- Darren Berry
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Darren Berry Personal information Full name Darren Shane Berry Born 10 December 1969
Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaNickname Chuck Batting style Right-handed Role Wicketkeeper Domestic team information Years Team 1989/90 South Australia 1990/91–2003/04 Victoria 2000 Marylebone First-class debut 3 November 1989 South Australia v Queensland Last First-class 12 March 2004 Victoria v Queensland List A debut 21 October 1989 South Australia v Queensland Last List A 21 February 2004 Victoria v Western Australia Career statistics Competition First-class List A Matches 153 89 Runs scored 4273 825 Batting average 21.58 17.93 100s/50s 4/11 0/2 Top score 166* 64* Balls bowled 12 0 Wickets 0 – Bowling average – – 5 wickets in innings – – 10 wickets in match – – Best bowling – – Catches/stumpings 552/51 108/29 Source: CricketArchive, 7 November 2011 Darren Shane Berry (born 10 December 1969) is a former Australian cricketer who was known for his sharp skills as a wicketkeeper with Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and ING Cup domestic competitions. Recently he has emerged as a media personality.
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Cricket career
Making his first-class debut for South Australia in the 1989/90 season, Berry moved back to his native Victoria to play with the Bushrangers in the 1990/91 season, and enjoyed a large degree of success. One of the high points of his career came in the 1997 Ashes tour, when he was selected to replace the injured Adam Gilchrist as the team's second-string wicketkeeper. Unfortunately, Berry did not represent Australia in a Test match on that tour.
In 2003/04, Berry ended his career on a high, captaining Victoria to a Pura Cup title against Queensland.
In terms of pure keeping ability, Berry was rated extremely highly, particularly his ability "keeping up" both to leg-spinner Shane Warne and to medium (and even fast-medium) paced bowlers. Warne, his Victorian teammate, said that "Darren Berry up to the stumps has probably been the best keeper that I've ever seen in my time ... I really wish he did get the opportunity to show how good a keeper he was, with a baggy green cap playing for Australia."[1] Berry has often talked about his leg-side stumping off the bowling of paceman Paul Reiffel as one of his best achievements.
The reasons why Berry did not play for Australia included not only Australia's entrenched and effective keeper, Ian Healy, but his below par batting ability. Berry averaged only 21.58 in first-class cricket, with four centuries and 11 fifties in a long career, compared with Healy's 27 at Test level and 30 at first-class level, let alone current keeper Adam Gilchrist's outstanding batting. Berry has been a long-time critic of Gilchrist, often making light of what he considers poor keeping ability, and being able to get by on his batting prowess. He criticised Gilchrist's inclusion in Richie Benaud's Greatest XI, saying it was "an insult to Ian Healy, Rod Marsh, Don Tallon and the greatest of them all, the Englishman Allan Knott."[2] He once said, "I would suggest Gilly misses a chance in most Test matches ... but it's all forgotten when he smashes a century with the bat".[3]
Post-cricket career
In 2002, preparing for his retirement from cricket, Berry was the runner for the St Kilda Football Club, for which he played at Under 19 level, a team which he passionately supports. That year he also took up boundary riding for Triple M before he graduated to the role of match-day play-by-play commentator on matches following his retirement from cricket in 2004. Berry was later released by Triple M.
Today, in addition to his role with K-Rock, Berry writes a column in The Sunday Age and coaches the Carlton Cricket Club in the Victorian Premier League. He is also the Team Manager for the Rajasthan Royals franchise in the Indian Premier League and Assistant Coach for the South Australia Redbacks.
Other
Steve Waugh has commented in his autobiography that Darren Berry is the best player in Australia to not wear the baggy green hat in a test match.
Darren Berry's nickname is "Chuck" after the American rock and roll singer.
References
- ^ Warne names Berry master keeper, Malcom Conn, The Australian, 4 December 2004
- ^ Doyen fails the selection test, Darren Berry, The Age, 19 December 2004.
- ^ Why Gilly is Not Berry Good, Geoff McClure, The Age, 22 November 2004.
External links
Categories:- 1969 births
- Living people
- Victoria cricketers
- Triple M presenters
- Australian cricketers
- Australian wicket-keepers
- Australian rules football commentators
- South Australia cricketers
- Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
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