Bichel hangs up his boots

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FORMER Australia fast bowler Andy Bichel has announced his retirement from cricket at age 38. More...

[Mr. Wicket]

:hatsoff: Hats off to one of the greatest fighters and most unappreciated cricketers Australian cricket has seen in a while. Not the most talented, but damned if he didn't make far more of his talent than many other more talented stars and deliver some magic performances on sheer guts and determination. Won't forget some of his great moments, like running in for over after over in broiling heat in Sharjah and firing down deliveries at good pace v. the hapless Pakis, or THAT game against England in the World Cup.

[graphic23]

I think the only thing I remember about Andy Bichel (apart from the fact that he played for Australia) is that RD pulled him for 6 in the 233 knock at Adelaide in the '03-04 tour. But it takes a lot of determination and commitment to have played cricket until 38 years for someone who wasn't appreciated at the international level, and for that, :hatsoff:

[Mr. Wicket]

graphic, if you don't remember the miracle of Port Elizabeth... you missed out on IMO one of the greatest ODI individual performances of all time. Australia bowled first v. England, and got collared in the first 10 overs - Knight and Tresco raced to a 6+ an over partnership. Then Bichel took wicket after wicket, finishing with 10-0-20-7 to remove Knight, Vaughan, Hussain, Stewart, Collingwood, Flintoff and Giles - of those 7 wickets, 3 caught behind and 2 bowled (so we're not talking about an Aag-style haul with half of them out trying to hit him for six). Bic took England from 66/0 in 9.4 overs to 204/8 (the other bowlers managed one wicket between them, with Lee getting creamed). Then Australia got stuck at 135/8 in their run chase. Bic came out with Bevan in need of a partner, dominated the partnership and smashed 34 not out off 36 to win the game with 2 wickets in hand. Just an unbelievable all-round display in a high pressure match. Even better than Gary Gilmour's show in the 79 World Cup. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65269.html Bic had another amazing showing later on in the WC... the Super6 game v. NZ is remembered mostly for Bond's 6/23 - but Bic was the guy who dug Australia from that rut by scoring 64 (top score of the match) and later getting the all crucial wicket of Cairns. [bTW, give the man his due - it was Gillespie that Dravid pulled - actually top-edged- for six in that Adelaide game to bring up his 100. :D]

[Guest Hiten.]

:hatsoff: Hats off to one of the greatest fighters and most unappreciated cricketers Australian cricket has seen in a while. Not the most talented, but damned if he didn't make far more of his talent than many other more talented stars and deliver some magic performances on sheer guts and determination. Won't forget some of his great moments, like running in for over after over in broiling heat in Sharjah and firing down deliveries at good pace v. the hapless Pakis, or THAT game against England in the World Cup.

That performance was a stunning one as he chipped in with wickets and almost run a ball 34 runs to secure a famous victory for Aussies. I guess he 'over aged' at the wrong time because Australia would be more than happy to recruit him in their current ODI XI.

[Mr. Wicket]

He'd walk into a whole lot of Australia teams, except the late 90s/early 00s, which was when he had the misfortune of playing and competing with some unbelievable talents for a place in the XI. Would STROLL into this one if the selectors weren't sharing five brain cells between them and he was 10 years younger. He was a solid bowler - not a world class talent like Fleming, Gillespie or McGrath, but had solid pace, incredible stamina and an unbelievable work ethic and commitment to the team that made him a serious overachiever.

[Anakin]

He was a workhorse and he bowled with a lot of heart. Also more of a gentleman than most OZs. :hatsoff:

[Cricketics]

I used to really admire his attitude and his bowling. His bowling action was great, and his batting used to be pretty handy. Still remember that fantastic catch he took of Dravid during that Adelaide test of 04. Salil, that particular game inw hich Aus were 7 down, was a beuty of a game. Beven wasn't hesitating to give strike to Bichael. Infact there was a time I think Bevan was almost dehydrating and Bichael was Mr. Cool who kept hitting and playing some good cricketing shots. He could have easily walked into Indian bowling line up had he born in India. Was unlucky that he was born in the wrong era of Mcgrath and Gilespie

[graphic23]

graphic, if you don't remember the miracle of Port Elizabeth... you missed out on IMO one of the greatest ODI individual performances of all time. Australia bowled first v. England, and got collared in the first 10 overs - Knight and Tresco raced to a 6+ an over partnership. Then Bichel took wicket after wicket, finishing with 10-0-20-7 to remove Knight, Vaughan, Hussain, Stewart, Collingwood, Flintoff and Giles - of those 7 wickets, 3 caught behind and 2 bowled (so we're not talking about an Aag-style haul with half of them out trying to hit him for six). Bic took England from 66/0 in 9.4 overs to 204/8 (the other bowlers managed one wicket between them, with Lee getting creamed). Then Australia got stuck at 135/8 in their run chase. Bic came out with Bevan in need of a partner, dominated the partnership and smashed 34 not out off 36 to win the game with 2 wickets in hand. Just an unbelievable all-round display in a high pressure match. Even better than Gary Gilmour's show in the 79 World Cup. http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65269.html Bic had another amazing showing later on in the WC... the Super6 game v. NZ is remembered mostly for Bond's 6/23 - but Bic was the guy who dug Australia from that rut by scoring 64 (top score of the match) and later getting the all crucial wicket of Cairns. [bTW, give the man his due - it was Gillespie that Dravid pulled - actually top-edged- for six in that Adelaide game to bring up his 100. :D]

Oh, EPIC FAIL. :(( But thanks for the info about the match. I was completely unaware of this. That is just utter domination. 7/20 in 10 overs at an economy of 2 and a matchwinning knock/support to Michael Bevan of 34 runs. It must suck for Australia because a lot of very good/great players sprouted around the same time, and they could only choose the very best.

[Mr. Wicket]

The amazing thing is the context of both performances. When Bichel came on to bowl, Tresco and Knight were flaying Australia. Lee was bowling shyte, and the Poms were going at 6+ an over and looked to be setting themselves for a BIG score. Bichel brought them down to earth in incredible fashion. When Bichel came in to bat, the game looked pretty much gone - heck the Pommy fans were dancing all over the stands and well into celebration. Aus had totally lost momentum, there had been a series of dismissals to some stupid cricket and good bowling from Caddick and Giles (yes, I said it!) and nobody gave them a hope in hell. For Bic to turn in two superlative performances under such pressure with the opposition dominating is just incredible. Haven't seen the like of it before. May never again. ticz; you're right - towards the end esp. Bichel took over as the required run rate started to go up - Bevan was working the 1s and 2s fine, but couldn't find the boundary that much so Bic used the long handle beautifully - clouted Anderson into the stands and played some shots that shamed the top order.

[Vignesh]

A Good Bowler and a silent achiever in the OZ Side........... ANDY BICHEL................ One of the most Underrated Cricketers.....

[Don Sharma]

Apart from his heroics alongside Bevan in the game vs. Eng in '03WC, I remember him consistently picking up Lara:(( "I don't know whether I would call him my bunny," he said. "But obviously I have enjoyed the challenge of bowling to Brian Lara."

[EnterTheVoid]

That world cup match against England in the 2003 world cup was my fondest memory of Bichel I also had the please of being at the Adelaide oval on the third day where Laman and Dravid had that 300 run partnership and clobbered Bichel and the remainder of the Aussie attack to all corners of S.A. A very good cricketer thanks for the memories

[Shane]

Yaa, i was just abt to make the PE reference, Salil got that one down, we might well call it the Andy Bichel Game !!!

[Lord]

highly underrated bowler,could have walked into any other side at that time.in 2003 WC,it was a blessing in disguse that gillespie got injured,because they found bichel who was a one of the main reasons they went unbeaten in that WC

[Gambit]

In the late 90s, he and a bowler called Anthony Stuart made their debut around the same time. Stuart was supposed to be the next big thing after got he a hattrick against Pak(which BTW was the last ODI he played for OZ!) and Bichel it seemed would fade away. Quite the opposite happened.