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Alan Knott
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Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott MBE (born 9 April 1946) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). Knott is widely regarded as one of the most eccentric characters in cricket and as one of the greatest wicket-keepers ever to play the game. He was described by cricket journalist Simon Wilde as "a natural gloveman, beautifully economical in his movements and armed with tremendous powers of concentration".
On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018 he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Born in Belvedere, Kent, Knott was educated at Belmont Primary School and Northumberland Heath Secondary Modern School. Encouraged by his father, he made his Kent debut in 1964 at the age of 18, joining the list of well-known Kent wicket-keepers.
A servant for Kent for over twenty years, helping them to a number of successes such as in the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1973 and 1976, in the Gillette Cup in 1974 (where he was man of the match in the final), and to a share of the 1977 County Championship, Knott scored over 18000 first-class runs and made 1344 first-class wicketkeepting dismissals, placing him fourth on the all-time list (behind only Bob Taylor, John Murray and Bert Strudwick).
He gained his first Test cap at the age of 21, having been named Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year in 1965. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1967. Batting at number 8, he made a duck in his first Test, at Trent Bridge, but didn't concede a single bye in the match. He made 28 in the second match but didn't make the starting eleven for the 1967–68 tour of the West Indies, as Jim Parks was initially preferred. However, for the fourth and fifth matches of the series he was picked again. In the first of those he made his first Test half-century, a score of 69 not out, and he once again excelled at wicket-keeping.
In the fifth Test at Bourda in Georgetown, Knott produced what he regarded as the innings of his career. On the last day, with England needing only to draw the match in order to win the series, off-spinner Lance Gibbs took three quick wickets to have England teetering at 41 for 5 when Knott joined his captain Colin Cowdrey at the crease. The two of them combined for a 127-run stand and when Cowdrey was dismissed for 82, there was still over an hour for the West Indies to claim the four remaining wickets. By the final over, Knott was still in, but with him was the number 11 batsman Jeff Jones. Amidst the tension - which was too much for Cowdrey and Tom Graveney, who had gone and locked themselves in the toilets - Knott stayed calm and guided Jones through the final over to obtain the draw.
In the winter of 1968/69, again against Pakistan, Knott confirmed his position as England's premier wicketkeeper-batsman. He made two 50s in the series, including 96 not out at Karachi when the match was prematurely ended by a pitch invasion by Pakistani fans, denying him a well-deserved hundred.
In 1970 Knott was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. County captain Colin Cowdrey said:
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Alan Knott
Alan Philip Eric Knott MBE (born 9 April 1946) is a former cricketer who represented England at international level in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI). Knott is widely regarded as one of the most eccentric characters in cricket and as one of the greatest wicket-keepers ever to play the game. He was described by cricket journalist Simon Wilde as "a natural gloveman, beautifully economical in his movements and armed with tremendous powers of concentration".
On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018 he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Born in Belvedere, Kent, Knott was educated at Belmont Primary School and Northumberland Heath Secondary Modern School. Encouraged by his father, he made his Kent debut in 1964 at the age of 18, joining the list of well-known Kent wicket-keepers.
A servant for Kent for over twenty years, helping them to a number of successes such as in the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1973 and 1976, in the Gillette Cup in 1974 (where he was man of the match in the final), and to a share of the 1977 County Championship, Knott scored over 18000 first-class runs and made 1344 first-class wicketkeepting dismissals, placing him fourth on the all-time list (behind only Bob Taylor, John Murray and Bert Strudwick).
He gained his first Test cap at the age of 21, having been named Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year in 1965. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1967. Batting at number 8, he made a duck in his first Test, at Trent Bridge, but didn't concede a single bye in the match. He made 28 in the second match but didn't make the starting eleven for the 1967–68 tour of the West Indies, as Jim Parks was initially preferred. However, for the fourth and fifth matches of the series he was picked again. In the first of those he made his first Test half-century, a score of 69 not out, and he once again excelled at wicket-keeping.
In the fifth Test at Bourda in Georgetown, Knott produced what he regarded as the innings of his career. On the last day, with England needing only to draw the match in order to win the series, off-spinner Lance Gibbs took three quick wickets to have England teetering at 41 for 5 when Knott joined his captain Colin Cowdrey at the crease. The two of them combined for a 127-run stand and when Cowdrey was dismissed for 82, there was still over an hour for the West Indies to claim the four remaining wickets. By the final over, Knott was still in, but with him was the number 11 batsman Jeff Jones. Amidst the tension - which was too much for Cowdrey and Tom Graveney, who had gone and locked themselves in the toilets - Knott stayed calm and guided Jones through the final over to obtain the draw.
In the winter of 1968/69, again against Pakistan, Knott confirmed his position as England's premier wicketkeeper-batsman. He made two 50s in the series, including 96 not out at Karachi when the match was prematurely ended by a pitch invasion by Pakistani fans, denying him a well-deserved hundred.
In 1970 Knott was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. County captain Colin Cowdrey said: