Martyn Moxon

Martyn Moxon

Personal information
Full name	Martyn Douglas Moxon
Born	4 May 1960 (1960-05-04) (age 51) Stairfoot, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England
Nickname	Frog
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm medium
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 520)	24 July 1986 v New Zealand
Last Test	10 August 1989 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 79)	23 January 1985 v India
Last ODI	19 March 1988 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1981–1997	Yorkshire
1982–1984	Griqualand West
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	10	8	317	256
Runs scored	455	174	21161	7813
Batting average	28.43	10.00	42.83	34.41
100s/50s	–/3	–/1	45/116	7/51
Top score	99	70	274*	141*
Balls bowled	48	–	2650	1500
Wickets	–	–	28	34
Bowling average	–	–	52.89	35.85
5 wickets in innings	–	–	–	1
10 wickets in match	–	n/a	–	n/a
Best bowling	–	–	3/24	5/31
Catches/stumpings	10/–	5/–	218/–	88/–
Source: cricketarchive.com, 19 August 2007

Martyn Douglas Moxon (born 4 May 1960, Stairfoot, Barnsley, Yorkshire) is a former English cricketer, who played ten Tests and eight One Day Internationals for England and appeared for Yorkshire for 17 seasons from 1981 to 1997.^[1] On 8 May 2007, Moxon was confirmed as Director of Professional Cricket at Yorkshire.

Before turning professional Moxon worked for Barclays Bank.

International career

Moxon earned 10 caps through his Test career that was delayed by injury. He was due to play against the West Indies in 1984, but a broken arm meant that his debut was delayed until the 1986 series against New Zealand. In the intervening time, Moxon was chosen for the 1984/5 tour of India and Sri Lanka, but the premature death of his father forced him to miss early matches, by which time, Tim Robinson had cemented his place as Graeme Fowler's opening partner. Moxon did make his ODI debut later in the tour.

When his Test debut finally did come, he took his chance well. As Graham Gooch's fourth opening partner of the Test and ODI summer, Moxon took on a New Zealand side that boasted Richard Hadlee. Wisden Cricket Monthly described Moxon as batting with "little panache, but a lot of polish" during a maiden innings of 74, which was ended when a Hadlee off cutter squeezed through his gate. In the second innings at Lord's and during the second Test at Trent Bridge, Moxon was unable to build on his promising start, and was left out of the side for The Oval, having scored 111 runs in his first four innings, at an average of 27.75.

The winter touring party for the trip to Australia in 1986/7 was far from settled in advance. Chris Broad was recalled after a two year absence, Wilf Slack brought back having missed all but one Test during the summer, and Bill Athey was included as an 'auxiliary' batsman. The choice of two left-handers at the top of England's order highlighted the fact that Australia's big threat came from the battery of left arm seamer's available to them, led by Bruce Reid. In the event, Slack played very little cricket. Both Athey and Broad flourished as an opening pair, Broad going on to be named as the International Cricketer of the Season. Moxon had to wait until the last Test of 1987 for a recall. Such were England's selection uncertainties that Tim Robinson had been recalled again in the intervening time.

Moxon is known as perhaps the unluckiest member of the '99 club' in that, early in his innings against New Zealand in 1987-88, he swept three runs seemingly off the middle of the bat only for the umpire to signal leg byes. Moxon fell for 99, and would become one of eight Test batsman to make 99 but not a century.

In June 1988, Moxon was recalled to the test side at Lord's in place of Mike Gatting to bat at number 3. By this time, television commentators such as Tom Graveney had begun to spot a discenible hole in Moxon's technique: When playing forward his left knee would not come forward quite far enough creating a small "gate". Malcolm Marshall exploited this in the Old Trafford test of that series bowling Moxon "through the gate".

Moxon can perhaps be considered unlucky - his 99 above is one example. Another would be his final test match. Batting just before lunch on day 3 having fielded for 2 days as Australia made 600 at Trent Bridge in 1989, Moxon faced a near impossible ball from Terry Alderman which swung considerably and he was caught at second slip - Moxon doing quite well to edge it. In the second innings he received a "grub hunter" (a ball that kept very low) to be bowled. Moxon never played for England again.

Very much in the mould of Geoffrey Boycott, Moxon was a model professional and was probably unlucky to be seldom given an extended run in the England test side of the late 1980s.

County cricket

Moxon's county career spanned seventeen seasons with Yorkshire, where he scored over 21,000 first-class runs. He began his career with two centuries in his first two home County Championship matches, and it was not long before his elegant driving saw him earmarked for England honours. He established a reliable opening partnership with Ashley Metcalfe, and later captained the county with dignity.^[2]

Retirement from playing

Upon retirement, he went on to become Director of Coaching at Yorkshire, before moving on to coach Durham in 2001. Upon his resignation on 1 March 2007,^[3] he returned to Yorkshire County Cricket Club as the Club's Director of Professional Cricket.^[4] However, the county has yet to lift any silverware during his tenure.

References

1. ^ "Martyn Moxon". www.cricketarchive.com. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1842/1842.html. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
2. ^ Bateman, Colin (1993). If The Cap Fits. Tony Williams Publications. p. 124. ISBN 1-869833-21-X. 
3. ^ BBC SPORT | Cricket | Counties | Moxon leaves Durham for Yorkshire
4. ^ The Club : The Yorkshire County Cricket Club Ltd

External links

• Player profile: Martyn Moxon from ESPNcricinfo

Persondata
Name	Moxon, Martyn
Alternative names	Moxon, Martyn Douglas
Short description	English Test and County cricketer, coach
Date of birth	4 May 1960
Place of birth	Stairfoot, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England
Date of death
Place of death