Michael Bevan

Michael Gwyl Bevan (born 8 May 1970) is a former Australian cricketer . He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left arm wrist-spin bowler. He has been credited for initiating the art of finishing matches. He was an Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder in 1989.[1]

For the scientist, see Michael W. Bevan. For the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, see Michael Bevan (lord lieutenant).

Michael Bevan
Personal information
Full nameMichael Gwyl Bevan
Born (1970-05-08) 8 May 1970
Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory
NicknameBevo
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm wrist spin
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 360)28 September 1994 v Pakistan
Last Test2 January 1998 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 116)14 April 1994 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI29 February 2004 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.12
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1989/90South Australia
1990/91–2003/04New South Wales
1995–1996Yorkshire
1998–2000Sussex
2002Leicestershire
2004Kent
2004/05–2005/06Tasmania
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 18 232 237 427
Runs scored 785 6,912 19,147 15,103
Batting average 29.07 53.58 57.32 57.86
100s/50s 0/6 6/46 68/81 13/116
Top score 91 108* 216 157*
Balls bowled 1,285 1,966 8,769 3,546
Wickets 29 36 119 93
Bowling average 24.24 45.97 44.89 33.27
5 wickets in innings 1 0 1 1
10 wickets in match 1 0 1 0
Best bowling 6/82 3/36 6/82 5/29
Catches/stumpings 8/– 69/– 122/– 128/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 6 March 2008

He played 232 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia, and was a part of the 1999 and 2003 teams that won the Cricket World Cup.

He was named as a batsman in Australia's "greatest ever ODI team."[2]

Domestic career

Although Bevan played most of his domestic career for the New South Wales Blues, he moved to the Tasmanian Tigers for the 2004–05 season, where he continued his successes up until his retirement in January 2007. He has also played for South Australia and in England for Yorkshire,[3] Leicestershire and Sussex. Michael Bevan's first senior club was Weston Creek Cricket Club in Canberra.

Apart from coaching the Chennai Superstars in the Indian Cricket League, Bevan now participates in the Beach Cricket Tri-Nations series for Australia. In January 2011, Bevan was announced the coach for Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab.[4]

The major teams he has played for are: South Australia, New South Wales, Yorkshire, Sussex, Leicestershire and of course Australia. He finished his career playing for Tasmania, where in the 2004/05 Sheffield Shield season, he scored a then-record 1464 runs in the season. Despite this form, he was missed Australian selection due to his age.

International career

Early career
Histogram of batting averages highlighting Bevan's ODI record

Bevan made his One Day International debut for Australia in the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup at Sharjah and by the 1995–96 season he became a regular in the side.

Nonetheless, he proved a reliable anchor at the bottom of the middle order, and he would often patiently guide Australia to victory following a rare top-order collapse – leading to him being nicknamed "The Finisher". One of his most famous "anchor" innings was in the New Year's Day One Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground against the West Indies in 1996. With the Australians at one stage 6/38 chasing 173, his unbeaten 150-minute 78 got the Australians over the line with a four on the last ball of the innings.[5][6] By the end of his ODI career, Bevan was known as the "Pyjama Picasso".

2003 Cricket World Cup

Bevan previously appeared for Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, where Australia lost the final to Sri Lanka, and the victorious 1999 Cricket World Cup side.

Bevan entered the 2003 Cricket World Cup injured. He played his first game in the group stage against India. He didn't bat until the fifth group game against Namibia and he registered a rusty 17 before being caught and bowled by Louis Burger. In the final group game against England, he came in with Australia struggling at 48–4. He then was joined by Andy Bichel at 135–8 with 70 runs still required to win. Bevan finished on 74 not out and Bichel 34 not out as Australia won in the final over. An unbeaten group stage was followed by an unbeaten Super Six stage. He made 56 against New Zealand helping Australia recover from 84–7 again batting with Bichel to help Australia win. His last knock was an unfortunate golden duck in the semi-final against Sri Lanka and he was not required to bat in the final which Australia won.

Test career
Michael Bevan's Test career batting performance.

Despite his ODI success, Bevan's Test career was not nearly as successful. Thought to be susceptible to short-pitched deliveries, he never really succeeded in the longer form of the game, with an average of only 29. His problems with short-pitched bowling were more myth than reality – he continued to perform consistently in ODIs, despite a rule change which allowed short-pitched bowling in ODIs. He also scored heavily in domestic first-class cricket for New South Wales, averaging almost 60 with the bat. He performed well during his limited time as a bowler in Test matches, with his bowling style of left-arm unorthodox spin, which included taking ten wickets in a Test match against the West Indies touring side in 1996. Bevan’s modest Test career is also a reflection of the strength of Australian cricket at the time - they did not need to persevere with him because there were many other options.

Retirement

On 17 January 2007, due to injuries Bevan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. "It got to the stage where injuries and pain were holding back my motivation, and it got to the stage where I was finding it hard to get up for matches and that was probably a pretty clear indication that it was time to move on," Bevan said.[7]

Television

In 2020, Bevan was revealed to be the 'hammerhead' in the second season of The Masked Singer Australia and was the second contestant eliminated.[8]

gollark: WHO thought "hmm, I can make arbitrary objects fly. Why don't I put said flight thing on a really thin object which is not merely irritating to sit on but also hard to control?"‽
gollark: No, it just lets them know where you are.
gollark: Because OBVIOUSLY a broom is the natural thing to put flight enchantments on?
gollark: And games get shorter as broom technology improves.
gollark: It's seen as scary or something. They did actually put a magical taboo on it at some point.

References
  1. Excellence : the Australian Institute of Sport. Canberra: Australian Sports Commission. 2002.
  2. Daily Times (28 February 2007). "Australia names greatest ODI team". Retrieved 1 March 2007.
  3. Warner, David (2011). The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook (113th ed.). Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 363. ISBN 978-1-905080-85-4.
  4. "Bevan named Kings XI Punjab coach". ESPNCricInfo. 5 January 2011.
  5. Cricket Archive
  6. Australia v West Indies – WSC 95/96 Match 5 – Bevan's Match : Online Video | Veoh Video Network
  7. "Bevan pulls stumps". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 2007.
  8. Whitehead, Mat (11 August 2020). "All The Clues From Episode 2 Of The Masked Singer 2020". 11 Play. Network Ten. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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