Andrew Birch
FullnameAndrew Charles Ross Birch
Birth date7 June 1985 (age 41)
Birth placeEast London, Eastern Cape, South Africa
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium-fast
RoleBowler
CountrySouth Africa
Club 1Eastern Province
Year 12005–2011
Year 22007–present
Club 2Warriors
Year 32019–2020
Club 3Dhaka Dynamites
Columns3
Column 1FC
Column 2LA
Column 3T20
Matches 188
Matches 268
Matches 356
Runs 11,952
Runs 2479
Runs 3144
Bat avg 116.68
Bat avg 214.51
Bat avg 39.00
100s/50s 10/6
100s/50s 20/1
100s/50s 30/0
Top score 188
Top score 255*
Top score 330
Deliveries 115,307
Deliveries 23,046
Deliveries 31,102
Wickets 1304
Wickets 2113
Wickets 366
Bowl avg 124.99
Bowl avg 221.38
Bowl avg 320.51
Fivefor 111
Fivefor 20
Fivefor 31
Tenfor 10
Tenfor 20
Tenfor 30
Best bowling 18/30
Best bowling 24/15
Best bowling 35/16
Catches/stumpings 134/–
Catches/stumpings 211/–
Catches/stumpings 312/–
Sourcehttp://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/44413.html Cricinfo
Date12 November 2016

Andrew Charles Ross Birch (born 7 June 1985) is a South African cricketer who plays for the Warriors cricket team.[1]

Early life

Birch hails from the small Eastern Cape town of Dordrecht. He was educated at St Andrew's College in Grahamstown, before further his studies at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth. His grandfather Ernest Birch[2] played first-class cricket for Border in the 1940s and his elder brother Colin Birch[3] played for Western Province.

Playing career

Birch represented South Africa at the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh. He also represented the South African Students team whilst at NMMU.[4] He made his first-class debut for Eastern Province in January 2005 against Griqualand West in the UCB Provincial Cup.[5]

A bowling all-rounder, Birch graduated through the Eastern Province ranks to become the leader of the Warriors franchise attack, finishing as the Warriors leading wicket-taker in the 2012/13 and 2014/15 Sunfoil Series. He was also the Warriors leading wicket-taker in the Momentum One Day Cup in the 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2015/16 seasons, finishing as the competitions overall leading wicket taker in the 2012/13 season.

During his first innings haul of 4/57 against the Lions at the Wanderers in their fifth round Sunfoil Series clash of the 2016/217 season, Birch claimed his 300th first-class wicket when he had Mangaliso Mosehle caught at second slip by Simon Harmer.[6]

The Warriors finished as runners-up in the 2016–2017 CSA T20 Challenge, losing to the Titans in the final. Birch's 17 wickets from nine matches placed him second on the overall leading wicket-takers table,[7] with his 5 for 16 against the Titans on 2 December 2016 being both a personal career best as well as the single best figures in the competition.

Birch has also played for the South African 'A' side. In August 2017, he was named in Nelson Mandela Bay Stars' squad for the first season of the T20 Global League.[8] However, in October 2017, Cricket South Africa initially postponed the tournament until November 2018, with it being cancelled soon after.[9]

In October 2018, he was named in Tshwane Spartans' squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament.[10][11] Later the same month, he was named in the squad for the Dhaka Dynamites team, following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Andrew Birch". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Ernest Birch". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Colin Birch". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  4. ^ "NMMU National Representatives"
  5. ^ "Pool B: Eastern Province v Griqualand West at Port Elizabeth, Jan 6–8, 2005 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Lions v Warriors at Johannesburg, Oct 27–30, 2016 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Cricket Records | Records | CSA T20 Challenge, 2016/17 | Most wickets | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  8. ^ "T20 Global League announces final team squads". T20 Global League. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Cricket South Africa postpones Global T20 league". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Mzansi Super League - full squad lists". Sport24. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Mzansi Super League Player Draft: The story so far". Independent Online. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Full players list of the teams following Players Draft of BPL T20 2018-19". Bangladesh Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 October 2018.