The supporter's view
Section 19
Michael has always been a 'supporter's' player - constantly approachable and willing to talk about the match: win, lose or draw. He has always been loyal to the club even when he found himself out of favour and other clubs showed an interest. A true Bear - the sacrifices he has made for the club are countless.
We will certainly not forget the unsung contribution he made to the championship win of 2004. Starting the season in the second team, he didn’t complain, he just got on with what he knows best, scoring runs. Century followed century followed century and, eventually, justice was served and he was recalled to the first team. What an exceptional role model for younger players to aspire to!
Recalled against Worcestershire and walking out to bat on a 'lively' wicket with the score 50 for 4, he could have been forgiven for being apprehensive but, 49 solid runs later, the game had turned in the Bears favour and victory followed.
He missed the next game and then returned with 134 against Kent, followed by the innings that went a long way to securing the Bears the title - 110 at Guildford against Surrey in an outstanding 214 run partnership with Ian Bell, that effectively won us the match and, eventually, the County Championship.
Michael always has time for the supporters. We remember arriving at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, for the start of a championship match to find that there had been a breakdown in communication and our tickets were not there. The steward on duty sent a message to the dressing room and within minutes Michael was there, volunteering to and then sorting out the confusion, before rushing out to bat when we were 58 for 4 to score a vital 36 which steadied the Bears innings in a match we eventually went on to win.
This innings was typical of Michael. It will never feature in any books or newspaper reports about great innings, but it was exactly what his team needed at the time. He played with guts in bowler-friendly conditions, turning a desperate position into a match-winning one.
Statistics tell us much in our glorious game but they can never tell the whole story. Statistics will never show the value of innings such as that one played at Nottingham or countless similar ones, nor will they truly portray one of the safest pairs of hands around (he has even been known to take the wicket keeping gloves when his team needed it), nor do they show the contributions as Captain in gaining promotion in 2001 and then going on to a 2nd place finish in the first division and a Benson and Hedges (B&H) Cup win in 2002. They do show, however, that he has even opened the bowling for the Bears returning the respectable figures of 8-0-34-1. Honestly, check the records!!
We are sure we haven’t seen the last of Michael on and off the field. He deserves every success in his benefit year, from us all – cheers Michael!
Section 19 - The Bears loyal band of travelling supporters
Jane and Michael
Michael is, quite simply, a great person and he has shown us over the years that he is a good cricketer too. More important to us is the man, always generous with his time as well as always honest and modest.
One example of his kindness was when he was Captain of Warwickshire. We were coaching a group of young hopefuls in the Old Indoor School and Michael was in the new school practising with some of the squad. Jane asked him if he could spare a minute or two to talk to our Juniors and he said “yes” without hesitation. Not only did he spare a minute, he came into the session, joined in and then spent time afterwards talking to the boys, who were thrilled. On another occasion, he attended our junior presentation evening at Kings Heath Cricket Club and stayed to present all the winners with their trophies and certificates.
Michael is a perfect role model for all aspiring young players on how to make to most of their ability. He treats the game with respect, is dedicated, and plays for the team.
It has been a pleasure to follow his career and, above all, to come to know Michael the man. We wish him all the success he deserves from his benefit.
Jane & Alan Hyatt (Kings Heath Junior Cricket Club)
Proud Mum and Dad
I’m way too old and crusty to have a favourite player but if I wasn’t and I did, Michael would be the one. He epitomises everything that is good about cricket – and Warwickshire - with his spirit, effort and skill as well as the time and empathy he always has for the supporters.
And I think he’s always been underrated on the field, particularly during his brief period as Captain when, with Bob Woolmer, he helped drag the club by its bootlaces back to where it belonged. It’s fair to say he was a shock choice (he says it himself) at a young age when he wasn’t quite established as a first team regular, but his record was excellent – promotion at Derby in 2001, followed, in 2002, by the B&H win, second place in the championship and third spot in the Sunday League achieved after a last day win over the title winners Glamorgan, featuring an unlikely spell when our skipper got three good wickets.
Indeed 2002, his second year in charge, was one of my favourite seasons. The B&H run was thrilling - veering from a bad defeat by Worcester in the group stages, when we seemed out (particularly to a few vociferous members in the pavilion) until, the next day, Michael scored an unbeaten hundred against Northants, followed by 74 against Glamorgan to see us through to the knock outs. These were Captain’s innings defined. Everybody remembers Neil Carter’s last ball four to win the semi-final at Old Trafford but I was also lucky enough to be at Hove for the equally thrilling quarter final against Sussex when we won with eight balls left. The championship that year also featured two of my all time favourite games. The remarkable contest at the Oval where, for the first time in our history, we won after following on, thanks in a large part to Michael’s stubborn second innings 95 and inspired captaincy – a game also notable for the look of sheer joy on the face of a Warwickshire supporter at the end, who turned out to be Michael’s extremely proud Dad. The season was topped off by another great victory at Hove, chasing a colossal 405 to win that turned out to be not quite as colossal as it looked after another Captain’s innings – this time of 103. Great, great days.
When a combination of injury, loss of form and the special pressures of captaining Warwickshire made Michael resign the captaincy in 2003, it was typical that he signed off with 110 in his last innings as skipper. While I’ve often wondered where we would be now if Michael had enjoyed a longer run in charge, I’ve never doubted that he deserves to be remembered as our most successful captain since Dermot Reeve.
There used to be an unofficial Warwickshire chat site where the late, great Bob Woolmer would occasionally post his views and terrify us all. What I remember most is his unfailing support of, and praise for, Michael Powell the cricketer, the captain and, perhaps most importantly, the man. The fact that one of the greats of the game felt like this surely says it all.
Thank you for all the great cricket (especially 2002!), Michael and have a great benefit. No one deserves one more.
Kim Jones (Warwickshire member)
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