Name:

Knott, Alan Philip Eric

Nickname:

Knotty, Flea

Date of Birth:

09 Apr 1946

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Belvedere, Kent

Career:

Test: 1967 - 1981
ODI: 1971 - 1977
First Class: 1964 - 1985

Teams:

Kent (Regional)
England (Country)

Allan Knott: Extra-ordinary gloveman and fine bat

Alan Knott: Fitness freak who was the finest English keeper

Alan Knott was a fine wicket-keeper/batsman for England. He passed Godfrey Evans world record 219 Test dismissals in 1976 and went on to become the first wicket-keeper to take 250 Test dismissals. He had an almost obsessive dedication to exercise and diet. As a batsman he was a highly effective lower middle-order player who employed at times quirky stroke-play. He was best known for his sweep and cut shots. He was at his best in a crisis and shared a number of important partnerships with Tony Greig.

His best Test score of 135 was against Australia at Nottingham in 1977. England were 82-5 when he arrived at the crease. In first-class cricket he scored over 18 000 runs with 17 centuries and took over 1 300 dismissals.

Blessed with sound footwork and sure hands, Alan Knott is probably England's finest wicketkeeper batsman of all time. Knott was born on 9 April 1946 in Belvedere, Kent and played for Kent in 1964 at the age of 19. Knott was known for his superb footwork whilst keeping and possessed a safe pair of hands. He was a perfectionist who practised his keeping skills regularly and honed them to a fine art.

Throughout his career, he was shadowed by another fine England keeper in Bob Taylor, but Knott's superior batting got him the nod.

He made his test debut in 1967 against Pakistan and retired after 95 tests against Australia on 1 Sept 1981. He scored 4389 runs with 5 centuries, with a highest score of 135. He took 250 catches and effected 19 stumpings. He also played 20 ODI's, making 200 runs and taking 15 catches and 1 stumping.

When England regained the Ashes in 1970-71, Knott was pivotal in the triumph, with five catches and a stumping in the decisive seventh Test match at Sydney. And as Lillee and Thomson pulverised the English batsmen on their tour of Australia in 1974-5, Knott stood fearlessly against the onslaught, scoring 364 runs, with three fifties and 106 at Adelaide.

He was a Wisden Player of the Year in 1970 after this superb display with the gloves helped England regain the Ashes. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009. In the 2004 edition of The Wisden magazine he was voted as the wicket-keeper in "England's Greatest post-war XI".

Knott currently lives in Cyprus.

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter