Michael Slater

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Michael Slater

Slater in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Michael Jonathon Slater
Born	(1970-02-21) 21 February 1970 (age 51) Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Nickname	Slats
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm medium
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 356)	3 June 1993 v England
Last Test	20 August 2001 v England
ODI debut (cap 114)	9 December 1993 v South Africa
Last ODI	24 May 1997 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1991/92–2003/04	New South Wales
1998–1999	Derbyshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 74 42 216 135 Runs scored 5,312 987 14,912 3,395 Batting average 42.83 24.07 40.85 26.52 100s/50s 14/21 0/9 36/69 2/27 Top score 219 73 221 115 Balls bowled 25 12 133 12 Wickets 1 0 3 0 Bowling average 10.00 – 37.66 – 5 wickets in innings 0 – 0 – 10 wickets in match 0 – 0 – Best bowling 1/4 – 1/4 – Catches/stumpings 33/– 9/– 116/– 31/–
Source: Cricinfo, 7 December 2009

Michael Jonathon Slater (born 21 February 1970) is an Australian former professional cricketer who became a television presenter. He played in 74 Test matches and 42 One Day Internationals for the Australia national cricket team.

Early life[]

Slater was born in the New South Wales rural town of Wagga Wagga. His parents, Peter^[1] and Carole and two older siblings had emigrated to Launceston, Tasmania, Australia by boat from the north-eastern coast of England in 1966. Slater's father taught high school agriculture and science in Tasmania and, after three years, moved to Junee then Wagga Wagga and became a lecturer in agriculture at Wagga Wagga Agricultural College (now part of Charles Sturt University.^[2] Slater's mother left the family in 1983, when he was just 12 years old. He later wrote about the tough personal times that followed, claiming that his education standards slipped after his mother left the family and sport became the "only thing [he] could focus on properly". However, it was later revealed that Slater had a manic depression bipolar disorder. He made unsubstantiated claims that school bullying accentuated his academic difficulties in Years 9 and 10 and claimed he once ran home after it was suggested that some bullies "were planning to get [him] after school".^[3] Slater lived in Junee for some of his life Wagga Wagga for his entire childhood. He later wrote: "Wagga Wagga was a great place to grow up, for many reasons. It was a good size – it had a population of around 50,000 when we moved there – and it was in the country, with a great Australian climate. My family was always involved in sport, so from an early age it just seemed natural for me to play any game that was on offer."^[4]

When aged 11, Slater was selected in the New South Wales Primary School Sports Association cricket and hockey teams, something he and his co-author described as "a very big thing" and "totally unexpected". He also made the state under-12 hockey team in 1981 as a left-inner (an attacking player who helps out defensively) and went on to be selected in the Under–13, -15 and −17 teams.^[5] Slater wrote that, as cricket and hockey began to overlap in his early teenage years, he turned towards cricket. He joined an inner-western Sydney Under–16 side over the Christmas holidays. Slater wrote that despite not being fond of Sydney, he knew that he would have to move to the metropolis if he wanted to further develop his cricketing career. After topping the batting averages in the Under–17s, in the following season, he was subsequently chosen as captain of the New South Wales Under—16 team. The carnival was not a success for the him however, he recalled that his team performed "well".^[6] Slater has stated that he hurt his Achilles tendon in an accident at school when he was seventeen and played a couple of hockey games following the accident but limped off the field and subsequently had surgery in the lead-up to the Under–17 national cricket carnival. Slater claimed he was informed that, because of his injury, his "dream of playing cricket for Australia was over".^[7] However, after an operation, he returned to cricket and was selected in the Under–19 state team for the national championships in Brisbane. He attended the Australian Institute of Sport Australian Cricket Academy in 1989. After an injury to the captain, Slater captained the state under-19 team but he and his team under-performed.^[8] The following year, he was vice-captain for the Under–19 carnival in Canberra and scored a century in the opening match. In a victorious final against Victoria, Slater scored another century, becoming one of the leading run-scorers in the series.^[9]

Cricket career[]

A specialist right-handed batsman as well as a very occasional bowler, Slater represented the New South Wales Blues in Australian domestic cricket and played English county cricket with Derbyshire. His Australian club was the University of NSW Cricket Club playing first grade scoring 3873 runs in 77 innings with a high score of 213*.

Generally known^{[citation needed]} for his swashbuckling style of play and front-foot pulls^{[citation needed]}, Slater went on to open the batting with mixed-success in Test cricket, scoring 5,312 runs and 14 centuries at an average of 42; however he was generally not successful in One Day International games, averaging a lowly 24.07 and was dropped from one day teams.

Throughout his career, Slater was infamous for his susceptibility to the "nervous nineties": he was dismissed in the nineties 9 out of the 23 times.^[10]

Slater played for New South Wales in the 1991/92 Sheffield Shield season. He made quick progress to the Australian Cricket Board side, and was selected for the Ashes tour of England in 1993, when he was 23 years of age, narrowly beating Queenslander Matthew Hayden to the opening berth alongside Mark Taylor, who also grew up in Wagga Wagga. In his debut match, he scored a half-century, before compiling his maiden century in the following test match at Lord's. He continued his good form into the subsequent home series against New Zealand in 1993–94, netting 305 runs at an average of 76.25. In the 1994–95 return Ashes series in Australia, he was the leading run-scorer in the series with 623. The following season saw him notch his first double-century, against Sri Lanka at the WACA in Perth.

Slater's match winning 123 against England at Sydney in the 1998–99 Ashes series comprised 66.84 per cent of his team's entire total. This remains the greatest proportion since Charles Bannerman made 165 not out in the very first test innings of all, which was 67.34 per cent of his team's total.^[11]

Slater was dropped from the side in late 1996 after a poor performance. It took him two years to get back into the national team and things went well for a couple of years. He split from his wife and was accused of taking drugs by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). His Ashes tour to England in 2001 was his last series. Slater's performance slumped and Justin Langer took his place and it has been suggested Slater was bitter and angry toward him. Slater became reclusive. It was later revealed Slater had manic depression bipolar disorder. He could not build a career in limited-overs cricket and his prolonged form slump forced him out of professional cricket after 74 test games.^[12][13]

Media work[]

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Television[]

After commentating for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom during the 2005 Ashes series, Slater joined Nine's Wide World of Sports cricket commentary team in January 2006.^{[citation needed]} He later appeared as a reporter on Channel Nine's health and lifestyle programme, What's Good For You?.^{[citation needed]} In 2009 to 2010 he was the sports presenter for the Nine Network's Weekend Today alongside co-hosts Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, he also hosted Australia's Greatest Athlete (alongside Andrew Voss), which aired on Saturday afternoons in January and February.^{[citation needed]} He was co-host of The Footy Show a rugby league-base television program, alongside Paul Vautin, Darryl Brohman, Erin Molan and Beau Ryan and host of The Cricket Show, both on Channel 9^{[citation needed]} (Slater is known to be a supporter of the Manly Sea Eagles team in the NRL, the same team Vautin captained to a premiership in 1987).^{[citation needed]} In 2018, he joined the Seven Network to commentate its coverage of the Test Cricket and Big Bash League.^{[citation needed]} In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Slater travelled to India to commentate the Indian Premier League cricket during continued uncontrolled outbreak of the virus in India and became controversial for criticisms of the Australian COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Slater appeared as a contestant on the Australian version of Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice, becoming the 4th contestant to be eliminated.^{[citation needed]}

Radio[]

Slater was a regular contributor to the Triple M Sydney radio sports panel program "Dead Set Legends"^{[citation needed]} and was a replacement co-host of Richard Freedman on Sky Sports Radio's Big Sport Breakfast with Terry Kennedy.^{[citation needed]}

Notes[]

References[]

• Slater, Michael (2005). Slats: The Michael Slater Story. Random House. ISBN 1-74051-378-9.

External links[]

• Michael Slater at IMDb
• Michael Slater at ESPNcricinfo
• Ninemsn profile – Michael Slater
• Howstat player overview – Michael Slater
• Dead Set Legends – Michael Slater