| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward John Craig | |||
| Born | 26 March 1942 Formby, Lancashire, England |
|||
| Batting style | Right-handed | |||
| Bowling style | Right-arm off break | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 1967 | Cambridgeshire | |||
| 1961–1962 | Lancashire | |||
| 1961–1963 | Cambridge University | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | First-class | List A | ||
| Matches | 50 | 1 | ||
| Runs scored | 3,103 | 12 | ||
| Batting average | 36.08 | 12.00 | ||
| 100s/50s | 7/14 | –/– | ||
| Top score | 208* | 12 | ||
| Balls bowled | 72 | – | ||
| Wickets | – | – | ||
| Bowling average | – | – | ||
| 5 wickets in innings | – | – | ||
| 10 wickets in match | – | – | ||
| Best bowling | – | – | ||
| Catches/stumpings | 43/– | 1/– | ||
| Source: Cricinfo, 1 December 2011 | ||||
Edward John Craig (born 26 March 1942) is an English academic and former cricketer. Craig was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break. He was born at Formby, Lancashire and educated at Charterhouse School.[1]
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From Charterhouse School he attended Trinity College, Cambridge. It was while at Cambridge that he made his first-class cricket debut for Cambridge University against Surrey at Fenner's. He made sixteen appearances in his debut season for the university. He also made the first of his two appearances for the Gentlemen against the Players in this season, as well as making his first-class debut for Lancashire against Nottinghamshire. He made three further appearances in total that season for Lancashire.[2] His debut season was a resounding success, with Craig scoring a total of 1,528 runs at an average of 42.44. He made five centuries and had a high score of 208 not out.[3] For Cambridge University alone, he scored 1,342 runs at an average of 47.92, including a score of 105 in The University Match,[4] and his unbeaten 208 against LC Stevens' XI.[5]
In 1962, Craig made sixteen first-class appearances for Cambridge University,[2] scoring 1,158 runs at an average of 44.53.[4] He once again appeared for the Gentlemen against the Players in this season, as well as making a further two first-class appearances for Lancashire in that seasons County Championship against Essex and Sussex. He appeared six times in first-class cricket for his native county, scoring 214 runs at an average of 21.40, though he only passed fifty once,[6] making 89 against Nottinghamshire the previous season at the Town Ground, Worksop.[7] His overall season first-class record stood at 1,151 runs at an average of 31.97, with a high score of 151 not out.[3] He continued to play for Cambridge University in 1963, making fewer appearances than previous seasons due to examination commitments. Despite these commitments he made ten appearances, with his final first-class appearance coming against Oxford University in The University Match at Lord's.[2] He performed less consistently than in previous seasons, scoring 424 runs at an average of 30.28, with a high score of 87, which was one of three half centuries he made in 1963.[3] In total, Craig made 42 first-class appearances for the university, during which he scored 2,879 runs at an average of 39.98, with a high score 208 not out. He made seven centuries and thirteen half centuries.[6] He gained a Cambridge Blue during his time at the university.[4]
Ultimately, Craig decided to pursue a career in academics than one in cricket. Mike Brearley, who played alongside him in the Cambridge University team described 'a better scholar and batsman than I was'. The cricket writer John Arlott included Craig in a list of players he considered had the potential, had they continued with their cricket careers, to have played Test cricket.[4] Despite the end of his professional cricket career, he did appear for Cambridgeshire in a single List A match against Oxfordshire in the 1st round of the 1967 Gillette Cup,[8] scoring 12 runs before being dismissed by David Laitt. Cambridgeshire won the match by four wickets,[9] but Craig didn't feature for the county again.