Bob Cristofani
- Mark Adair
- Andy Balbirnie
- Curtis Campher
- George Dockrell
- Josh Little
- Barry McCarthy
- Paul Stirling
- Harry Tector
- Lorcan Tucker
- Craig Young
Alphabetically sorted top ten of players who have played the most matches across formats in the last 12 months
Full Name
Desmond Robert Cristofani
Born
November 14, 1920, Waverley, Sydney, New South Wales
Died
August 22, 2002, Canberra, ACT, (aged 81y 281d)
Batting Style
Right hand Bat
Bowling Style
Legbreak Googly
TEAMS
Wisden Obituary
Cristofani, Desmond Robert, died in Canberra on August 22, 2002, aged 81. It
was 57 years to the day since his rousing 110 not out for Australia in the last of the
1945 "Victory Tests" against England. E. W. Swanton used it at the end of his 1946
Wisden article, "Cricket Under the Japs", recalling how his first walk as a free man
for three years had taken him to a Thai village. "In the little café our hosts politely
turned on the English programme. Yes, we were at Old Trafford, and a gentleman called
Cristofani was getting a hundred..." It was some hundred, accounting for all but 31 of
the 141 scored after he went in with Australia 69 for six in their second innings on a
damp surface drying in brilliant sunshine. Bob Cristofani added 95 in even time with
Graham Williams (12) for the ninth wicket; his 14 boundaries included a hooked six
off George Pope on to the pavilion terraces. The day before he had finished with five
for 55, giving the England batsmen as much trouble with his leg-breaks and googlies
as he had when taking four for 43 and five for 49 at Lord's in the third "Test".
The previous year, as a 23-year-old pilot officer, Cristofani had been one of many
Australian first-grade cricketers who responded to a circular sent to every RAF base
by those putting together the summer's RAAF teams. He had played once for New
South Wales, against Queensland at Brisbane in December 1941 - the last inter-state
game before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor put a stop to first-class cricket for
four years. His well-flighted leg-spinners, varying from medium-pace to slow, quickly
made an impact in 1944, accounting for four Test players in Charles Barnett, Cyril
Washbrook, Bob Wyatt and New Zealand's Ken James when he took seven for 39 in
the defeat of the RAF at Lord's. A week later he was back, playing for Australia against
The Rest and England over Whitsun weekend. After the RAAF's captain, Keith
Carmody, was shot down off the Dutch coast and taken prisoner - a reminder that
cricket was merely a welcome distraction from the real business at hand - Cristofani
shared the captaincy with Stan Sismey, a fellow New South Welshman. Against New
Zealand Services at Maidstone, he led a recovery from 49 for five with a hard-hitting
76, then took nine for ten to skittle the opposition for 45. Performances such as these had some Australians thinking they had found another
Clarrie Grimmett. The cricket writer Dick Whitington, a team-mate in the 1945
Australian Services side, reckoned Cristofani's Old Trafford century was "one in which
even Victor Trumper could have taken pride". But his serious cricketing days were
almost over. After playing in England, India and Australia with the Services side, he
turned out only twice for New South Wales when Shield cricket resumed in 1946-47.
His long-term future lay with Australia's Department of Trade, with which he held
several overseas postings. In 18 first-class games he scored 747 runs at 26.75 and took
48 wickets at 32.93; Old Trafford and Lord's witnessed his best performances.
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2003
Bob Cristofani Career Stats
Batting & Fielding
Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100s | 50s | Ct | St |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FC | 18 | 30 | 2 | 749 | 110* | 26.75 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
Bowling
Format | Mat | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | 5w | 10w |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FC | 18 | 1581 | 48 | 5/49 | 32.93 | 2 | 0 |
Recent Matches of Bob Cristofani
Match | Bat | Bowl | Date | Ground | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NSW vs Victoria | 29 & 31 | 2/95 | 26-Dec-1946 | Melbourne | FC |
NSW vs South Aust | 21 & 0 | 1/76 & 1/55 | 19-Dec-1946 | Adelaide | FC |
Australian S vs England | 8 & 110* | 5/55 & 0/25 | 20-Aug-1945 | Manchester | FC |
Australian S vs England | 14 | 0/41 | 06-Aug-1945 | Lord's | FC |
Australian S vs England | 32 | 4/43 & 5/49 | 14-Jul-1945 | Lord's | FC |