Robert Croft

For the U.S. Navy diver, see Robert Croft (diver).

Robert Croft

Personal information
Full name	Robert Damien Bale Croft
Born	25 May 1970 (1970-05-25) 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	England
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–	Glamorgan (squad no. 10)
1996	Marylebone Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	21	50	400	407
Runs scored	421	345	12,791	6,490
Batting average	16.19	14.37	26.37	23.42
100s/50s	0/0	0/0	8/54	0/4
Top score	37*	32	143	62*
Balls bowled	4,619	2,466	88,307	18,487
Wickets	49	45	1,152	410
Bowling average	37.24	38.73	35.43	32.66
5 wickets in innings	1	0	49	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	175/0	94/0
Source: Cricinfo, 8 January 2012

Robert Damien Bale Croft (born 25 May 1970) is a Welsh cricketer who has played international cricket for both England and Wales. He is an off-spin bowler who plays for Glamorgan and captained the county from 2003 to 2006. He also commentates occasionally for Sky Sports.

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 pulled 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.

On 12 September 2006, after just two County Championship victories in 15 games thus far in the season, he announced his resignation from the captaincy, and was succeeded by David Hemp.

Exactly a year later, he passed 1,000 first-class wickets after dismissing Niall O'Brien; he became the first Welsh cricketer to take the double of 10,000 runs and 1,000 wickets. In November 2007, he joined voices calling for a "clampdown" on Twenty20 problems with abusive crowds, aftering suffering abusive calls at Taunton Cricket Ground. On 1 August 2010 he got his first hat-trick against Gloucestershire to help Glamorgan win the match. It also made him the first Glamorgan spinner to take a hat-trick in 46 years.

Croft is a former pupil of St. John Lloyd's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, Llanelli and a former student of Swansea Institute of Higher Education. He also played rugby union, as a scrum-half for Llanelli RFC Under 11s. He was once honoured as a druid at the Welsh cultural event, the National Eisteddfod.

England Tours

England `A`

• West Indies 1992
• South Africa 1993/94

England

• Zimbabwe / New Zealand 1996/97
• Sharjah / West Indies 1997/98
• Australia 1998/99
• Sri Lanka 2000/01 and 2003/04.

Team Honours

Glamorgan (1989 – to date)

Champions

• County Championship: 1997
• National League: 1993, 2002, 2004
• National League Division 2: 2001

Individual Honours

• Glamorgan Cap: 1992
• Glamorgan Young Player of the Year: 1990, 1992
• Glamorgan Player of the Year: 1996, 2003, 2004, 2007
• St.Helen's Balconiers Player of the Year: 2007
• Glamorgan benefit season: 2000
• Glamorgan captain: 2003-2006
• The Weatherall Award: 2004 (for the leading all-rounder in English first-class game)
• Reached 1000 first class wickets for glamorgan

Achievements

• First Welsh cricketer to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets in first-class cricket (2007)
• Elected to the Gorsedd of Bards

Books

• Bennett, Androw and Croft, Robert (1995) “Dyddiadur Troellwr” Y Lolfa, Talybont, Dyfed ISBN 0862433584
• Steen, Rob with Croft, Robert and Elliott, Matthew (1997) “Poms and cobbers : the Ashes 1997 : an inside view” Andre Deutsch, London ISBN 0233992103

External links

• Cricinfo page on Robert Croft