Tim Munton

Timothy Alan Munton (born 30 July 1965) is an English cricketer.

He had a long career in county cricket, playing over 500 games combined between first-class and List A, primarily with Warwickshire before ending his career at Derbyshire.

He made his county second XI debut for his native Leicestershire in 1982, taking three wickets that season in limited action.

The 1983 season was similar, with Munton taking 4 wickets for 182 runs across the campaign.

His breakthrough to regular second team action came in 1984, where he took 9 second XI wickets at 23.88 each, while scoring 91 runs at 18.20.

However, at the end of that season, he was released by Leicestershire, who did not believe he was good enough.

After his release from Leicestershire, Munton struggled to find another county to take him on.

He came to Warwickshire's attention after dismissing one of the Warwickshire committee, then playing for Nuneaton, in a Central League match, and participating in Webster's Bitter Find-a-Fast-Bowler competition at Edgbaston, where he was invited to winter nets at Edgbaston.

He was subsequently offered a contract for the 1985 season by Warwickshire, where he would play the bulk of his career.

He made his first-class debut for the county against the touring Zimbabweans in 1985.

In a heavily rain affected three day game, in which over 6 hours were lost to the weather, he did not bat and failed to take a wicket in either innings, conceding 35 runs from his 9 overs.

In the winter of 1985/6 he played for Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.

Munton's first County Championship appearance came in the season following his first-class debut.

Over the course of the season, he played in 17 of Warwickshire's 24 County Championship matches, taking 25 wickets at 32.12, with best bowling figures of 4/60 versus Kent.

His returns improved considerably over 1986, taking 38 wickets across the season at 25.84 each, outperforming overseas player Allan Donald in both respects.

Against Surrey in May his contribution was described by Wisden as "match winning" as he had match figures of 8/89; while against Nottinghamshire his "accurate seam bowling" returned him 6/96 in the first innings.

However, a mid-season injury meant that he missed all of July's fixtures, and on his return to action he did not take any further five wicket hauls.

In List A cricket, he appeared in one of the three Warwickshire matches in the Natwest Trophy; in the Benson & Hedges Cup matches against Yorkshire and Scotland; and was a regular in the Warwickshire side which finished bottom of the Refuge Assurance League.

Munton was a core member of the Warwickshire squad for the 1987 season, playing in 15 of the 24 County Championship matches.

The 1988 season saw Munton continue his "steady progress" in his returns in the county championship, increasing his season's tally to 46 wickets while lowering his bowling average to 22.76.

He also set a new career best bowling analysis, in a game where he "combined hostility and accuracy" to take 6/21 against Worcestershire.

Munton's progress continued in 1989, surpassing 50 County Championship wickets for the first time in his career, finishing with 56 at 24.41 apiece, second for Warwickshire only to his new ball partner Donald.

The 1990 first-class season was an outstanding one for Munton, taking 75 county championship wickets at 27.81 apiece, with Wisden commenting that "it was fortunate for [Warwickshire] that this shortfall [of wickets from Allan Donald and Gladstone Small] was more than made up for by the advance of Tim Munton" Outstanding performances came in the championship game at Northamptonshire, with match figures of 9/77, the best match figures of his career to date, and against Glamorgan at Edgbaston, with 3/44 in the first innings and 5/64- including all of the Glamorgan top 4- in the second innings Munton did not feature in either of Warwickshire's Natwest Bank Trophy matches; and played in all four of Warwickshire's Benson & Hedges matches without any notable performances as Warwickshire were eliminated at the group stage.

In the Refuge Assurance League, in which he played regularly, he took 5/23 from 8 overs against Gloucestershire, which would remain the best List A analysis of his career.

Following this successful season, Munton was selected in the England A tours of both Pakistan and Sri Lanka over the 1990/91 winter.

He made his England A debut in a List A match against the Karachi Cricket Association in Karachi, taking 3/28 in his eight overs.

However, the tour was called off due to the start of the Gulf War after this one match, with the England side having to flee Pakistan on a "hastily-arranged" flight.

Instead, England A toured Sri Lanka from January until March.

Munton played in all 5 A team ODIs against Sri Lanka A, along with the first of the three A team Tests.

His best bowling analysis on the tour came in the single A team test he played, with 4/61 off 35 overs in the first innings.

He finished the tour with 10 first-class wickets at 17.60, with only Andy Pick finishing above him in the averages.

After returning from Sri Lanka the 1991 season proceeded in a similar vein to 1990.

He played in all 22 of Warwickshire's county championship matches, taking 71 wickets at 25.28, including no fewer than five five-wicket innings, and two ten-wicket matches.

His best bowling performance came against Middlesex at Edgbaston, where he had figures of 8/89 in the first innings and 3/38 in the second innings in an 89-run Warwickshire victory, a performance described by Wisden: "Munton bowled superbly to take a career-best eight for 89 in an unchanged spell of 30.2 overs, underlining both his stamina and his skill".

He also had a seven wicket haul in the first innings against Worcestershire at Edgbaston, helping to skittle Worcestershire for 166 in a Warwickshire victory.

He also played two Test matches for England in the 1992 series against Pakistan, and went on a number of England A tours.

A medium pace bowler and lower order batsman, cricket writer Colin Bateman stated, "at 6ft 6in, with an ability to make the ball swing, Munton is at his best in English conditions".

His time at Warwickshire was a particularly successful one for the club, winning 6 trophies between 1993 and 1995; as a crucial part of that side, Munton was honoured as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1995.

Munton was born in Melton Mowbray to parents Alan and Brenda.

He attended Sarson High School and Edward VII Upper School, where he achieved 8 O-levels and 1 A-level.