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RSSMike Gatting: The Controversial Cricketer
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The former legendry England cricketer Michael (”Mike”) William Gatting is a right arm batsman who was also a controversial figure. Gatting was born in Kingsbury on 6 June 1957 and started playing first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club in 1975. He wore the jersey for England during the period 1977 to 1995, captaining it in 23 Test matches between 1986 and 1988. Gatting is currently the ECB Managing Director of Cricket Partnerships.
Gatting was one of the most prolific batsmen in England during his career. He initially faced
difficulty in converting fifties into centuries at Test match level. It took 54 innings for him to score his first century. His highest Test score of 207 was scored in Chennai. Gatting led the Engish team to lift the Ashes in Australia in 1986-87. He was also controversial in his manners. He argued with a Pakistani umpire in Faisalabad, when the England hierarchy supported him in Pakistan. But Gatting lost his captaincy the following summer over an alleged encounter with a barmaid. He subsequently led a highly controversial rebel tour to South Africa.
In the 1993 Ashes, during the first innings at Old Trafford, Gatting got out on aball of Shane Warne, which is known as the Ball of the Century. Gatting was also a right arm medium pace bowler, who bowled very rarely. Gatting found berth in the Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year in 1984, and was awarded an OBE in 1987. He retired from professional cricket in 1998.
Since then, he is acting as a coach and commentator. Gatting is also known for his preference for good food. He was the President of the Lord’s Taverners for 2005/2006 and an elected member of the M.C.C. Committee. His brother, Steve Gatting, was a professional footballer. Mike Gatting appeared as himself on The Archers on 9 September 2007.
