Who is Richard Gleeson? Here's all you need to know about England's 34-year-old debutant

Pacer Richard Gleeson created a good first impression on his England debut as he accounted for India’s famed top-order comprising skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in the second T20I at Edgbaston on Saturday, July 9. He finished with figures of 3/15 from his four overs with an economy of 3.8, including a maiden.

Notably, Gleeson got his maiden England cap at the age of 34. He could not get a chance all this while in the English squad due to cut-throat competition in pace bowling that included the likes of Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, etc. As the pacer finally got a well-deserved opportunity of donning the English jersey, here’s a look at a few facts related to him.

Richard Gleeson’s cricketing career

A late entrant in the international circuit, Gleeson did not play any professional cricket till 27. In fact, it was only at the age of 27 that Gleeson started his first-class career. Having made his first-class debut for Northamptonshire in 2015, he went on to represent the club till 2018. In 2019, he was signed by Lancashire and represents them to date.

Gleeson was considering retirement eight months ago due to a back injury, but decided to change his mind. The senior pacer made tremendous impact in the ongoing T20 Blast 2022, picking 23 wickets at an average of 16.34. His best spell included a fifer against Worcestershire where he finished with figures of 5/33. This also happened to be Gleeson’s first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket.

The pacer has played 34 first-class matches registering 134 scalps to his name. As far as his domestic T20 career is concerned, the Lancashire cricketer has featured in 67 games, picking up 76 wickets at an economy of 7.88 and an average of 22.8.

While he might have received his England cap late, Gleeson has played various domestic leagues across the globe, including Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Big Bash League (BBL) where he represented Rangpur Riders and Melbourne Renegades, respectively.