Mike Denness

Despite his exceptional prowess as a batsman, Mike Denness' most (in)famous moment in international cricket came as a match referee during India's tour of South Africa in 2001. During the second Test of the series, he raised ball-tampering punishments on six Indian players including Sachin Tendulkar, consequently resulting in a huge backlash especially from the BCCI as Denness got removed for the

next Test. Displeased by this incident, the ICC withdrew Test status from the final game, making that series a totally controversial one in all ways. As a player, Denness was style personified, extremely elegant in his strokeplay against both pace and spin.

He amassed over 25,000 First-class runs with 33 centuries and 152 half-centuries. Denness was also an excellent fielder, especially in the inner circle where he pulled off some amazing reflex catches. A polished personality on and off the field, Denness was destined to lead England. However, his leadership stint ended in a soup with Geoff Boycott often indirectly causing rifts in the side which made it difficult for Denness to captain smoothly. He was in his last years when the ODI format came about and hence, couldn't stand long to dominate there. After retirement, he was a revered ICC match official and passed away in 2013 due to cancer.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan