Ian Shaw Billcliff

Profile:

Ian Billcliff was born in British Columbia, but grew up in Otago, New Zealand, where he learned his cricket. He showed much early promise, making his debut for Otago in 1990-91, and catching the eye with his hard-hitting batting. He played in New Zealand domestic cricket for eight seasons, but failed to establish himself at Otago, or later in Wellington (1995-96) or Auckland (1997-99). An innings of 86 for Wellington after his team had slumped to 19/4 in the Shell Shield final in 1995-96 was memorable, and he made his only first-class century for Otago against Central Districts in 1994. Overall, however he struggled to consistently score runs. He has also played in league cricket in England during the New Zealand winter with Blackburn Northern and other clubs.

His Canadian birth, combined with his first-class experience made him a natural selection for the Canadian squad for the 2001 ICC trophy. He was an integral part of the team that surged to World Cup qualification with a third place finish, and will likely be as important in their 2003 world Cup campaign.