Phil Neale, English cricketer, coach, and manager
Phillip Anthony Neale (born 5 June 1954) is an English former first-class cricketer who played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club, captaining the team to success in the County Championship in 1988 and 1989. He also played association football for Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United, Worcester City and Gloucester City. From 2000 to 2020 he worked as Operations Manager for the England cricket team.Neale was a right-handed middle order batsman who scored more than 900 runs in his first full season of first-class cricket for Worcestershire in 1976, and was then a fixture in the side for the next 15 seasons, scoring 1,000 runs in a season eight times and exceeding 900 in five others. His sole representative appearance was for England A against Pakistan when they toured England. But from 1982, he was county captain, and Worcestershire achieved considerable success under his leadership in the late 1980s. The county won the Sunday League in 1987 and 1988 and the County Championship in 1988 and 1989.
Neale's captaincy and contacts were a factor in attracting big name cricketers to Worcester. He played soccer professionally at Scunthorpe United with the England all-rounder Ian Botham, and when Botham fell out with Somerset, he joined Worcestershire. Botham was followed by a fellow England player, the fast bowler Graham Dilley, and Worcestershire also took on the Zimbabwean Graeme Hick, who later qualified for England. Neale's success in drawing team performances from a side not lacking in personalities won him nomination as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1989.
Following his retirement in 1992 he has been prominent as a coach and team manager at both County (Northamptonshire and Warwickshire) and national levels (England 1999-2020). In all matches, he scored more than 17,000 runs at an average of almost 36.50 runs per innings.He announced his retirement as the England Cricket operations manager after 21 years on 1 November 2020.
1954Jun, 5
Phil Neale
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Events on 1954
- 13Feb
NCAA Division I
Frank Selvy becomes the only NCAA Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a single game. - 28Feb
NTSC
The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public. - 1Apr
United States Air Force Academy
United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. - 25Apr
Bell Labs
The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories. - 18Jun
1954 Guatemalan coup d'état
Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état