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| Full name | Alan Philip Eric Knott | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1946-04-09)9 April 1946 (age 79) Belvedere,Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Knotty, Flea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right armoff spin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper-batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | James Knott (son) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 437) | 10 August 1967 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 1 September 1981 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 8) | 5 January 1971 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 6 June 1977 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964–1985 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969/70 | Tasmania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,14 November 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alan Philip Eric KnottMBE (born 9 April 1946) is a formercricketer who representedEngland 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 greatestwicket-keepers ever to play the game. He was described by cricket journalistSimon Wilde as "a natural gloveman, beautifully economical in his movements and armed with tremendous powers of concentration".[1]
On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018 he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by theEngland and Wales Cricket Board.[2]
Born inBelvedere, Kent, Knott was educated at Belmont Primary School andNorthumberland 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 theBenson and Hedges Cup in 1973 and 1976, in theGillette Cup in 1974 (where he wasman of the match in the final),[3] and to a share of the1977 County Championship, Knott scored over 18000first-class runs and made 1344 first-class wicketkeepting dismissals, placing him fourth on the all-time list (behind onlyBob Taylor,John Murray andBert 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 againstPakistan in 1967. Batting at number 8, he made a duck in his first Test, atTrent Bridge, but didn't concede a singlebye in the match. He made 28 in the second match but didn't make the starting eleven for the1967–68 tour of the West Indies, asJim 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.[4]
In the fifth Test atBourda inGeorgetown, Knott produced what he regarded as the innings of his career.[5] On the last day, with England needing only to draw the match in order to win the series, off-spinnerLance Gibbs took three quick wickets to have England teetering at 41 for 5 when Knott joined his captainColin 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.[6] By the final over, Knott was still in, but with him was the number 11 batsmanJeff Jones. Amidst the tension - which was too much for Cowdrey andTom Graveney, who had gone and locked themselves in the toilets - Knott stayed calm and guided Jones through the final over to obtain the draw.[5]
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 atKarachi when the match was prematurely ended by a pitch invasion by Pakistani fans, denying him a well-deserved hundred.[7][8][9]
In 1970 Knott was named as one of theWisden Cricketers of the Year.[10] County captainColin Cowdrey said:
I think he is the most gifted and dedicated cricketer one could ever wish to play with, never satisfied with his performance and always seeking for a little more perfection.[11]
In the1970–71 series in Australia he was instrumental in England regainingthe Ashes, taking five catches and stumpingDoug Walters in the decisive Seventh Test inSydney.[12] In the following series againstNew Zealand he finally made his maiden Test century, 110 atAuckland, having missed the first match of the series, so thatBob Taylor could take the gloves as a reward for patience as reserve keeper on the four-month combined tour. Knott did not miss a Test until 1977, making a sum of five centuries and twenty-eight 50s in that time.
Knott was with England when they lostthe Ashes in 1974–5, but achieved a landmark in the fifth Test atAdelaide,Wisden reporting that Knott's 106 not out was "only the second hundred by a wicket-keeper in the 219 Tests between England and Australia. Kent and England also claimed the first one in 1934 whenL.E.G. Ames scored 120 at Lord's",[13] and Knott would also make the fourth atNottingham in 1977 (Rod Marsh making one in the intervening period in theCentenary Test of 1977).
He has the distinction of once scoring 7 runs from a single delivery in Test cricket, offVanburn Holder in the Fourth England v West Indies Test atHeadingley in 1976. Knott took a quick single to extra-cover whereBernard Julien fielded and overthrew the wicket-keeper. Knott andTony Greig ran two overthrows beforeAndy Roberts, fielding at square-leg, retrieved the ball and threw it past the stumps at the bowler's end and over the long-off boundary for four more runs.
Knott helped England regain theAshes in England in 1977. His highest score of 135 came in the third test of this series, helping to turn the tide in a struggling England innings. This remains as of 2022 the highest score by an England wicket-keeper inthe Ashes.[14] Previously however he had been persuaded by England colleague Tony Greig to joinKerry Packer'sWorld Series Cricket. This effectively put his England career on hold as the 'Packer players' were banned from Test cricket. When he returned to Tests after the end of World Series Cricket in 1980, he had very little success against a mighty West Indian side, averaging 5.14 in the series. He did not play in the tour of the West Indies that immediately followed, but was picked for the final two Tests of the famous 1981 Ashes series. Fittingly for one of England's greatest players, he ended his last Test against Australia atThe Oval, with a score of 70 not out and an England series win, the fourth time he had ended a series on the side that won or retainedthe Ashes.
Knott played for England in 20one-day internationals, including the first one-day international of all and all of their matches in the firstCricket World Cup. Hecaptained England in one one-day international in 1976 against the West Indies, incidentally the match in whichIan Botham made his international debut, andGraham Gooch his one-day international debut.[15]
Knott's England career came to an end when he chose to take part in thefirst rebel tour to South Africa in 1981-82, in defiance of the sporting ban against theapartheid state. For this he and the other rebels were banned from international cricket for three years.[16] However, when the ban had expired, during the1985 County Championship season, there were still some media commentators suggesting a recall to the Test team.
After 22 seasons with Kent Knott announced his retirement from cricket at the end of that season aged 39. He was still regarded as one of the finest wicketkeepers in the country, and his reasons for retirement included concern over an ankle injury as well as concentrating on his sports shop in Herne Bay, Kent, and gymnasium business.[17][18]
Knott was known for his idiosyncratic behaviour on the field. His trademarks included always keeping his shirt collar turned up to protect him from the sun; his sleeves rolled down to safeguard his elbows when diving; and, after a tip from former Northamptonshire and England wicket-keeperKeith Andrew, warming his hands with hot water before going onto the field. According toBob Taylor, Knott preferred strong-backed gloves with full webbing and plenty of padding in the palms, wearing two pairs of chamois inners with strips ofplasticine across the palms.[19]
After retiring from playing Knott was employed by the England management as a part-time wicketkeeping coach and assessor of Test cricketers. He would have taken up a specialist wicketkeeping coaching position but it never materialized. In the early 2000s he and his wife moved toPaphos, Cyprus.[20]
In the October 2004 edition ofThe Wisden Cricketer magazine he was voted as the wicketkeeper in "England's Greatest post-war XI", receiving votes from 20 of the 25 panellists.
In an article written in 2008The Daily Telegraph journalist Michael Henderson, comparing Knott withAdam Gilchrist, called Knott the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman, without argument, as opposed to Gilchrist, whom he called a batsman-wicketkeeper.[21]
On 6 September 2009 Alan Knott was inducted into theICC Cricket Hall of Fame,[22] and in 2013 he was named in Wisden's all-time Test World XI.[23]
His sonJames has also played first-class cricket forSurrey andMinor counties cricket forCambridgeshire andBedfordshire.[24]
Knott was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2020 New Year Honours for services to cricket.[25]
| Preceded by | England ODI Captain 1976 | Succeeded by |
