Michael Kasprowicz

Michael Kasprowicz

Australia AllRounder

Personal Information

Full Name Michael Scott Kasprowicz
Date of Birth February 10, 1972
Nationality Australia
Height 6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)
Role Bowler/Right-arm fast-medium, Right-handed Batsman
Past Team(s)
Family Simon Kasprowicz (Brother), Lindsay Kasprowicz (Spouse)

Michael Kasprowicz: A Brief Biography

Michael Kasprowicz Biography


Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian International cricketer who was born on 10th February 1972 in the city of Brisbane.


Kasprowicz has been a part of the Australian Cricket team in all formats of the game.


He is a right arm fast bowler, an effective tail-ender and a productive fielder on the boundary.


He has been an integral part of the Queensland side and has been on the scene in the English County side at the first class level.


The lanky fast bowler has played in 220 matches over his career as a cricketer and has taken 293 wickets at an average of 26.51.


Background


Kasprowicz has enjoyed a fruitful career representing the Kangaroos as well as in the English county scene since he made his debut for Queensland.


He is known for his prodigious out-swing and the ability to generate pace and reverse swing with the old ball on dead subcontinent wickets despite having played a majority of his cricket on the green-top of the Gabba.


Kasprowicz has also been the part of the Australia U-19 team, which was captained by Damien Martyn.


Debut


His solid performances for Queensland earned him a Test call-up, as he made his debut against West Indies in Brisbane in November 1996.


Kasprowicz has played in all the Tests on the tours of Sri Lanka and India in 2004, which were won 3–0 and 2–1.


After being in and out of the side since his debut, Kasprowicz returned to the side in 2004 to hold down a regular spot ahead of Brett Lee.


High Points


Kasprowicz was inducted into the Test squad for the Tests in Sri Lanka in 2004.


This year proved to be a watershed year in his career as a frontline pacer for the Australian side.He was consistently among the wickets.


Indeed, in 2004, he went wicket-less in an innings just only on four occasions and ended the year with 47 scalps.


He bravely carried an injury-hit attack struck by Navjot Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar in 1997-98, made his way back to the sided in 2001 and returned in 2004 to help end India's 35-year hold over the Aussies in their own conditions.


Low Points


He was one of the top performing fast bowlers in Australian cricket for over a decade, and his solid performances for Queensland earned him a Test call up in 1996.


However, he was unable to replicate the success at the international stage and went wicket-less in the first two Tests.


Due to his patchy start, he was left out from the Australian side, but he continued to be the wrecker in chief for his domestic side.


Popular and cheerful off the field, Kasprowicz, popularly called as Kasper, experienced the lows of being the 12th man for Queensland's first Sheffield Shield win in 1994-95.


Club Career


Kasprowicz has been an integral part of the side of Queensland side for over the years.


Retirement


Kasprowicz made his tenth comeback to the national squad to replace Glenn McGrath as Lee's new ball partner in South Africa as the latter had stayed home to be with his dying wife.


That was the last time he played for the Australian team in Tests and announced his retirement in 2008.


He was the part of Mumbai Champs in 2008 in the ICL, a defunct league. Kasprowicz is now the representative for Queensland on the board of Cricket Australia.