Dean Headley - England's Fast Bowler and Descendant of a Legend

There are not many instances where you find threeDean Headley had a remarkable Test debut-taking
generations of cricketers in a family who played Testeight wickets against Australia at Manchester. The
cricket. In the case of George Headley, Ronalddownside to that was that England lost that match
Headley and Dean Headley, they all bear the samedespite his efforts. In that debut series against the
surname. Dean "Frog" Headley is the grandson ofAussies, the fast bowler took 16 wickets from three
legendary West Indian batsman, George Headley andmatches. His exploits earned him selection to the
the son of Ronald Headley. Of the three Headleys,1998 tour of the West Indies, where Headley played
Dean is the only bowler. The tall, right-arm fastall six Tests and scalped 19 wickets (he only bowled
bowler also represented England-not the West Indiesin five matches). Headley's best performance for
as his father and grandfather did. He managed toEngland came in the return Ashes series Down Under,
play 15 Tests for England, making him the secondwhere he took 19 wickets in three matches. In the
most successful Headley to play Test cricket.4th Test of that series, Dean took a career-best 6
Born on January 27, 1970 in Worcestershire, England,60 to inspire England to a 12-run victory over
the 6' 5" bowler was raised in England as well. AsAustralia. Despite his efforts with the ball, England
such, he chose to represent the "Three Lions",went down 3-2.
although he could have qualified to represent theGiven his talent, it is a surprise that he did not play
West Indies. Perhaps Headley's choice was influencedmore than 15 Tests for England. This was a direct
by the imposing line-up of fast bowlers that theresult of his recurrent back problems, which forced
West Indies had at that time. It might have crossedhim to retire from First Class cricket in 1999-at the
his mind that he would not have easily gotten aage of 29. From his 15 Tests, Headley captured 60
match, with the likes of Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop andwickets at an average of 27.85. With a strike rate of
Patterson around when Dean started playing First50.4, Headley would have been a premier strike
Class cricket. Headley's First Class career started inbowler for England if it were not for his back
1991. He attracted the attention of England selectorsproblems. Still, he left his mark on the game-playing
in 1996, when he played his first one-day international.for England, Kent and Middlesex, he played 139 First
His Test debut came in the following year, againstClass matches and took 446 wickets.
Australia in the famous Ashes series.