Simon Katich

Simon Katich

Personal information
Full name	Simon Mathew Katich
Born	(1975-08-21) 21 August 1975 Middle Swan, Western Australia, Australia
Nickname	Kat
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Batting style	Left hand bat
Bowling style	Left arm chinaman
Role	Batsman, occasional spin bowler
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 384)	16 August 2001 v England
Last Test	3 December 2010 v England
ODI debut (cap 143)	21 January 2001 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI	24 September 2006 v West Indies
ODI shirt no.	13 & 19
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1997–2002; 2013- 2014	Western Australia
2000	Durham
2002	Yorkshire
2003-2012	New South Wales
2003–2005; 2012	Hampshire
2007	Derbyshire
2008–2010	Kings XI Punjab
2011–2014	Perth Scorchers
2013–2014	Duronto Rajshahi
2013–2014	Lancashire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 56 45 248 233 Runs scored 4,188 1,324 19,667 7,136 Batting average 45.03 35.78 52.86 36.40 100s/50s 10/25 1/9 54/103 7/55 Top score 157 107* 306 136* Balls bowled 1,039 0 6,231 877 Wickets 21 – 105 24 Bowling average 30.23 – 35.09 34.08 5 wickets in innings 1 – 3 0 10 wickets in match 0 – – 0 Best bowling 6/65 – 7/130 3/21 Catches/stumpings 39/– 13/– 218/– 105/–
Source: CricketArchive, 14 July 2012

Simon Matthew Katich (born 21 August 1975, Middle Swan, Western Australia) is a former Australian cricketer. He captained New South Wales and also, until the end of the 2007 season, Derbyshire.^[1] In England he played for Lancashire until the end of the 2014 season and represented birth state Western Australia in Australian Domestic Cricket. He has also played for the Indian Premier League team, Kings XI Punjab.

He played primarily as a left-handed opening batsman and part-time left arm chinaman bowler. He played 56 Test matches for Australia from 2001 to 2011. On 12 June 2012 Katich retired from first class cricket in Australia,^[2] but returned to play for Western Australia in 2013.^[3]

Katich is currently serving as the Football Operations Manager of the Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL club.^[4]

Early career

Katich was an AIS Australian Cricket Academy scholarship holder in 1996.^[5] and made his debut for the Western Australia state team in the 1996–97 season. The following season he was a central figure in Western Australia's Sheffield Shield success, scoring an impressive 1,039 first-class runs for the season.^[6]

International selection

He was selected to tour Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe with the national team the following season but suffered greatly from illness, including a debilitating bout of chicken pox and subsequent health problems. However, he recovered to contribute further for his state, highlighted in the 2000–01 domestic season where he helped himself to 1,282 first-class runs. He later switched from Western Australia to New South Wales where he currently lives.

Katich made his Test debut on the 2001 Ashes tour of England. He failed to capitalize making only 15 and was not out 0. In only his second match he bowled for the first time in Test cricket, and in the second innings took 6/65 in the 2nd innings against Zimbabwe in Sydney. Following Steve Waugh's retirement in 2004, Katich established himself in the Australian team. His best Test batting performance came against India at Sydney in January 2004, when his 125 and unbeaten 77 saved Australia the Test, series, and a decade long unbeaten record at home. Despite this, he was dropped in favor of Andrew Symonds for Australia's next Test, in Sri Lanka,when Symonds was dropped after the first two Tests, Katich was picked for the third Test and made a patient 86. He regained his place and enjoyed a good Test series in India in October 2004, where he made good scores of 81 and 99. His good form continued with 118 against New Zealand in March 2005. However, he had a poor Ashes tour of England later that year, and after scoring only two runs in the following two Tests (against the ICC World XI and the West Indies), he was dropped from the Test side. Katich was fined during the Ashes for showing dissent to umpire Aleem Dar along with captain Ricky Ponting.

Since the commencement of the 2005–06 season, Katich attempted to cement his place in the Australian one day cricket side, having lost his Test place. He had been sometimes criticised for his slow scoring rate in One Day Internationals, but others believe he was the perfect foil to the aggressive fellow opening batsman Adam Gilchrist. Australia persisted with him throughout the VB Series and in South Africa, as Katich scored runs fairly consistently. However, he struggled in the DLF Cup in September 2006; the next month he lost his place at the top of the order to Shane Watson, who impressed Ponting with some attacking displays against the West Indies and an Indian state team. Katich was not picked in the 15 man squad to play in the World Cup in the West Indies. Katich so far has played a total of 45 One day Internationals. Katich wore the number 19 but swapped for the number 13.

Selected for the 2008 Australian team's tour of India he found himself opening the batting with the injury to Phil Jaques. The repeated failures of his opening partner, Matt Hayden, increased the pressure on Katich. Katich has been criticised for his slow scoring but is considered by some to have helped solidify the Australian batting and to have contributed to the strong position the team had in the first Test (which India recovered to draw) and to have been relatively blameless for the second Test loss in Mohali.

He retained his spot for the home series against New Zealand. In the first Test, at the Gabba, Brisbane, he made 10 in the first innings (in which Australia was all out for 214 on a tough batting deck). However, in the second innings, Katich carried his bat through the innings; the first cricketer to do so at Test level since Mark Taylor in the late 90's. He made 131 not out, 48.88% of Australia's total of 268, in an innings in which the next highest score was 31 (by Mitchell Johnson batting at no. 10). Katich's batting allowed Australia to post a victory target of 327, which it ultimately defended.

Katich fielding at short leg in a Test match against India in October 2010.

Katich was selected for the 2009 tour to England and he played in all five Ashes Tests, scoring 341 runs in 8 innings at an average of 42.62. Katich opened the batting with Phillip Hughes for the first two Tests at Cardiff and Lord's but Hughes was dropped for the Third Test at Edgbaston due to poor form, so Katich was then partnered by Shane Watson for the final three Tests. This proved successful as Watson and Katich scored more runs at the top of the order than the previous Hughes-Katich combination. Katich scored his eighth Test century in the First Test with 122. This was backed up later in the series with a half century. Katich scored these runs at a strike rate of 53.87. He also took six catches in the field and effected two direct hit run outs in the Fifth Test.

2007–08 domestic season

The 2007–08 domestic season could only be described as a triumph for Katich. He scored 1,506 runs to break Michael Bevan's all-time Pura Cup/Sheffield Shield record for runs in a season^[7] as NSW romped home undefeated to claim their 45th title. Aside from being given the honour of captaining NSW in the Pura Cup final against Victoria, Katich also contributed scores of 86 and 92 to lead the match on run aggregate^[8] as he had done for the season overall. He was also crowned the Pura Cup player of the year for his 1506 runs at an average of 94.12.^[9] The highlight of Katich's season was undoubtedly his 306 against QLD at the SCG, an innings in which the last 200 runs came at better than a run a ball. It was the first time since Sir Donald Bradman that a player had scored 300 at the SCG, and an innings which the Sydney Morning Herald called "superb".^[10] Peter Roebuck later claimed Katich should be the Australian cricket captain after Ricky Ponting came under fire during the January 2008 SCG Test.^[11] During the coverage of the final, Damien Fleming described Katich as a left-handed V. V. S. Laxman for his dominant bottom hand and willingness to hit through the on-side. Katich's season culminated with his recall to the national side for May tour of the West Indies. He cemented his place in the Test team with scores of 113 and 157 in the second and third Tests respectively.

Kolkata Knight Riders (2015-Present)

On November, it was announced that Simon katich was appointed as new assistant coach for Kolkata Knight Riders

2011 Selection Controversy

In the middle of the 2010/11 Ashes series between Australia and England, Katich injured his Achilles tendon and was ruled out for the remainder of the series. In mid-2011 the Cricket Australia Selection Panel did not grant Katich a new international contract despite Katich being one of the most consistent batsmen in the team. At the time he was dropped, Katich had an average as an opening batsman of 50.48 runs.^[12] The selectors claimed that they were planning for the future but Katich has claimed that new Australian captain, Michael Clarke, was behind his test axing due to a scuffle in the SCG dressing rooms after a Test match between Clarke and Katich. Former Test Cricket Bowler, Brett Lee claimed in his autobiography that "If you don't get on with Katich, you're a pretty ordinary bloke." Katich was given a lot of support following his axing and he said at the start of the 2011/12 Sheffield Shield season that he would score 1,000 runs in the season. Katich started strongly, hitting 2 centuries in his first 3 matches but struggled with fitness toward the end of the season finishing with 483 runs at an average of 43.9.

Personal life

Katich attended Trinity College in Perth, Western Australia. He married Georgie Willis in May 2006. He also has a bachelor's degree in the field of commerce^[13] from the University of Western Australia.^[14] He has anosmia, which was caused by an attack of glandular fever. He is also a keen cook and learned cooking over the years from his mother Kerry. He made it to the semifinals in Celebrity MasterChef Australia, and his signature dish is crispy salmon with wilted spinach and mashed potatoes.

Katich is of Croatian descent. His father's parents were born in Croatia and emigrated to Australia in the 1920s, eventually settling in Perth.^[15] His father, Vince, was a police detective who helped play a part in the capture of serial killers David and Catherine Birnie.

Katich and his wife Georgie became parents in January 2011 when their son Xavier was born.^[16]

Katich is Catholic and is quoted as saying, "My faith gives me a focus in how I lead my life and go about my cricket."^[17]

Career highlights

Tests

Test debut: vs England, Leeds, 2001

• Katich's best Test batting score of 157 was made against West Indies, 2008
• His best Test bowling figures of 6 for 65 came against Zimbabwe, Sydney, 2003–04
• Katich became the first Australian batsman since Mark Taylor in 1998 to carry his bat through a completed Test innings, notching 131 not out at the Gabba in 2008–09 vs New Zealand.

Test centuries

Simon Katich's Test centuries
#	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	125	6	India	Sydney, Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground	2004
2	118	14	New Zealand	Christchurch, New Zealand	Lancaster Park	2005
3	113	25	West Indies	North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda	Sir Vivian Richards Stadium	2008
4	157	26	West Indies	Bridgetown, Barbados	Kensington Oval	2008
5	102	30	India	Nagpur, India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium	2008
6	131*	31	New Zealand	Brisbane, Australia	Brisbane Cricket Ground	2008
7	108	37	South Africa	Durban, South Africa	Sahara Stadium Kingsmead	2009
8	122	39	England	Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom	Sophia Gardens	2009
9	100	47	Pakistan	Hobart, Australia	Bellerive Oval	2010
10	106	50	New Zealand	Hamilton, New Zealand	Seddon Park	2010

One-day internationals

ODI Debut: vs Zimbabwe, Melbourne, 2000–01

• Katich's best ODI batting score of 107* was made against Sri Lanka, The Gabba, on 14 February 2006.

Twenty20

He captained New South Wales to victory in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in 2010.

First-class

He scored 306 for New South Wales against Queensland in Sydney, 2007

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simon Katich.

• Simon Katich at Cricket Archive
• Cricinfo profile on Simon Katich
• HowSTAT! statistical profile on Simon Katich