Stewart: Proud, private and professional

David Lloyd13 April 2012

Alec Stewart has known more disappointments than triumphs during his 11 years as an England cricketer. But he has always been fiercely proud to represent his country.

The son of former Test batsman Micky Stewart, he broke into the international team in 1989 when his father was still coach and, unfairly, had to live with daddy's boy jibes for a while.

Stewart junior soon proved his worth as a batsman, however, later becoming a top-class wicketkeeper, and in 1998 he was appointed captain following Mike Atherton's resignation.

England had not won a full-length Test series for eight years when Stewart instantly led them to victory over South Africa. Offered the prize money in front of thousands of cheering fans at Headingley, he made a point of asking for the trophy first.

Another high point soon followed, with Stewart awarded the MBE for services to cricket.

Within a few months, however, he captained England to another Ashes series defeat in Australia and when his team were then quickly knocked out of last year's World Cup on home soil, the selectors decided to appoint a new skipper.

Stewart could have taken umbrage. Instead, he has proved himself a loyal helper to new captain Nasser Hussain and even took over from his successor last summer when a stand-in was needed for one match against West Indies at Lord's.

Like his father, Alec is a Surrey stalwart, having captained the county from 1992 to 1997. He has often been described by his peers as a model professional. He leaves nothing to chance in his training and preparation, and is always immaculately turned out, both on and off the field - so much so, in fact, that one of Stewart's nicknames is Peter Perfect, after a well-groomed cartoon character.

While seldom giving much away at news conferences, Stewart has been popular with regular cricket reporters. Few, if any, would claim to know him really well, however, and he keeps his private life private. He is married to Lynn, lives in Cheam and has two children.

Apart from cricket, his favourite sporting pastime is football. He supports Chelsea.

Stewart won his 100th Test cap this summer, joining a select band of players around the world to have reached that mark. He celebrated by scoring a typically stylish century, against West Indies at Old Trafford.

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