Bill Athey

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Bill Athey
England
Personal information
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling style	Right-arm medium (RM)
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	23	31
Runs scored	919	848
Batting average	22.97	31.40
100s/50s	1/4	2/4
Top score	123	142*
Overs	0	1
Wickets	0	0
Bowling average	N/A	N/A
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	n/a
Best bowling	N/A	N/A
Catches/stumpings	13/0	16/0
As of 16 October 2005 Source: [1]

Bill Athey (born Charles William Jeffrey Athey on September 27, 1957 in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England) was an English cricketer who played for the English cricket team and played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Sussex County Cricket Club; he also played a solitary one-day game for Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

The sheer bulk of his first class record suggests a player hailing from the 1930s rather than the 1980s, and indeed there was something splendidly old-fashioned about Athey's straight bat and undemonstrative manner. He made his debut for his native Yorkshire in 1976, before moving to Gloucestershire in 1984. He captained the side in 1989, and scored four hundreds in successive innings while there. In 1993, he moved to Sussex, and passed the increasingly rare landmark of 25,000 first-class runs when he made an unbeaten century against Somerset in 1997. He retired at the end of that season and joined Worcestershire as coach, but left New Road at the end of 2000. He played no fewer than 467 first class matches and batted 784 times with 71 not outs. He scored 25,453 first class runs, with a best of 184, at an average of 35.69, with 55 centuries and 126 fifties. He took 429 catches, and 2 stumpings on his rare ventures behind the stumps. In 459 list A one-day matches, he scored 13,240 runs, with a top score of 142* at a commendable average of 33.86, scoring 12 centuries, 89 fifties, and taking 171 catches and one stumping.

He was a middle-order batsman by inclination, but found greatest success at Test level as an opener. Selected for the 1986/87 tour of Australia as middle order cover, he ended up opening in all five Tests with Chris Broad. His top score was 96 in Perth, and he was instrumental in England's most successful tour in recent memory. In the 1987 summer, he was initially meant to revert to the middle order, but an injury to Chris Broad meant that he opened in the first Test with Tim Robinson. However, in the second Test he reverted to number 3, and made his only Test hundred at Lord's.

His 23 Test appearances were spread over eight years, which says more about the inconsistency of the selectors than Athey himself. He made his debut in the Centenary Test at Lord's in 1980, and eight years later appeared in the Bicentenary Test in Sydney, along with fellow survivors John Embury and Mike Gatting, who were often given an automatic place in the test team regardless of performance.

Although never thought of as a one-day player, Athey hit two centuries in one day internationals, and top-scored for England before being run out in their World Cup final defeat against Australia at Calcutta in 1987. He was suspended for playing in South Africa in 1990, but the suspension was remitted two years later when South Africa rejoined the world game.

Athey now works at Dulwich College school in South London as the 1st XI Cricket Coach. He also takes the 2nd XI football team, and is house master of Old Blew, one of the four Dulwich College boarding houses.

v • d • e England squad - 1987 Cricket World Cup 1 Gatting (c) • 2 Athey • 3 Broad • 4 DeFreitas • 5 Downton (wk) • 6 Emburey • 7 Foster • 8 Gooch • 9 Hemmings • 10 Lamb • 11 Pringle • 12 Robinson • 13 Small

Persondata
NAME	Athey, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Athey, Charles William Jeffrey
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	27 September 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH	Middlesbrough, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH