Full name Craig Russell Matthews
Born February 15, 1965, Cape Town, Cape Province
Current age 55 years 347 days
Major teams South Africa, Western Province
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Relation Brother - BA Matthews
Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests | 18 | 25 | 6 | 348 | 62* | 18.31 | 776 | 44.84 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
ODIs | 56 | 22 | 9 | 141 | 26 | 10.84 | 202 | 69.80 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
First-class | 105 | 119 | 32 | 1734 | 105 | 19.93 | 1 | 4 | 57 | 0 | ||||
List A | 176 | 70 | 33 | 417 | 31* | 11.27 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tests | 18 | 33 | 3980 | 1502 | 52 | 5/42 | 8/140 | 28.88 | 2.26 | 76.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
ODIs | 56 | 55 | 3003 | 1975 | 79 | 4/10 | 4/10 | 25.00 | 3.94 | 38.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
First-class | 105 | 17662 | 7203 | 290 | 6/22 | 24.83 | 2.44 | 60.9 | 9 | 0 | |||
List A | 176 | 8726 | 5523 | 243 | 5/11 | 5/11 | 22.72 | 3.79 | 35.9 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Test debut | South Africa v India at Johannesburg, Nov 26-30, 1992 scorecard |
Last Test | South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Dec 26-30, 1995 scorecard |
Test statistics | |
ODI debut | India v South Africa at Gwalior, Nov 12, 1991 scorecard |
Last ODI | South Africa v Zimbabwe at Centurion, Jan 25, 1997 scorecard |
ODI statistics | |
First-class span | 1986/87 - 1999/00 |
List A span | 1987/88 - 1999/00 |
As the level-headed "Captain Sensible" at Hansie Cronje's right hand for his first two years in charge, Craig Matthews played a crucial yet often unseen role in South Africa's success in the mid-1990s. Cool under pressure and calm in adversity, Matthews rescued the hot-headed young Cronje on several occasions in the early years of his tenure. Happy to play the unglamorous-workhorse role in the four-man pace attack around which the team was built, he would often bowl the most overs for the fewest runs running uphill, into the wind. His interests strayed beyond the field of play to the greater game and led to his appointment as Western Province's marketing manager upon retirement from first-class cricket.
Neil Manthorp