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Robert Croft

Robert Croft
Robert Croft.jpg
Personal information
Full name Robert Damien Bale Croft
Born (1970-05-25) 25 May 1970 (age 46)
Morriston, Swansea, Wales
Nickname Crofty
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm off break
Role Bowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 582) 22 August 1996 v Pakistan
Last Test 2 August 2001 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 138) 29 August 1996 v Pakistan
Last ODI 21 June 2001 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years Team
1989–2012 Glamorgan (squad no. 10)
1996 Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 21 50 407 408
Runs scored 421 345 12,880 6,490
Batting average 16.19 14.37 26.17 23.42
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 8/54 0/4
Top score 37* 32 143 62*
Balls bowled 4,619 2,466 89,156 18,511
Wickets 49 45 1,175 411
Bowling average 37.24 38.73 35.08 32.62
5 wickets in innings 1 0 51 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 9 0
Best bowling 5/95 3/51 8/66 6/20
Catches/stumpings 10/0 11/0 177/0 94/0
Source: Cricinfo, 24 October 2012

Robert Damien Bale Croft MBE (born 25 May 1970) is a former Welsh cricketer who played international cricket for England. He is an off-spin bowler who played for Glamorgan and captained the county from 2003 to 2006. He retired from first class cricket at the end of the 2012 season, having played county cricket for 23 seasons. He commentates on cricket occasionally for Sky Sports.

Croft was born on 25 May 1970 in Morriston, Swansea. He was educated at St John Lloyd's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, Llanelli. He played rugby union as a scrum half for Llanelli RFC Under-11s. He studied at Swansea Metropolitan University.

He made his England debut against Pakistan in 1996, and did enough to earn a touring place to Zimbabwe and New Zealand. In Christchurch, he took his Test best figures of 5–95 and his winter figures were a highly impressive 182.1–53–340–18. He played the first five tests of the 1997 Ashes series but was dropped for the final test, replaced by Phil Tufnell, after averaging 54 with the ball and showing a weakness to short-pitched fast bowling as a batsman. His last wicket stand with Angus Fraser in the third Test of the 1998 series against South Africa saved England from an innings defeat, personally scoring 37 not out.

His final Test match was the third Ashes Test of 2001 at Trent Bridge where he bowled just 3 overs. He was selected for the subsequent tour of India but he withdrew because of safety fears and was also selected for the 2003/04 tour of Sri Lanka but failed to play. After returning home, he announced his international retirement to concentrate on the captaincy of Glamorgan.


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