Paul Nixon

Nixon made his first List A fifty in his 37th match, against Nottinghamshire, hitting 60 in a 7 wicket loss.

He hit his only hundred to date, against Sri Lanka A, before totalling 53 against the same opposition, and 60 against Sri Lanka B.

96* followed against Kent, before hitting 51 against Ireland which would be his last fifty for 35 games.

He had to wait another 35 matches for his next fifty, which came for Kent against Surrey, and went on to hit two more half centuries for the Spitfires.

After returning to Leicestershire, he hit four fifties in his first nineteen games, but then had to wait forty-four matches for his next landmark innings.

Paul Andrew Nixon (born 21 October 1970) is an English cricket coach and former professional cricketer who played for Leicestershire, England, England A, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and Kent.

He is a wicket-keeper and left-handed batsman.

Nixon made his first-class debut in 1989 with Leicestershire and with them he won two Championship titles in 1996 and 1998.

His highest score for the Foxes in domestic cricket is the 96* he made in May 1999 against Kent.

Nixon shared his thoughts on the T20 game which were as follows, "Wicket-keepers play a very central role as the captain often asks you a lot about the lines people are bowling and the pace of the pitch. Both of these things have an impact on the skipper placing his fielding positions. Therefore the keeper in any team is an integral part of a captain's thought process."

In Leicestershire's first ever Twenty20 Cup match against Yorkshire, which they won by 16 runs, Nixon scored 43 off 26 deliveries, hitting four 6s, and took two catches and a stumping.

He played for the club until 2000 when he moved to Kent.

The first time was whilst playing for Kent against Warwickshire in August 2002, where he hit 103 and then performed well as a keeper by taking three catches and making two stumpings, however Kent lost by 10 wickets.

He spent 2 years playing for Kent but due to the emergence of Geraint Jones he was forced into returning to Leicestershire in 2003.

During his second stint at Leicester, Nixon won the Twenty20 cup twice and helped them reach final day from 2003 to 2006.

He returned to Leicestershire for the 2003 season, and continued to feature for them until the end of the 2011 season.

Other List A outings have been for England A, First Class Counties Select XI, England XI, and England.

On the last day of the 2006 season, Nixon was used as a declaration bowler against Essex.

He was clubbed for 69 off five overs, whilst Darren Robinson, bowling at the other end, was hit for 117 off just 4.4 overs.

Mark Pettini smashed 114 off just 29 deliveries, a knock including 11 sixes.

According to a BBC report, they both served up "10 overs of utter rubbish – on agreement – to allow Mark Pettini the easiest century he will ever hit."

His highest score for Leicestershire was a career best 144 not out against Northamptonshire in 2006.

Three half centuries in the 2006 season followed, and his form continued for England over the winter, and then his domestic side in the 2007 season.

Nixon hit over 6000 List A runs, with landmarks being reached at various speeds along the way:

Despite scoring twenty eight half centuries in List A cricket, Nixon managed just one century, and this was for Leicestershire against the Sri Lanka A team.

Nixon played in twenty international matches for the England cricket team, all within a four-month spell in 2007.

Since playing international cricket, Nixon has been known for his contributions from behind the stumps.

On the matter, Nixon remarked, "I've been doing it for 19 years and no one ever noticed before! It's not sledging mind. It's banter – like playing golf with a mate. I'm just trying to get 'em away from their concentration really."

In October 2007, Nixon said that he would join the Indian Cricket League, joining fellow English cricketers Darren Maddy and Vikram Solanki.

He remarked, "This is an exciting opportunity, it is perfect timing. India is the mecca of cricket and Twenty20 interest is high due to the national team's success".

He played two seasons for the Delhi Giants before the ICL folded.

Nixon is an ambassador for Dorothy Goodman School, a Special Educational Needs school in Hinckley, Leicestershire.

In July 2007, it was announced that Nixon had been appointed captain of Leicestershire until the end of the county season.

The wicket-keeper took over from Darren Robinson, whilst Jeremy Snape remained in control of the one-day side.

In August 2007, it was announced that Nixon would be the new club captain for all competitions, after signing a three-year contract.

Nixon has eighteen first-class centuries to his name, with sixteen for Leicestershire and two for Kent.

On only two occasions has his team lost after he has scored a century.

The second time was a 177 run loss playing for Leicestershire against Northamptonshire in September 2007, where he scored 110, and took four catches.

* denotes not out

Nixon played 197 List A matches for Leicestershire, before moving to Kent and making 65 appearances there.