PROFILE

It was great to have Ryan back in 2011! Having moved to Nottinghamshire for the start of the 2004 season he soon afterwards enjoyed a wonderful Test career with England, but the left-arm swing bowler came home in 2011 to add his wealth of experience to the bowling attack.

He did not disappoint as he led the line with 62 wickets at 22.00, including three 5-fors and a career best of 7-37 against Somerset at Headingley. In the CB40 he claimed 11 wickets at 24.81 and added 5 wickets in the FPt20. His batting was also crucial at times, sharing in many vital lower order partnerships as he hit 389 Championship runs at 20.47 with 2 fifties – one a career best 61 against Worcestershire at New Road. He proved capable of hitting a long ball in one-day cricket too and Yorkshire’s disappointing season was poor reward for his tremendous efforts.

Ryan had left Yorkshire in 2004 when he moved to Nottinghamshire where he was a key part of their Championship winning sides of 2005 and 2010.

He made his first-class debut for Yorkshire in 1997 and helped the White Rose County win the 2001 Championship and the 2002 C&G Trophy. Since then the 6 foot 4 inch paceman has been one of the most consistent bowlers on the county circuit in all forms of cricket.

Ryan made his England Test debut in 2001 against Pakistan, but after a wicketless performance and only two ODIs against Zimbabwe he returned to county cricket and seemed destined to be a one Test cap wonder like his father, Arnie. But in 2007 he was recalled to England's attack and responded with 8 wickets against West Indies at Headingley Carnegie and quickly developed into a key member of the England line-up.

He was Man of the Series as England won the one-day tournament in Sri Lanka and then in New Zealand took 24 wickets at 17.08, including 7-47 in the final Test in Napier. He was England's Player of the Year in 2008 and played a crucial role in England’s triumph in the 2010 World Twenty20.

The Huddersfield-born seamer retired from international cricket in September 2010 shortly after celebrating Nottinghamshire’s LV= County Championship title success. In the final Championship match of the season at Old Trafford he crucially helped guide Nottinghamshire beyond 400 to secure a crucial final bonus point, before claiming the wicket of Karl Brown to help the county to claim the three wickets they needed to win the title for the first time since 2005.

In total, Ryan has played 22 Tests claiming 79 wickets at 28.24, 25 One-Day Internationals taking 29 wickets and 18 Twenty20s for England in an international career that spanned nine years.

His experience and wicket-taking talent will again be crucial for Andrew Gale's side in 2012.

JAMES BUTTLER
January 2012