Michael Gray Dighton (born 24 April 1976) is an Australian cricket coach and former player. He played domestic cricket for Western Australia and Tasmania as well as English county cricket for Hampshire and Derbyshire. He was head coach of Canada from 2011 to 2012.

Michael Dighton
Personal information
Full name
Michael Gray Dighton
Born (1976-04-24) 24 April 1976 (age 48)
Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
NicknameDights
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium-fast
RoleBatsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1997/98–2000/01Western Australia
2001/02–2009/10Tasmania (squad no. 3)
2004Hampshire County Cricket Club
2007Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Head coaching information
YearsTeam
2011–2012Canada
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20
Matches 71 99 22
Runs scored 4,208 3,190 455
Batting average 33.93 33.57 23.94
100s/50s 8/21 4/23 1/0
Top score 182* 146* 111
Balls bowled 570 522 96
Wickets 6 15 9
Bowling average 53.66 30.80 13.44
5 wickets in innings 0 0 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/47 2/23 6/25
Catches/stumpings 50/– 34/1 6/–
Source: CricInfo, 18 July 2020

Playing career

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Dighton was educated at Kent Street Senior High School in Perth .[1] He began his career with the Western Warriors but later switched to the Tasmanian Tigers. He plays club cricket for North Hobart Cricket Club. He is an opening batsman, particularly in One-day cricket, and played a leading role in the Tigers victorious ING Cup campaign of 2004–05. He bowls occasional leg spin, and is also a wicket-keeper. Dighton has failed to recapture the form which saw him score at an average of 55 in 2003 in the Pura Cup, but still retains his place as one-day opener.

In 2007, he recorded the best bowling figures by a bowler on T20 debut (6-25) and was the only debutant to take a 6 wicket haul on T20 debut.[2][3]

On 15 November 2008, Dighton scored 34 off 13 balls for the Emirates All*Stars against the Australian National Team in an exhibition Twenty/20 match. He and Adam Gilchrist scored quickly, hitting boundaries and helping the team (specially made for the occasion) on to win. During the fielding innings, he caught a surprising one handed catch in the deep to dismiss Cameron White.

Coaching career

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Dighton was appointed head coach of the Canada national cricket team in September 2011. He resigned in April 2012 after the team failed to progress through the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Volunteers to be Recognised". waca.com.au. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Records | Twenty20 matches | Bowling records | Best figures in a innings on debut | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Queensland v Tasmania at Toowoomba, Jan 1, 2007 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Canada cricket coach Michael Dighton resigns after just seven months on the job". Toronto Star. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2023.