17 Facts about Michael Slater – Presenter on and off the field

Very few former cricketers turn out to be good commentators or television presenters. Among those few in the list is the name of the former Australian batsman Michael Slater. A batsman who was known for his extremely timed strokeplay, Slater had a fruitful career not just for the national side but also for his domestic team New South Wales. Here are some interesting facts about Michael Slater.

1. Early Life: Roots in England:

Michael Slater’s family had migrated to New South Wales from England in 1966. They originally migrated to Launceston, Australia by boat, after deciding against moving to Canada. Slater was born in the rural town of WaggaWagga on 21 February 1970. His father was a professor, taught agriculture and science at high school. He spent his entire life in the village of WaggaWagga.

2. Sports love:

His family was very supportive towards sports. No wonder why Slater enjoyed playing hockey and cricket.

3. Nickname:

Slater is fondly known as Slats.

4. Childhood success- Heroics in Hockey and Cricket

He was picked up in the New South Wales Primary School Sports Association cricket and hockey teams when he was just 11 years of age. In 1981, he was selected in the U12 State Hockey team and later represented the U13, U15 and U17 teams as well.

5. Being bullied at School:

Slater once described that he was bullied at school during his early days. This made him go away from studies and he once ran home from school fearing his school mates. He then started overlooking his studies and concentrated majorly on sports.

6. Early career:

As cricket and hockey began to overlap in his early teenage years, Slater slowly turned the majority of his sporting appetite towards cricket. He joined an inner-western Sydney U16 side over the Christmas holidays. He did not like Sydney but since Sydney was a big city, it was his only option to make it big in cricket.

7. Ups and downs as captain:

Slater’s impressive performances saw him get selected and named as the captain of New South Wales U16 team. It was not a happy outing for him on the personal front. When selected for U17 side, he suffered an Achilles injury. He made his comeback and was selected as the captain of the U19 side. Yet again, his team didn’t deliver the goods. In the following year, he scored 2 tons, including one in the final against Victoria, to make it to the headlines.

8. Stint with Australia Cricket Academy and first-class debut:

Michael Slater is a product of the famous Australia Cricket Academy. He had a stint there in 1989. He made his first-class debut in 1991/92 season for the New South Wales.

9. Test debut ahead of Matthew Hayden:

Slater was soon picked up in the national side, being selected over Matthew Hayden, at the age of 23 during the Ashes in 1993. He opened the innings alongside the fellow WaggaWagga man Mark Taylor. He scored an impressive 58 in the first innings of the match.

10. A ton soon after:

In the following Test at Lords, Slater hit his maiden Test ton, a magnificent 152 off 263 balls to take his side’s total over 600. He was adjudged the Man of the Match for his effort as Australia won by an innings and 62 runs.

11. Scintillating ODI debut:

Slater made his ODI debut against South Africa at Melbourne in 1993. He impressed yet again as he mustered 73 off 69 balls which included 8 fours and a six. He top scored for Australia but the rest of the team collapsed as Australia could pile up just 189 to eventually lose by 7 wickets.

12. Home series against New Zealand & the Ashes:

In 1993-94, Michael Slater had a brilliant home series against the touring Kiwis as he amassed 305 runs at an average of 76.25. He followed it up with a spectacular Ashes outing. He emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 623 runs to his name at an average of 62.30.

13. Double ton:

During the first Test of Sri Lanka’s tour to Australia in 1995 at Perth, Australia managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 251 in the first innings. Slater formed a 228-run partnership with Mark Taylor for the opening stand and later went on to score his maiden double ton, scoring 219 off 321 balls.

14. Highest aggregate in team’s total:

Slater’s match-winning 123 against England at Sydney in the 1998–99 Ashes comprised 66.84 percent of his team’s entire total. This remains the greatest proportion since Charles Bannerman’s 165* in the very first Test innings of all, which was 67.34 percent of his team’s total.

15. Part of the super success:

He also played in each of the 16 matches between late 1999 and early 2001 which delivered the then Australian team the greatest run of consecutive victories in the history of Test cricket.

16. Media and Commentary:

Slater was dropped from the national side in 2001 and soon he saw a dip in form. He decided to retire in 2004 and first commentated for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom during the 2005 Ashes. Soon he joined Nine’s Wide World of Sports cricket commentary team in January 2006 and continues to be a part of it. In 2009, he started hosting Nine Network’s show Weekend Today with Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon. He hosted the show till early 2010. In 2009, he also hosted Australia’s Greatest Athlete.

17. Reality shows:

Slater appeared as a contestant on the Australian version of Torvill and Dean’s Dancing on Ice, becoming the 4th contestant to be eliminated. He later appeared as a reporter on Channel Nine’s health and lifestyle programme, What’s Good For You? Michael became co-host of rugby league’s The Footy Show and host of The Cricket Show on Channel 9.