Robert Croft - England - Batsman

A steady right arm off-spinner from the stables of Glamorgan, Robert Croft, only had a chequered international career. He played 21 Tests and 50 ODIs before being shown the door. Interestingly cricket was not his first love - Croft played rugby union as a scrum half for the Llanelli RFC Under-11s.

Gradually, Croft became an integral cog in Glamorgan's wheels and an England berth came calling when he was handed his Test debut against Pakistan at Oval in August 1996. Keeping in view his handy batting talent lower down the order and a well-disguised arm ball, Croft was considered to be more effective in ODIs. Whilst he was shunted in and out of the Test team, he was a regular in the English ODI set-up until the 1999 World Cup. The emergence of a certain Ashley Giles put him on the back burner. He captained Glamorgan from 2003-2006 and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2013 for his contribution to cricket.

Croft, who claims over 1000 first-class wickets, was named Glamorgan Player of the Year in 1996,2003,2004 and 2007. Croft could also been a force to reckon with at the international stage had he added more variations to his repertoire.

By Cricbuzz Staff