Steven Croft (cricketer)

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For other people of the same name, see Steven Croft.
Steven Croft
File:Croft drives.JPG
Personal information
Full name Steven John Croft
Born (1984-10-11) 11 October 1984 (age 39)
Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Nickname Crofty
Height Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Batting style Right-hand
Bowling style Right-arm offspin
Role All rounder
Domestic team information
Years Team
2005–present Lancashire (squad no. 15)
Career statistics
Competition FC LA T20
Matches 87 93 80
Runs scored 3,869 2,369 1,767
Batting average 30.70 35.35 28.96
100s/50s 4/25 1/17 0/11
Top score 122 107 94*
Balls bowled 2,815 1,597 471
Wickets 38 42 23
Bowling average 45.07 34.52 29.00
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 – –
Best bowling 4/51 4/24 3/6
Catches/stumpings 74/– 42/– 48/–
Source: Cricinfo, 1 July 2012

Steven John Croft (born 11 October 1984) is an English cricketer who has played for Lancashire County Cricket Club since 2005. He bats right-handed can bowl both medium-fast and off breaks. In 2008 Croft was given the Lancashire members' Player of the Year and One-Day Player of the Year awards. In 2008/09 he played for the Auckland Aces in New Zealand as an overseas player. Awarded his Lancashire cap in 2010, Croft was part of the Lancashire team that won the County Championship in 2011.

Career

Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, Croft made his debut for the Lancashire Second XI at the age of 16, in May 2001. He made his first-class Lancashire debut in 2005 and his list A debut in 2003. He spent the winters of 2005–06 and 2006–07 playing club cricket in Australia.[1]

Croft finished the 2008 season with 585 first-class runs in thirteen matches, with an average of 32.50. He hit one century, his maiden hundred a 122 against Nottinghamshire and three fifties. In one-day matches, he hit 279 runs from thirteen matches, averaging 31. He was also the club's leading wicket-taker with fourteen, at an average of 21.71. In Twenty20 matches he hit 134 runs from eleven matches and took six wickets.[2][3] He also won the Player of the Month award for August.[4] In September 2008 Croft won two awards for the 2008 season winning the club's members Player of the Year award and the one-day Player of the Year award.[2][5] At the start of August 2010, Croft was awarded his county cap.[6]

Croft signed a contract to become the overseas player at Auckland Aces, one of six first-class teams clubs in New Zealand for the State championship for the 2008–09 season.[2][3] In eight first-class matches, he scored 330 runs, including two half-centuries, and averaged 36.66.[7] Croft also played ten list A matches, amassing 209 runs with a single score above 50.[8]

During a drawn County Championship match against Warwickshire in August 2011, Croft scored the second century of his first-class career, and his first in three years. He passed 3,000 first-class runs in the innings of 122 from 182 balls, which equalled his highest score.[9][10] Though there was a three-year gap between his first and second centuries, in the next County Championship match Croft scored a third, this time an innings of 107 in a Lancashire victory over Worcestershire.[11][12] On 15 September 2011, Croft scored the winning runs as Lancashire beat Somerset at Taunton to clinch the County Championship outright for the first time since 1934. Croft played in all 16 Championship matches and finished with 825 runs at an average of 31.73, making him the club's fourth highest run-scorer (only two Lancashire batsmen managed over- 1,000 runs in the 2011 season).[13]

File:Steven Croft batting, 2012 (3).ogv
Croft on his way to 65 not out against Durham in the 2012 FL T20

Lancashire began their title defence poorly, with three losses from their first four County Championship matches.[14] The batsmen struggled in particular, and it was not until the third County Championship match that one of them scored a century. Against a Somerset bowling attack depleted through injury, Croft scored his fourth first-class century.[15][16]

Personal life

Croft was educated at Highfield Humanities College in his hometown of Blackpool and Myerscough College in Bilsborrow on the Fylde.[17] He is a lifelong supporter of Blackpool Football Club. He has twice been the half-time guest at the club's home games at Bloomfield Road, firstly against Derby County on 21 October 2008.[2] and again on 30 November 2009 during the West Lancashire derby against Preston North End.

Notes

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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