Andy Bichel
Andrew John "Andy" Bichel (born 27 August 1970) is a retired Australian cricketer. He was primarily a right-arm medium-fast bowler, but was also a hard-hitting lower-order batsman.
Bichel played 19 Test matches and 67 One Day Internationals for Australia between 1997 and 2004, and represented Queensland in the Australian domestic competitions. He also played for Worcestershire, Hampshire and Essex in English county cricket.
Since retiring from playing, Bichel has been a coach and a selector. He is currently the bowling coach for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Background and career
Bichel made his Test debut for the Australian Cricket Team in Adelaide in 1996 in a match against the West Indies, and his One-day International Debut in Brisbane, also against the West Indies. As well as Queensland's state team, he has played for the English Counties Essex, Hampshire and Worcestershire.
Unfortunately, his rise to prominence coincided with the appearance of a young Brett Lee, with whom he was often in a battle for a third fast-bowler spot in the lineup behind Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie holding the other two positions. As the younger and pacier Lee was often selected ahead of him, Bichel now holds the test match record of being Twelfth Man for Australia on 19 occasions. He has recently made comments that he believes his bowling suffered during these times, as he missed out on the valuable match practice that he could have earned either playing for Australia or Queensland.
