 Michel was also an English cricketer with amateur status.Born the son of Lieutenant-General John Michel and Anne Michel (née Fane), Michel was educated at Eton College and commissioned into the 57th Regiment of Foot on 3 April 1823.He transferred to the 27th Regiment of Foot a few months later, then to the 60th Regiment of Foot on 6 November 1823 and then to the 64th Regiment of Foot in Gibraltar on 24 November 1823.