Steven Croft has emerged as a major figure in the Lancashire side in the last two seasons in particular, etching an indelible mark on the county's history in 2011 by hitting the winning runs on the fourth day of the final County Championship match, against Somerset at Taunton, to clinch the county's first outright title in 77 years.

It capped a memorable season for the dynamic allrounder, in which he had also captained Lancashire's one-day side, notably leading them to a place at the Friends Life T20 finals day.

As a batsman, he registered his first one-day hundred - also against Somerset at Taunton - and two in the Championship, including one against Worcestershire on his home ground at Blackpool. He finished the season with 825 runs and took the club's Player of the Year award.

In 2012 he scored 666 runs from 16 matches, including two centuries and two 50s, including a career best 154 not out against Surrey at Guildford in July, a week before his off-spin gained him career best bowling figures of 6 for 41 against Worcestershire at Old Trafford. In the last fixture of the season, against Surrey at Old Trafford, he captained the side for the first time in a four-day game.

Croft, who can also bowl effective medium pace and is a highly proficient fielder at slip or backward point, finished among the leading batsmen in domestic one-day cricket in England, adding 513 runs in 40-over matches to 313 from eight T20s, which gained him recognition in England's provisional 30-man squad for the World T20.

Croft made his first-class debut for the county in 2005 as one of the first Academy graduates to be awarded a professional contract. He made rapid progress, particularly in T20, in which he hit the last ball for six to snatch a win over Leicestershire in only his second appearance.

By 2007 he had established himself in the Championship side and was the county's Young Player and senior Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, recording a maiden century against Nottinghamshire (122) in 2008. Venturing abroad, he helped Auckland Aces win the domestic championship in New Zealand in 2008-09 and although his progress stalled a little in the 2009 English season he came back strongly in 2010, when his 883 runs made him Lancashire's leading batsman in the Championship.
ESPNcricinfo staff