Geoff Holmes

Geoff Holmes was a middle-order batsman and medium-pace seamer, Holmes joined Glamorgan after a spell on the MCC groundstaff, making his debut at the end of 1978. Although he was not an overtly attacking batsman, his ability to accumulate allied to his good fielding made him a reliable one-day player.

Between 1984 and 1988 he passed 1000 runs in a season four times and scored 999 and 922 in the other two. In 1988 he hit four of his 11 career hundreds, including two in the same match against Somerset, and was named as the county's player of the year. At the tailend of his career he had one season with Border in South Africa, scoring 563 runs at 67.55, including a career best 182.

With the ball his best summer was 1985 when he took 27 wickets in both first-class and one-day cricket. The previous year he took 5 for 2 against Derbyshire at Ebbw Vale in the Sunday League, and on the same ground two years later took a hat-trick against Nottinghamshire.

He earned more than £60,000 from his benefit in 1991 but was forced to retire at the end of the season because of a persistent back injury. He retained his links with the county and the game, and in 2005 became a Cricket Board of Wales director.
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