Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name James Savin Foster
Born April 15, 1980, Whipps Cross, Leytonstone, Essex
Current age 28 years 101 days
Major teams England, Durham UCCE, Essex
Nickname Fozzy, Chief
Batting style Right-hand bat
Fielding position Wicketkeeper
Height 6 ft 0 in
Education Forest School; Durham University

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

226

25.11

654

34.55

ODIs

13.66

57.74

First-class

133

197

5853

212

33.83

353

List A

128

100

1781

69*

24.06

155

Twenty20

660

62*

22.75

482

136.92

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

ODIs

First-class

133

3.00

List A

128

Twenty20

Career statistics

Test debut

India v England at Mohali, Dec 3-6, 2001 scorecard

Last Test

Australia v England at Melbourne, Dec 26-30, 2002 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

Zimbabwe v England at Harare, Oct 3, 2001 scorecard

Last ODI

New Zealand v England at Christchurch, Feb 13, 2002 scorecard

ODI statistics

First-class debut

2000

Last First-class

Essex v Gloucestershire at Chelmsford, Jul 22-25, 2008 scorecard

List A debut

2000

Last List A

Leicestershire v Essex at Leicester, Jul 20, 2008 scorecard

Twenty20 debut

Surrey v Essex at East Molesey, Jun 14, 2003 scorecard

Last Twenty20

Essex v Northamptonshire at Chelmsford, Jul 7, 2008 scorecard

James Foster was earmarked early on as an England wicketkeeper in the making. After just four first-class matches for Essex he was selected for the England A tour of West Indies in 2000-01. At this point he was still sharing the English season between his studies at Durham University and playing for Essex, but once he committed full-time to cricket he was being talked of as a successor to Alec Stewart. His chance came on the 2001-02 one-day tour of Zimbabwe, where he made his debut at Harare, before earning a spot on the trip to India after Stewart opted out. He made a nervous start at Mohali, but became more assured during the tour and impressed with some determined innings. He retained his place for the tour of New Zealand after Christmas, but was ousted from the one-day squad when England searched for greater balance by using Marcus Trescothick. Then came a cruel break - literally - when his arm was broken during nets with Essex, allowing Alec Stewart to slot back into the team. Though Foster performed consistently in county cricket there was no way back in the summer of 2002, but he'd done enough to be the reserve keep on the Ashes tour that winter. He won one more Test cap, at Melbourne, when Stewart injured his arm, but was fighting a losing battle as England attempted to field five bowlers. When Stewart retired at the end of the 2003 season Andrew Flintoff's emergence had opened the way for a keeper at No. 7 - but it was Chris Read, not Foster, who got the nod. Since them, Geraint Jones has claimed the gloves and latterly Matt Prior. However, if Foster continues to churn out runs and hold catches for Essex another chance is not out of the question and he was promoted to vice-captain during the 2007 season.
Andrew McGlashan July 2007

Jul 0, 2008

England's procession of wicketkeepers since the retirement of Alec Stewart. A graph from The Wisden Cricketer magazine © The Wisden Cricketer

Jul 0, 2008

A chart detailing the order of merit of England's eligible wicketkeepers, from The Wisden Cricketer magazine © The Wisden Cricketer

Jun 6, 2008

James Foster survives a raucous appeal on Tim Murtagh's hat-trick ball © Cricinfo Ltd

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