Mike Atherton, a former right-handed batsman, and captain of the English cricket team is a player who needs no introduction as he is quite a renowned cricketer in the history of cricket.
In 54 ODI matches, Atherton scored 1791 runs at an average of 35.11. His total ODI runs included two centuries and 12 fifties. His highest ODI score was 127 runs.
In Test cricket, Atherton played 115 Test matches, scoring 7728 runs including 46 fifties and 16 hundreds at an average of 37.69. He was an exceptional batter in the Test cricket format where he showed his skills by building long innings for the English cricket team.
Mike Atherton played in a record of 54 Test matches during which he led his team as a captain. From the very beginning, this strong player exhibited determined and optimum performance. This is evident from the point when he captained the cricket team of the Manchester Grammar School for which Atherton secured 170 wickets and made 3,500 runs.
His strong-willed demeanor won him his selection for the English team at a very young age. He did face a continuum of highs and lows in his career yet Atherton did not lose courage. This can be seen from his tour to West Indies in 1993-94 which was his first tour as a captain that did not go successful. Even though England lost with a 3-1, Atherton was still the best batsman making a score of 510 runs at an average of 56.67.
The finest feat demonstrated by Atherton was his spectacular score of 185 against South Africa which he acquired within 643 minutes of the match and resulted in a draw.
He is today a sports broadcaster as well as a journalist for The Sunday Telegraph. He has had quite a popular media presence since he retired from cricket. His published works include his autobiography ‘Opening Up’ and Gambling: A Story of Triumph and Disaster. At present, he is suffering from a degenerative disease known as ankylosing spondylitis.
