Full name Robert Damien Bale Croft
Born May 25, 1970, Morriston, Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales
Current age 49 years 203 days
Major teams England, Glamorgan
Nickname Crofty
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Height 5 ft 11 in
Education St John Lloyd Catholic School, Llanelli
Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests | 21 | 34 | 8 | 421 | 37* | 16.19 | 1160 | 36.29 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
ODIs | 50 | 36 | 12 | 345 | 32 | 14.37 | 519 | 66.47 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
First-class | 407 | 599 | 107 | 12880 | 143 | 26.17 | 8 | 54 | 177 | 0 | ||||
List A | 408 | 338 | 61 | 6490 | 143 | 23.42 | 4 | 32 | 94 | 0 | ||||
T20s | 88 | 50 | 13 | 696 | 62* | 18.81 | 573 | 121.46 | 0 | 4 | 71 | 18 | 26 | 0 |
Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests | 21 | 31 | 4619 | 1825 | 49 | 5/95 | 7/143 | 37.24 | 2.37 | 94.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
ODIs | 50 | 49 | 2466 | 1743 | 45 | 3/51 | 3/51 | 38.73 | 4.24 | 54.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First-class | 407 | 89156 | 41229 | 1175 | 8/66 | 35.08 | 2.77 | 75.8 | 51 | 9 | |||
List A | 408 | 18511 | 13407 | 411 | 6/20 | 6/20 | 32.62 | 4.34 | 45.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
T20s | 88 | 82 | 1731 | 2015 | 87 | 3/9 | 3/9 | 23.16 | 6.98 | 19.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Test debut | England v Pakistan at The Oval, Aug 22-26, 1996 scorecard |
Last Test | England v Australia at Nottingham, Aug 2-4, 2001 scorecard |
Test statistics | |
ODI debut | England v Pakistan at Manchester, Aug 29, 1996 scorecard |
Last ODI | England v Australia at The Oval, Jun 21, 2001 scorecard |
ODI statistics | |
First-class debut | 1989 |
Last First-class | Glamorgan v Kent at Cardiff, Sep 11-13, 2012 scorecard |
List A debut | 1989 |
Last List A | Glamorgan v Nottinghamshire at Swansea, Aug 5, 2012 scorecard |
T20s debut | Glamorgan v Northamptonshire at Cardiff, Jun 16, 2003 scorecard |
Last T20s | Warwickshire v Glamorgan at Birmingham, Jul 8, 2012 scorecard |
Bat & Bowl | Team | Opposition | Ground | Match Date | Scorecard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1, 5/31, 2/76 | Glamorgan | v Kent | Cardiff | 11 Sep 2012 | FC |
16, 5/135 | Glamorgan | v Essex | Colchester | 15 Aug 2012 | FC |
1/15 | Glamorgan | v Notts | Swansea | 5 Aug 2012 | LA |
23, 4/51, 3*, 4/53 | Glamorgan | v Gloucs | Swansea | 1 Aug 2012 | FC |
1/8 | Glamorgan | v Warwickshire | Birmingham | 8 Jul 2012 | T20 |
3, 0/38 | Glamorgan | v Northants | Cardiff | 30 Jun 2012 | T20 |
1/25 | Glamorgan | v Worcs | Worcester | 29 Jun 2012 | T20 |
2/27 | Glamorgan | v Somerset | Taunton | 22 Jun 2012 | T20 |
0/29 | Glamorgan | v Warwickshire | Cardiff | 17 Jun 2012 | T20 |
0/4 | Glamorgan | v Northants | Northampton | 14 Jun 2012 | T20 |
A Welsh patriot, Croft thinks of England as the British Lions. As an offspinner, he gives the ball less flight than he used to, but still possesses a deceptive arm ball. With the bat, he collects most of his runs with front-foot drives, but his back-foot play has improved since the Aussies roughed him up in 1997. Croft has fallen in and out with the selectors, and when he was dropped in 2000, he huffily declared he'd had enough anyway. He was a fixture in England's one-day side from the end of 1996 until the World Cup in 1999, and bowled with real guile during the Tests in New Zealand in 1996-97. But his confidence took a battering in 1997, and his career waned: the flight and turn virtually vanished, and his best moment came as a batsman, when he held South Africa at bay for more than three hours to save the Old Trafford Test in 1998.
Awarded the MBE on 29th Dec 2012