Bursting onto the scene as a 19-year old left-handed batsmen, not many would’ve expected this man to go on to score 6 hundreds in 173 List A games and 35 hundreds in 208 First Class games, tallying nearly 14,000 career FC runs and not to forget, a short and sweet stint at the international stage as well, representing England in all three formats.
In the domestic circuit, he spent most of his years playing for Hampshire, while also representing clubs like Kent, Leicestershire, and Surrey. He couldn’t be ignored by the international selectors as he kept smashing big hundreds and finally, he made his debut for England at the age of 30, while later making his T20I debut at the age of 34!
The very fact that he reached here was a gargantuan achievement because he had to fight against factors like racism, politics, favouritism, groupism and much more. However, his international career was cut short because of life-threatening health issues like clots on his lungs, and when he managed to recover and return to professional cricket, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which again, he fought through and recovered from!
Today, Michael Carberry is 39 years old and we can say he’s a happily retired former England cricketer who played 6 Tests, 6 ODIs and 1 T20I at the international stage. The naturally attacking southpaw was known for his records at the domestic level with a FC highest score of 300* and it was unfortunate that he didn’t have a longer run at the international level.
Michael Carberry social profiles 🌐:
Dwayne Fernandes from Read Scoops recently spoke to the former England batsman about his achievements at the domestic level, his international career, the various struggles he had to face in that career, post-retirement life and about his plans going forward. Keep reading for a small excerpt and/or head to the Read Scoops YouTube channel for a complete video of our exclusive chat with Michael Carberry…
Being one of the most talented batsmen of his time in England, it’s sad that the best he could get was only 13 international games in a career that spanned over 15 years! The highlight moment of his international stint though will always be the 2013/14 Ashes tour down under, where Carbs finished with 281 runs in 5 Tests.
Now these may not be the best numbers but he did end the tour as the second highest run scorer for England, only behind Kevin Pietersen, with more runs than the Cooks, Bells or Roots in the team. However, it’s ironic that both of Pietersen and Carberry never donned the English uniform again, while the rest enjoyed long international careers. Answers to all this and more will be found in the video above…
After his fallout with the England Cricket Board (ECB) and his retirement from the game, Carberry took a break from cricket but it was love for the game that brought him back to it. Now, he’s a full-time coach for youngsters who could be the next best thing, while also devoting a lot of time towards financial trading and sketching, having picked up the latter during his illness. Take a look at some of his drawings on his Instagram profile:
Rapid fire with Carbs 🔥
- Cricketing idols you had growing up? “Viv Richards would be my first cricketing hero. Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting too.”
- Favourite career innings? “My first championship hundred against Gloucestershire in a run chase. You always remember your first hundred – it was special.”
- Toughest bowler you’ve faced? “Glen Chapple from Lancashire; Zaheer Khan – very skillful bowler; James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Dale Steyn. You name it and I’ve faced them all. Anyone running in with a new ball is a tough competitor.”
- Best batsman in the world? “Only two right now and it depends what corner of the globe you’re sitting in. Steve Smith and Virat Kohli and the latter probably edges it because of a supreme ODI record. He’s probably just a shade above Smith.”
- Favourite ground to play cricket? “I used to love playing at Edgbaston – I had a lot of success there as a player. It could be challenging but once you got in there, you’ll be licking your lips man!”
- Best friend in the England cricket team? “Unfortunately I didn’t last long enough to make friends, hahaha. Kevin Pietersen and Chris Tremlett were a couple of players I got along with and spent a lot of time with during my stint with the national side.”
- Favourite holiday destination? “Has to be Barbados because it’s gives me a chance to go back and visit my family.“
- If not a cricketer, then what? “Good question. I think I would’ve got into graphic design or architecture. But the 7 years of study in architecture would’ve killed me. I was a keen sprinter in school, so I would’ve been lining up against Mr.Bolt somewhere down the line. Or maybe even a coach, but cricket would’ve been somewhere down the line.”
- How much are you looking forward to getting out of lockdown? “Having had health issues in the past, it needs to be safe and at the moment, we’re not even close to a cure. It’s tough being cooped up indoors but it’s not safe at the moment, so it’s best to be within the confines of your home.“
Being heavily involved in financial training and his sketching commissions, Michael Carberry has found ways to keep himself busy until the COVID-19 lockdown opens up and he gets back to coaching. On behalf of the entire team at Read Scoops, I wish him the best of health and luck in coming months and years. Until next time, stay safe and keep coming back to ReadScoops.com for all updates from the world of cricket!
– Dwayne Fernandes, Read Scoops
(Twitter – @dwayneeeboy, Instagram – @dwayneeeboy)
