21 Facts About Mark Pettini

Mark Lewis Pettini was born on 7 August 1983 and is an English former cricketer who played domestically for Essex and Leicestershire.

Mark Pettini was a right-handed batsman and very occasional wicket-keeper and right-arm medium-pace bowler.

An aggressive batsman, Pettini specialised in one-day cricket, where he usually opened the batting so as to make use of the batting powerplay in the early overs.

Mark Pettini fielded in a wide range of positions, but usually fielded at mid-off during his time as captain.

Mark Pettini's bowling was very rarely used, and when it was used, it was often in a declaration agreement.

Instrumental in achieving promotion for Essex during 2002, Mark Pettini was known for his aggressive style of play.

Mark Pettini has participated in the Twenty20 Cup each year since 2003, achieving a solid record in this competition.

In July 2007, Mark Pettini was included in England's provisional squad of 30 for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, but a loss of form cost him a place in the final squad for the tournament.

In June 2007, Mark Pettini became permanent captain of Essex County Cricket Club following the retirement of Ronnie Irani due to a knee injury.

Mark Pettini had earlier held the job on a temporary basis while Irani was sidelined.

At the start of the 2008 season, Mark Pettini decided to move from opener to number five in the Essex batting order in four-day cricket.

Mark Pettini began 2008 in superb form, hitting 153 not out against Cambridge UCCE, 80 not out in the LV County Championship Division Two opener against Northamptonshire at Chelmsford and 119 in Essex's first Friends Provident Trophy South East Division match against Kent at Canterbury.

However, in Essex's next match, a county championship match against Derbyshire at Derby, Mark Pettini was forced to miss the second and third days' play after suffering an astigmatism in his eye.

Mark Pettini travelled to Cambridge to see a specialist for treatment.

Mark Pettini's form tailed off somewhat, but he did hit a match-winning 144 against the Surrey Brown Caps in a Friends Provident Trophy match at the Oval on 11 May 2008.

On 16 August 2008, Mark Pettini captained Essex to victory in the Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord's.

Mark Pettini scored 10 opening the batting as the Eagles beat Kent Spitfires by five wickets to lift their first one-day knockout trophy since 1997.

Mark Pettini himself graduated with an astronomy degree from Cardiff University and has a keen interest in the subject.

Mark Pettini is a keen fisherman and loves darts, attending a number of PDC events with best friend Alastair Cook.

Mark Pettini wrote a weekly column called "Pett Sounds" in the Southend Echo and Colchester Gazette newspapers.

Mark Pettini then took a few weeks off to work on his batting.