series as captain, against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Stewart scored an outstanding 164 in the third Test at Old Trafford to salvage a draw, a result which eventually enabled England to overturn a 1–0 deficit to win the series 2–1. Nonetheless, failures against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and in the 1999 Cricket World Cup saw him sacked from the captaincy to be replaced by Hussain. During his captaincy, he dropped down the order and did not open the batting. He continued to deputise occasionally as captain of England's one-day side, and became the second international captain to concede a match in 2001, after a pitch invasion during a One Day International against
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 ...
rendered the continuation of play impossible. He continued as an England player for five more seasons, and became only the fourth player to score a century in his 100th Test, scoring 105 against the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
at Old Trafford in 2000. Stewart also set a record for playing the most number of ODI matches(28) as a captain who has kept wicket and opened the batting.


After cricket

In 2004, Stewart became a founding director of Arundel Promotions with specific responsibility for player management and representation. Cricket playing clients include
Paul Collingwood Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club and was the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 winn ...
,
Ian Bell Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...
,
Ashley Giles Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
and
Matt Prior Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...
. In 2009, Stewart rejoined Surrey as a part-time consultant to the coaching staff specialising in batting, wicket keeping and mentoring. Since retiring from playing Stewart has taken on the role as the Club Ambassador for Surrey County Cricket Club and was made an executive director in 2011. On 17 June 2013, it was announced by Surrey County Cricket Club that Stewart would take charge of first team affairs following the sacking of Chris Adams, until a long term successor was found. In October 2013 the club announced that
Graham Ford Graham Xavier Ford (born 16 November 1960) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer. Formerly the head coach of the Sri Lankan national cricket team, he was also the head coach of the Ireland cricket team. A right-handed batsman, h ...
would become head coach in February 2014, with Stewart becoming Director of Cricket, a new position."Graham Ford Appointed Head Coach"
Retrieved 18 October 2013 He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 2003 when he was surprised by
Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...
while playing golf at the Royal Automobile Club in Epsom.


Honours

* One of five ''
Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
''
Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...
1993 * Appointed an MBE on 13 June 1998 * Appointed an OBE on 14 June 2003 * Highest Test run scorer in the world during the 1990s * As a mark of his achievements Surrey County Cricket Club have named the gates at the Vauxhall End after him: the Alec Stewart Gates


References


External links


Alec Stewart's Greatest One-Day XI
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Alec 1963 births Living people Directors of Cricket English cricket coaches English cricketers England One Day International cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1969 to 2000 England Test cricket captains Surrey cricket captains Surrey cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Tiffin School People from Merton Park Wicket-keepers