Chris Tavaré

Chris Tavaré

Personal information
Full name	Christopher James Tavaré
Born	27 October 1954 Orpington, Kent, England
Nickname	Tav
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right arm off break
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 486)	5 June 1980 v West Indies
Last Test	11 July 1989 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 54)	28 May 1980 v West Indies
Last ODI	26 March 1984 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1989–1993	Somerset
1974–1988	Kent
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC LA Matches 31 29 431 399 Runs scored 1,755 720 24,906 11,407 Batting average 32.50 27.69 38.79 33.45 100s/50s 2/12 –/4 48/138 14/65 Top score 149 83* 219 162* Balls bowled 30 12 813 18 Wickets 0 – 5 – Bowling average – – 144.40 – 5 wickets in innings – – – – 10 wickets in match – n/a – n/a Best bowling – – 1/3 – Catches/stumpings 20/– 7/– 418/– 168/–
Source: Cricinfo, 3 July 2008

Christopher James Tavaré (/ˈtævəreɪ/;), (Born 27 October 1954, in Orpington, Kent)^[1] is an English retired cricketer who played in thirty-one Tests and twenty-nine One Day Internationals between 1980 and 1989. His style of play was characterised by long periods at the crease and a relatively slow rate of run-scoring.

Life and career

Tavaré was educated at Sevenoaks School and St John's College, Oxford, where he graduated with a degree in zoology. He played cricket for Oxford University, Kent and Somerset as an attacking right-handed batsman.

He adapted his natural game to meet the requirements of the Test side, becoming a notorious blocker.^[2] In 1981 against Australia at Old Trafford he scored 69 and 78, but was at the crease for twelve hours. His 50 in five hours and fifty minutes, against Pakistan in 1982, was the second slowest in the history of the English game.^[1] Among his slowest innings was a score of 35 runs in six-and-a-half hours at Madras in the 1981/2 season. In 2012, Alex Massie wrote that, for Tavaré, scoring runs seemed "a disagreeable, even vulgar, distraction from the pure task of surviving".^[3] The Test selectors dropped Tavaré in 1984, after he had made 25 Test appearances, following another time-consuming score of 14 against the Sri Lankans.^[1]

Tavaré captained Kent for three years, before he was replaced by Chris Cowdrey in 1986.^[1] He moved to Somerset as captain in 1989,^[1] following a successful benefit in 1988. He was recalled for one Test Match against Australia in 1989.

Tavaré is currently a biology teacher at his alma mater, Sevenoaks School.^[4] Tavaré is first cousin of comedian Jim Tavaré.

References

1. Bateman, Colin (1993). If The Cap Fits. Tony Williams Publications. p. 166. ISBN 1-869833-21-X.
2. Dave Warner, Cricket's Hall of Shame, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, ISBN 1-86368-220-1, 1998, p. 39.
3. Massie, Alex (11 May 2012). "An Epidemic of Not Scoring". The Spectator. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
4. "Where are they now? Chris Tavaré". The Guardian (London). 25 May 2008.

External links

• Player profile: Chris Tavaré from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Chris Tavaré from CricketArchive