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Full name Robert James Kirtley
Born January 10, 1975, Eastbourne, Sussex
Current age 33 years 179 days
Major teams England,Mashonaland,Sussex
Nickname Ambi
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Height
6 ft 0 in
Education St Andrews School, Eastbourne; Clifton College, Bristol
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
4s
6s
Ct
St
Tests
4
7
1
32
12
5.33
129
24.80
0
0
1
1
3
0
ODIs
11
2
0
2
1
1.00
11
18.18
0
0
0
0
5
0
T20Is
1
1
1
2
2*
-
4
50.00
0
0
0
0
0
0
First-class
166
227
75
1995
59
13.12
0
4
58
0
List A
224
84
42
418
30*
9.95
0
0
61
0
Twenty20
40
13
5
10
2*
1.25
37
27.02
0
0
0
0
10
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
Tests
4
7
1079
561
19
6/34
8/114
29.52
3.11
56.7
0
1
0
ODIs
11
11
549
481
9
2/33
2/33
53.44
5.25
61.0
0
0
0
T20Is
1
1
6
17
0
-
-
-
17.00
-
0
0
0
First-class
166
31412
16334
606
7/21
26.95
3.11
51.8
29
4
List A
224
9905
7669
333
5/27
5/27
23.03
4.64
29.7
10
7
0
Twenty20
40
39
747
1038
34
4/22
4/22
30.52
8.33
21.9
1
0
0
Career statistics
Test debut
England v South Africa at Nottingham, Aug 14-18, 2003 scorecard
Last Test
Sri Lanka v England at Colombo (SSC), Dec 18-21, 2003 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut
Zimbabwe v England at Harare, Oct 3, 2001 scorecard
Last ODI
West Indies v England at Georgetown, Apr 18, 2004 scorecard
ODI statistics
Only T20I
Australia v England at Cape Town, Sep 14, 2007 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut
1995
Last First-class
Sussex v Surrey at Hove, Apr 30-May 3, 2008 scorecard
List A debut
1995
Last List A
Surrey v Sussex at Croydon, May 28, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut
Hampshire v Sussex at Southampton, Jun 13, 2003 scorecard
England's willing bridesmaid, Kirtley is rarely a first-choice bowler, but responds to every opportunity with an unrivalled eagerness. Slim-bodied but whole-hearted, he has a rare gift for swinging the ball at pace, and speeds to the crease from a die-straight run, before completing a chest-on action with an eye-watering wrench of the back. His fitness record is solid enough, but there have been murmurs about the legality of his bowling action. Before he played for England, he was filmed by biomechanics experts and cleared by an eight-man ECB panel, but no sooner had he made his international debut, in a Harare one-dayer in October 2001, than suspicions were aired again by the match referee, Colonel Naushad Ali. With the backing of both the Sussex and England management, Kirtley carried on regardless, and returned to the side the following summer, following extensive remedial work. But he was reported twice in 2005 and again sent for remedial work at the end of the summer. There was an irony in Kirtley's return to Zimbabwe in an England shirt, as he started the rot on Mike Atherton's horror tour of 1996-97 by collecting seven wickets as Mashonaland's overseas player. His reputation has grown steadily since, and after loitering on the fringes of England's Test team in 2003, he finally made his debut against South Africa at Trent Bridge, and bowled England to victory with second-innings figures of 6 for 34. He was initally overlooked for the subsequent tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but stayed on as cover for the injured James Anderson, and ended up playing in the final two Tests. Until then the highlight of his brief international career was an amazing one-handed outfield catch, off Sourav Ganguly, at Lord's in 2002. However, his career at international level was stunted by his lack of pace and the emergence of Steve Harmison and Simon Jones. A lesser character would have folded under the pressure of the questions about his action, but Kirtley came through the turmoil and bowled Sussex to victory in the 2006 C&G final with 5 for 27. Further consistent performances in domestic one-day cricket, plus England's continued inability to find reliable bowlers, then brought him an international recall for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Simon Briggs August 2007
