Steve Rixon - Australia - Batsman

A combative wicket-keeper batsman, Steve Rixon first grabbed the spotlight as a teenager in 1970-71 in a Club game during MCC's tour of Australia. His glovework came in for praise from the great Alan Knott and very soon, Rixon got through the Grade system in Australia before landing a First-class debut at New South Wales. Despite being an excellent wicket-keeper on the domestic circuit, his international career never really took off due to a variety of reasons. Rixon's first opportunity for Australia came when the famed Rod Marsh had opted to join the World Series. When Marsh returned from that, Rixon had to make way although he did get another shot later on after the veteran's retirement. However, like a few other Australians at that time, a rebel tour of South Africa virtually ended Rixon's international career as he wasn't considered for selection thereafter.

After his playing days, Rixon took to coaching role for New South Wales and enjoyed a largely successful time there winning a cluster of trophies across formats. The immense success got him a County contract with Surrey before a fallout with the ECB ended his tenure there. The short lived Indian Cricket League was Rixon's next target before moving onto the IPL where was associated with Chennai Super Kings as the fielding coach. This role saw him gain plenty of admiration and saw him take the same role for Australia as well. Rixon did harbor hopes of coaching Australia but that never materialized although he did perform as the fielding coach for a while. In 2016, he got selected for the same role with the Pakistan Cricket Team and has been praised for improving the team's fielding standards considerably.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan