Michael Howard Yardy (born 27 November 1980) is an English cricket coach and former professional cricketer who played limited over internationals for the England cricket team between 2006 and 2015. He played as a left-handed batsman and captained Sussex County Cricket Club. His unusual batting technique attracted a great deal of attention due to a pronounced shuffle from leg to off immediately prior to the bowler releasing the ball. Yardy also bowled slow left arm with a characteristic round armed action, and was used as a bowling all-rounder in England's One Day International and Twenty20 International teams. Yardy retired from professional cricket at the end of the 2015 season. Early life Yardy was born at Pembury in Kent in 1980. He was educated at William Parker School in Hastings, playing cricket for the school. He first played for the Sussex Second XI in 1996 whilst still at school. Domestic career Yardy made his Sussex debut in an early-season NatWest Trophy game against Hertfordshire in May 1999. He played against Sri Lanka A the same year but did not play regularly in the Sussex side until the 2001 season. He played ten games in 2002, but only seven in total over the next two seasons, before cementing a place in the side in 2005. He enjoyed an excellent domestic summer that season, making 1,520 first-class runs at a batting average of 56.29 run an innings, with five centuries, including a career-best 257 against the touring Bangladeshis in May. His 257 was the highest for Sussex since 1945 at the time. In the one-day game, Yardy was less successful with the bat, averaging well under 20, but he achieved a career-best bowling performance of 6/27 against Warwickshire in the Totesport League. He was appointed as Sussex's County Captain for the 2009 season, succeeding Chris Adams. In his first Season as captain he led Sussex to the Twenty20 Cup and the Pro 40 titles. He stood down as captain for the County Championship and CB40 in July 2012 and in the Twenty20 Cup at the end of the season. International career Yardy was picked for the England A tour of West Indies in 2005–06, and the following summer he forced his way into the full England team. In August 2006, he was provisionally selected for England's ICC Champions Trophy initial squad of 30, retaining his place in the final 14-man squad. On 23