Vikram Solanki

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Vikram Solanki
country = England
fullname = Vikram Singh Solanki
nickname = Vik
living = true
dayofbirth = 1
monthofbirth = 4
yearofbirth = 1976
placeofbirth = Udaipur, Rajasthan
countryofbirth = India
heightft = 6
heightinch = 0
batting = Right-handed
bowling = Right-arm off break
international = true
odidebutdate = 23 January
odidebutyear = 2000
odidebutagainst = South Africa
odic

lastodidate = 1 July
lastodiyear = 2006
lastodiagainst = Sri Lanka
odishirt = 38
club1 = Worcestershire
year1 = 1995 – present
clubnumber1 = 3
club2 = Rajasthan
year2 = 2006 – 2007
deliveries = balls
columns = 4
column1 = ODI
matches1 = 51
runs1 = 1097
bat avg1 = 26.75
100s/50s1 = 2/5
top score1 = 106
deliveries1 = 111
wickets1 = 1
bowl avg1 = 105.00
fivefor1 = –
tenfor1 = n/a
best bowling1 = 1/17
catches/stumpings1 = 16/–
column2 = FC
matches2 = 220
runs2 = 12179
bat avg2 = 35.92
100s/50s2 = 21/66
top score2 = 232
deliveries2 = 6787
wickets2 = 84
bowl avg2 = 46.96
fivefor2 = 4
tenfor2 = 1
best bowling2 = 5/40
catches/stumpings2 = 237/–
column3 = LA
matches3 = 318
runs3 = 8236
bat avg3 = 30.84
100s/50s3 = 13/43
top score3 = 164*
deliveries3 = 995
wickets3 = 26
bowl avg3 = 33.61
fivefor3 = 0
tenfor3 = n/a
best bowling3 = 4/14
catches/stumpings3 = 120/–
column4 = IT20
matches4 = 3
runs4 = 76
bat avg4 = 25.33
100s/50s4 = 0/0
top score4 = 43
deliveries4 = 0
wickets4 = –
bowl avg4 = –
fivefor4 = –
tenfor4 = n/a
best bowling4 = –
catches/stumpings4 = 3/0
date = 2 January
year = 2008
source = http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/20286.html Cricinfo

Vikram Singh Solanki (born 1 April, 1976 in India) is an English cricketer, who plays county cricket for Worcestershire, of whom he is the captain. In 2007 he became the 24th Worcestershire batsman to pass 10,000 career runs for the county.cite web | url=http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Worcestershire/Batting_Records/Most_Career_Runs.html | title=Most Runs for Worcestershire | accessdate=2007-04-27 | publisher=CricketArchive] He as also played over 50 One Day Internationals for his country as a batsman and occasional off-spinner and wicket-keeper.

Early life and career

Solanki was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan, Indiacite web | url=http://www.vikram-solanki.com/vk/profile | title=Profile, Vikram Solanki Website | accessdate=2008-05-04 | publisher=Worcestershire CCC] , but moved to Wolverhampton with his family at the age of eight. Solanki played junior and senior cricket for Wolverhampton cricket club where he was a childhood prodigy under coach Arthur Pickering he often starred as a wicket keeper, bowler and batsman, Solanki once scored over 100 in a twenty over game by himself. He made his first-class debut for Worcestershire in 1995, although he had played one-day cricket for the county two seasons earlier. In 1996 he was awarded the NBC Denis Compton Award. In 1999 he achieved a batting average of over 40, something he repeated in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. 2006 was also the first season since 2000 in which he managed to top 1,000 first-class runs, making 1,252. Possessed with the priceless gift of timing and placement, he is able to play every shot in the game with supreme elegance and grace.Once seen, along with Owais Shah, as being part of a new breed of supremely confident British Asian cricketer who would be a key component of the English batting lineup going into the 21st century, Solanki has failed to live up to the huge acclaim he received as a youngster, and his chances of playing Test Cricket for England- something that looked like being a formality 10 years ago- now appear to have faded.

England A tours

Solanki was picked for two England A tours: to South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1998-99, and to Bangladesh and New Zealand in 1999-2000. His fine performances on these latter tours led to his making his full One Day International debut against the South Africans later that same winter. However, he was unable to translate his A-team feats into runs for the senior England side, and after eight innings yielding just 96 runs, he was dropped and not picked again for more than three years.

As of the end of the 2006 season, Solanki had represented England on 51 occasions in one-day cricket, but had still not been selected for a Test Match. His undoubted natural talent has only rarely come through into his performances for his country, and his England batting average languishes in the mid-twenties. He has made only two international hundreds, 106 off 108 balls against South Africa at The Oval in 2003 [cite web | url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66294.html| title=England v South Africa at the Oval, 2003| accessdate=2008-07-12 | publisher=Cricinfo] (when he shared an opening partnership of 200, an English recordcite web | url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/fow/highest_partnerships_by_wicket.html?class=2;id=1;type=team| title=England: Highest Partnership for Each Wicket in ODIs | accessdate=2008-07-12 | publisher=Cricinfo] , with Marcus Trescothick), and exactly 100 off 93 balls versus Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2004/05 [cite web | url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/64912.html| title=Zimbabwe v England at Bulawayo, 2004/5| accessdate=2008-07-12 | publisher=Cricinfo] .

One day internationals

Solanki played in four of the five one day internationals when England toured Pakistan in December 2005, his best score of 49 also being the highest in England's innings in the final match, which England went on to win by 6 wickets. However, Solanki was not selected for the team to go on the tour to India, instead being chosen to captain the 'A' team in the West Indies.

On 1 July 2006, Solanki took his first wicket in ODIs at Headingley, removing Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya for 152. It was something of a hollow triumph, however, as Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga (109) had put on 286, a world record for the first wicket in ODIs,cite web | url=http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/Odis/Overall/Highest_Partnerships.html | title=Sri Lanka: Highest Partnership for Each Wicket in ODIs | accessdate=2006-10-02 | publisher=CricketArchive] and England were crushed as Sri Lanka scored 324/2 to win by eight wickets in just 37.3 overs.Solanki made history against Australia in 2005 when he became the first supersub in a one-day international, replacing Simon Jones to strengthen England's tail after a batting collapse; coming to the crease at no.8 with England 93/6, Solanki made 53 not out. [cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/4660393.stm | title=Supersub Solanki in cricket first | date=2005-07-07 | accessdate=2007-05-02 | publisher=BBC] He also took part in the final two matches of England's time in the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship, replacing the injured Matt Prior. Keeping wicket and opening the batting in both of his matches in that tournament, he took two catches in the first, conceded no byes in either match, and scored 24 and 43. Those were (to date) his last international appearances.

Worcestershire

Solanki is also an occasional bowler of off-spin for Worcestershire, although he has only bowled a handful of overs for England. Worcestershire appointed Solanki as captain of the county for 2005, succeeding the retiring Steve Rhodes. In September 2006 he agreed an extension to his contract which will see him remain at the county until 2009.cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/worcestershire/5384244.stm | title=Solanki agrees new deal at Worcs | accessdate=2006-09-30 | date=2006-09-27 | publisher=BBC Sport]

Rajasthan

Together with Worcestershire team-mate Kabir Ali, Solanki accepted an offer to play for Rajasthan in the Indian Ranji Trophy during the 2006–07 season.

Indian Cricket League

With very less hope of ever turning out for England again, Solanki joined the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2007 and currently plays for the Mumbai Champs.

Career milestones

*22 June 1995: First-class debut for Worcestershire: v Hampshire at the County Ground, Southampton
*16 May 1997: Maiden first-class century: 128* v Oxford University at The Parks, Oxford
*23 January 2000: One Day International debut: v South Africa at Bloemfontein, South Africa
*28 June 2003: Maiden ODI century: 106 v South Africa, The Oval, London
*1 August 2008: Highest First-Class Innings: 270 v Gloucestershire, Cheltenham

References

External links

*
* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/4/4652/4652.html Statistical summary] from CricketArchive