Colin Croft

Colin Croft
West Indies
Personal information
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	27	19
Runs scored	158	18
Batting average	10.53	9.00
100s/50s	-/-	-/-
Top score	33	8
Balls bowled	6165	1070
Wickets	125	30
Bowling average	23.30	20.66
5 wickets in innings	3	1
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	8/29	6/15
Catches/stumpings	8/-	1/-
Source: [1], 25 January 2006

Colin Everton Hunte Croft (born March 15, 1953 in Demerara, British Guiana) is a former West Indian cricketer. He provides expert analysis on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Test Match Special.

[edit] Cricket career

Croft was part of the fearsome West Indian quartet of fast bowlers from the late 70s and early 80s. With his 6 foot 6, he bowled nasty bouncers and was very aggressive. He was renowned for bowling wide of the crease over the wicket and angling the ball in to right-handers. Croft's figures of 8/29 against Pakistan in 1977 are still the best Test figures by a genuine fast bowler from the West Indies.

[edit] Rebel Tour

In 1982 Croft accepted a place on the rebel tour of apartheid-divided South Africa, in violation of an international ban on sports tours of the then pariah state. The rebel players were granted "honorary whites" status by the South African government to allow them access to all-white cricket playing areas.^[1] All the players who took part in the tour were banned for life from international cricket, thus marking the end of Croft's cricket playing career. Croft moved to the United States to avoid the bitter recriminations at home.

[edit] Media career

During the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup Croft provided expert analysis for the BBC's Test Match Special radio coverage on all the Guyana based matches. He continued his analyst's role during the West Indies tour of England the same year.

In his private life, he also obtained a private commercial airline pilot's licence in the USA.

v • d • e West Indies squad – 1979 Cricket World Cup (2nd title) 1 Lloyd (c) • 2 Croft • 3 Garner • 4 Greenidge • 5 Haynes • 6 Holding • 7 Kallicharran • 8 King • 9 Murray (wk) • 10 Richards • 11 Roberts

Colin Croft also appeared as a Sky Sports guest host during the Australia's Tour of the West Indies in 2008.

[edit] References