OTD| Former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom was born in 1978

There are some cricketers who do not stay on the international stage for a long time but are unforgettable even after their cricket career is over. The former English left-arm fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom is one of those cricketers. Sidebottom is celebrating his 46th birthday today. He was a tall bowler who had a slightly unique bowling action and an even more unique hairstyle. 

The Yorkshire-born pacer made his international debut a long time back in 2001 when he played a Test match against Pakistan at Lord’s. A few months later he also got the chance to play his first One-Day international match against Zimbabwe at Harare. The left-arm fast bowler could not create a huge impact in One-Day cricket though his bowling stats were much better in Test cricket. 

A stellar first-class career

Ryan Sidebottom had a brief career in international cricket. He played 22 Test matches for England picking up 79 wickets at an average of 28.24. In One-Day international cricket, he had only 29 wickets to his name in 25 matches. Sidebottom also represented England in T20I cricket and played 18 T20 internationals where he managed to accumulate 12 wickets. 

Though Sidebottom could not find much success in international cricket he had an extraordinary first-class career. In his long stint in first-class cricket, he played for Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Ryan Sidebottom had a massive experience of 230 first-class games registering 762 wickets in his name at an average of 23.80. He also took 31 five-wicket hauls which is a great record to show off. Apart from these many first-class games he also took part in 186 List-A matches. In his List-A career, he picked up 198 wickets.  

Ryan Sidebottom bid farewell to international cricket in 2010 in a T20 international match against Pakistan at Cardiff. The veteran has also been part of various Legend’s leagues in recent times showing his willingness to stay associated with the game. 

Also read: India’s Wall in Test Cricket, Rahul Dravid was born in 1973