Ashley Giles

At 51 years old, Ashley Giles has this physical status:

Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury.

Giles played the entirety of his 14-year first-class career at Warwickshire County Cricket Club.Giles started his career as a fast bowler before an early injury forced him to become a slow left-arm spinner.

He made his first-class debut for Warwickshire in 1993, but it was 1996 when he gained a regular place in the side, winning the NBC Denis Compton Award for being 'The Most Promising Young Player' at the club.

Giles was awarded his One Day International debut against Australia in May 1997, and 36 wickets in the 1998 season led to his first Test match against South Africa, although it would be a further two years before he would play another Test for England. He did not have the most fluent bowling action and was unable to turn the ball a huge amount, although at 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm), he was able to use his height to extract plenty of bounce.

As a right-handed batsman, Giles scored three first-class centuries, but his highest international score was only 59, an innings that helped England win The Ashes in 2005.

Between November 2000 and the emergence of Monty Panesar in 2006 (during his first prolonged injury lay-off), Giles was England's first-choice spin bowler, although he was constantly having to justify his selection.

This came to a head in 2004 when Giles considered retirement before a match-winning 9-wicket haul against the West Indies gave him the confidence to perform at the highest level.

Personal life

Giles is a resident of Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire and was named an 'Honorary Citizen' of the town by the mayor after the 2005 Ashes success. The award was created for him, as he did not meet the usual criteria to become a Freeman. Giles was awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for his role in the successful Ashes-winning squad. He is married to the Norwegian Stine (née Osland), with whom he has two children, Anders Fraser and Matilde Louise. He is a lifelong supporter of Queens Park Rangers F.C.

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Domestic career and influences

Ashley Giles spent his youth in Woking, attending Kingfield First and Middle Schools. Giles benefited from a cricket-loving tutor and became involved with District and County Cricket at the Under-23 level. He began attending George Abbot School in Guildford, Surrey, finishing his GCSEs and A-levels. Ashley's father, brother Andrew, cousins, and uncles all played for Ripley Cricket Club, as did both paternal and maternal grandfathers before. Giles were quickly moved to the 2nd XI on Saturday, opening the bowling with close friend Ian Ward. Both players were young fast bowlers and a deadly force for Surrey Under-19s at this moment. Darren and Martin Bicknell, the Giles, have joined Guildford Cricket Club, under the guidance of Brian Ruby, as well as future professionals.

Giles progressed through the county age groups and played for Surrey Young Cricketers in Barbados in 1990/91. Giles had to try bowling spin while at Guildford due to an injury, which gave him some success. Giles made his Surrey Second XI debut in 1990 and was named Surrey Young Cricketer of the Year in 1991. He appeared in one more match for Surrey in the following season, but they were unable to provide him with a professional contract. Giles was granted a one-year deal with Warwickshire County Cricket Club following his initial hearing with Dennis Amiss.

Giles played the majority of his games for Warwickshire Second XI from 1992 to 1995, scoring over 2,500 runs and taking 165 wickets in this period. He made his first-class debut against Kent in May 1993; his second match was against Durham later this year. He made his List A debut against the touring Zimbabweans in September 1993, his first wicket being Grant Flower, but Giles' first wicket was not until the 1995 season was over before he claimed his spot in the Warwickshire side took an average of 22.12 (in six matches). Giles won the NBC Denis Compton Award in 1996, and before his debut with the England A team in 1998, he toured Australia, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.

International career

Giles played winter cricket in South Africa for Vredenberg & Saldanha (1992–95) and Avendale (1995–96). Giles made his Test debut against South Africa on July 2, 1998 and took 1 for 106 in 36 overs. In the One Day squad, he continued to tour Australia. Giles would have been called out of the ODI squad and the Bradman XI match in Sydney on December 31 and into the Test squad. He was chosen as a result of Australia's selection of Shane Warne, Colin Miller, and Stuart MacGill, while England captain Alec Stewart said that the selection of Giles gave England another option.

Giles appeared on England's 2000-01 tour of Pakistan, establishing himself as "England's No. 1." 1 slow bowler" was on display at the United Nations Bowling Association. Duncan Fletcher attributed the injury to his achilles tendon injury in February, which affected his bowling, conceding 83 runs from his 19 overs. Giles have returned to take part in the Test matches, but not in the Test matches. Giles was supposed to face Muttiah Muralitharan in wicket taking, but the reporter denied it at the time. In April, his tendon injury resurfaced, but it was postponed for six weeks.

Giles also excelled during India's tour of England in 2001. Giles took 96 wickets for Warwickshire against Middlesex in Domestic Cricket, as well as taking the wicket of Andrew Strauss. As Middlesex wracked, he continued to take three more wickets. Giles took six wickets at Brisbane on the 2002 tour of Australia, but he was forced to cancel his tour after Steve Harmison injured Giles' wrist during nets practice. Giles took eight wickets against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the winter of 2003, and England lost with a draw on the fourth test. Giles was later named in the West Indies as a member of the 2004 touring team.

His most successful bowling had been in Pakistan and Sri Lanka before 2004, and this year had an enthralling appearance in the Caribbean. However, he managed to win the Man of the Match award in July 2004 with a score of 9–210. In the second Test at Edgbaston, he continued his best Test-figures of 9–122, and he was instrumental in England's victory over the West Indies twice. He earned the name "King of Spain" after a collection of mugs ordered in 2000 (for his testimonial year) were mistakenly printed with the word "King of Spin" rather than "King of Spin." Only two of these mugs were made, one of which Giles used for his coffee in the dressing room (this mug was later stolen), and another in the club shop on display. However, after the mistake was revealed, a hundred mugs were made with King Juan Carlos on the other hand, and Warwickshire fans snapped them up.

Fans of the Ashes collection of 2005 also sang "Y viva Espaa" in Giles' honor. Giles was back to form, but commentators were still scathing about him: the BBC's Test Match Special commentator Henry Blofeld affectionally referred to him as a "Wheely bin" for his trundling run-up, much to Giles' chagrin. Blofeld, on the other hand, denied that the moniker was not threatening. (It was originally given to Giles by The Guardian writer David Hopps.)

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named him one of the year's top cricketers. Giles captured the wickets of all of Australia's top batsmen at least once during the series in 2005 Ashes. In the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, he scored the winning runs, giving England a 2–1 advantage. In the final Test at The Oval and a 2–1 series victory, he recorded a Test-best 59 runs and a century partnership with Kevin Pietersen to ensure the draw was maintained. Nonetheless, his ten wickets in the series were still at a high average of 57.80.

Giles were ruled out of both the Test and ODI sections of England's tour to India in February 2006. Ian Blackwell, left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell and then fast bowler Liam Plunkett were first in first position, and Giles conceded Monty Panesar, a left-arm spinner, was another threat to his position. Shaun Udal, a veteran off-break bowler, was recalled with some success in the final Test. Panesar played against both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in summer 2006, despite Giles' absence for the entire season. Giles said in an interview on April 24, 2006 that although he had feared his future was in jeopardy, he was now "a lot more confident and happy" after being diagnosed with a sportman's hernia. Giles was not eligible for selection after spending time in India with the England Champions Trophy squad, and took Panesar's place in the team's first Test at Brisbane. Nonetheless, he was ruled out for his third Test in the series, with Panesar reclaiming his position.

On December 1, Giles returned to Australia from the 2006 Ashes tour in order to care for his wife, who had a brain tumour. He was not selected for England's 2007 World Cup squad nor in their 2007 summer performance squad. He suffered with hip pain on Warwickshire's pre-season tour, which indicated the need for an operation. It kept him out for the majority of the 2007 English county series, but Giles officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 9th, following medical advice in light of his injury.

Coaching career

Giles became Warwickshire's director of cricket following his retirement, replacing Mark Greatbatch, ahead of Dermot Reeve. Giles was appointed the official spin coach in the England Performance Programme in November two months later. Giles was appointed to a new four-man committee, along with Peter Moores and James Whitaker, which replaced David Graveney in the role of national selector for the England team on January 18, 2008, with the former being dismissed from the position and reinstated as a national performance manager. In September 2012, Led Warwickshire defeated the Division One County Championship in September 2012, CB40 2010 & Pro 40 2009.

Ashley Giles, England and Wales Cricket Board, was confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Saturday that she would be England's limited overs Head Coach, taking over the Twenty20 and One Day International teams.

Following his departure from that role in April 2014, he spent the summer months as a match analyst for ESPN, playing for Nuneaton CC in exchange for a charitable donation and a world record by scaling Mount Kilimanjaro to play in the highest game of cricket ever played (also for charity).

In October 2014, he was named as the cricket director and head coach of Lancashire County Cricket Club. He was named as the sport director of Warwickshire County Cricket Club in December 2016.

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Awards

• NBC Denis Compton Award 1996 and 1997
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2005
• Awarded the MBE in 2005
• Honorary Citizen of Droitwich Spa 2005