Graeme Hick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Graeme Hick

Personal information
Full name	Graeme Ashley Hick
Born	(1966-05-23) 23 May 1966 (age 59) Salisbury, Rhodesia
Nickname	Hicky, Ash
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Batsman
International information
National sides	Zimbabwe (1983–1986) England (1991–2001)
Test debut (cap 548)	6 June 1991  England v West Indies
Last Test	7 March 2001  England v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 112)	23 May 1991  England v West Indies
Last ODI	27 March 2001  England v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1984–2008	Worcestershire
1987/88–1988/89	Northern Districts
1988–1991	MCC
1990/91	Queensland
1997/98	Auckland
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 65 120 526 651 Runs scored 3,383 3,846 41,112 22,059 Batting average 31.32 37.33 52.23 41.30 100s/50s 6/18 5/27 136/158 40/139 Top score 178 126* 405* 172* Balls bowled 3,057 1,236 20,889 8,604 Wickets 23 30 232 225 Bowling average 56.78 34.20 44.43 29.55 5 wickets in innings 0 1 5 4 10 wickets in match 0 0 1 0 Best bowling 4/126 5/33 5/18 5/19 Catches/stumpings 90/– 64/– 709/– 289/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  England ICC Cricket World Cup Runner-up 1992 Australia and New Zealand
Source: CricInfo, 14 September 2016

Graeme Ashley Hick (born 23 May 1966) is a former cricket player. He was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He played for the Zimbabwe team when he was young. Later, he played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for the England team.

Graeme Hick played for Worcestershire for over 20 years. He holds records for scoring many runs in different types of cricket games. He is one of only three players to score over 20,000 runs in List A cricket. He is also one of only 25 players to score 100 centuries (100 runs in one innings) in first-class cricket. He even scored triple centuries (300 runs) in three different decades! He was part of the England team that finished second in the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

Graeme Hick was also a good bowler, taking over 200 wickets in first-class cricket. He was also known as an excellent fielder, especially in the slip position.

Becoming a Cricket Star

Graeme Hick was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe). His family were tobacco farmers. At first, he liked hockey more than cricket. He even played for his national schools hockey team.

When he was younger, he was more of a bowler than a batsman. But in 1979, he started scoring lots of runs. He averaged 185 runs for his school team! He became captain of the national Junior Schools team. Soon, he played for the Senior Schools team.

When he was just 16, Hick played a few minor games for Zimbabwe. He was even chosen for the Zimbabwean squad for the 1983 World Cup. This made him the youngest player ever to be in a World Cup squad!

In October 1983, Hick played his first first-class game for Zimbabwe. He scored 28 runs and helped his team win. A few days later, he played his first List A game. In December 1983, he took his first first-class wicket. He bowled a Test batsman from Sri Lanka. Soon after, he scored his first first-class fifty (50 runs).

Playing for Worcestershire

Graeme Hick's first-class batting average in each English summer

In 1984, Graeme Hick came to England on a scholarship. He played for Worcestershire's second team. He bowled well and scored many runs. This led to his first team debut against Surrey. He scored 82 runs in that game. He also played club cricket and scored a record 1,234 runs for Kidderminster.

Hick continued to play well in England. In 1985, he scored his first century (100 runs) for Zimbabwe against Oxford University. For six years in a row, he averaged over 50 runs in first-class cricket.

In 1986, Hick became the youngest player to score 2,000 first-class runs in a season. In 1987, he was named one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. He also scored his highest ever one-day score, 172 not out.

In 1988, Hick helped Worcestershire win the County Championship. He became only the eighth player in history to score 1,000 first-class runs before the end of May. He scored 405 runs not out in one game against Somerset. This was his highest first-class score ever! That season, he scored a career-best 2,713 runs, including ten centuries. He also won an award for the fastest century of the season.

During the winters, Hick played in New Zealand for Northern Districts. He was very successful there, scoring ten centuries. In 1989 and 1990, he continued to score many runs for Worcestershire. By 1991, he was ready to play for England.

Graeme Hick also captained Worcestershire for three seasons, from 2000 to 2002. He enjoyed being captain. During this time, he scored 200 runs not out against Durham. This meant he had scored centuries against all 17 other counties!

He had some injuries, like a broken thumb and a broken hand. But in 2004, he returned to great form. He scored 1,589 first-class runs, his best since 1990. In 2006, he scored his 100th century for Worcestershire. He was only the second player to do this for a single county since World War II.

In June 2007, he became the 16th player to score 40,000 first-class runs. In 2008, he became the first player to play in over 1200 games. He also achieved 1000 catches in his career. He retired from county cricket at the end of 2008.

Playing for England

Graeme Hick's batting performance in Test matches

When Graeme Hick became eligible to play for England, people were very excited. They expected him to be a great international batsman.

He played his first One Day International (ODI) for England on 23 May 1991. He scored 86 runs not out in one game, helping England win. His Test debut was on 6 June 1991. He didn't score many runs at first and was dropped from the team.

However, he played well in the 1992 World Cup. England reached the final, and Hick scored three half-centuries. In the semi-final against South Africa, he scored 83 runs and was named Man of the Match.

Graeme Hick's batting performance in One-Day Internationals

In 1992, Hick finally scored a Test half-century against Pakistan. He then went on a tour to India in 1992-93. This was a tough tour for England, but Hick was one of the few bright spots. He scored his first Test century, 178 runs, in Bombay. He also scored 68 runs against Sri Lanka. For his great play, he was named one of Indian Cricket's Cricketers of the Year.

This period was the most successful part of Hick's Test career. He played well against West Indies and scored 96 runs in one Test. In 1994, he played well against South Africa, scoring 110 runs in one Test and a match-winning 81 not out in another. He also helped Worcestershire win the 1994 NatWest Trophy.

In the 1994–95 Ashes series against Australia, Hick was close to scoring his first Ashes century. He was 98 not out when his captain declared the innings, meaning Hick couldn't reach his hundred. This was a disappointing moment for him. Despite this, he played well in the one-day games, scoring 91 runs in one match.

In 1995, Hick had a good summer against West Indies. He averaged over 50 runs in the Tests, including 118 not out. He also took a career-best 5 wickets for 18 runs in one game.

He continued to play for England in the 1996 World Cup. He scored 85 runs against New Zealand. However, his form dropped later in 1996, and he was dropped from the England team for a while.

Hick was recalled to the England team for one-day games in 1997 and 1998. In 1998, he scored his 100th first-class century. He was called up for the Ashes tour to Australia as a replacement. He played in four Tests and had some good moments, like scoring 68 runs in Perth. He did even better in the one-day games, scoring over 500 runs and being named England's Man of the Series.

In the 1999 World Cup, Hick averaged 53 runs. He played well in a short one-day series in Zimbabwe, scoring 87 not out and taking 5 wickets for 33 runs, his best international bowling figures.

His international career began to wind down in 2000. He played his last Test matches in 2000-2001 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He played his last One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka in March 2001.

Life After Playing

In 2009, Graeme Hick was given the MBE award. He said he was very honored and surprised by the recognition.

In 2014, Hick was appointed as a high performance coach for Cricket Australia. In 2016, he became the Batting Coach for the Australian team. However, in 2020, he was made redundant due to cost-cutting measures.

Graeme Hick's Legacy

Graeme Hick's Test and ODI averages against each opponent

Graeme Hick was an amazing player in county cricket. He scored a huge number of runs and centuries. Many people wondered why he didn't always perform as well in Test cricket for England. Some thought it was because county cricket wasn't as challenging as international cricket. Others believed he struggled against fast, short balls.

Despite these challenges, Hick's teammates and opponents respected him greatly. They saw him as a very talented player. His One Day International statistics were much better than his Test figures. He was often ranked among the top ODI batsmen in the world. He could hit even the fastest bowlers with power.

Graeme Hick is remembered as one of the most talented batsmen of his generation. He had an incredible career in domestic cricket and contributed significantly to England's one-day team.