Ian Craig
Encyclopedia
Ian David Craig is a former Australia
n Test cricket
er who represented Australia
in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958. A slightly built right-handed batsman
, Craig holds the record for being the youngest Australian to make a first-class
double century
, gain Test selection and captain
his country. Burdened by the public expectation of being the "next Bradman", Craig's career did not fulfil its early promise. In 1957, he was appointed captain of a young team as part of a regeneration plan following the decline of the national team in the mid-1950s, but a loss of form and illness forced him out of the team after one season. Craig made a comeback, but work commitments forced him to retire from first-class cricket at only 26 years of age.
A teenage prodigy, Craig made his first-class debut for New South Wales
in the last match of the 1951–52 Australian season, aged only 16. The following summer, Craig earned comparisons to Don Bradman, widely regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, after becoming the youngest player to score a first-class double century with an unbeaten
213 against the touring South African cricket team
. The innings secured Craig's Test debut in the final match against South Africa, making him the youngest player to represent Australia in a Test, aged 17 years and 239 days. Craig started his Test career well, scoring 53 and 47 to ensure his selection for the 1953 Ashes tour
, making him the youngest Australian player to tour England. Craig's arrival precipated media attention likening him to the arrival of Bradman in 1930
, but he performed poorly, missing selection for all five Tests.
Having missed a season due to national service
and university studies, Craig returned to first-class cricket in 1955–56, earning himself a place in the 1956 Ashes touring squad
. Craig regained a Test position for the final two Tests of the series. Australia had suffered three consecutive Ashes
series defeats and captain Ian Johnson
and vice-captain Keith Miller
retired upon arriving back in Australia. The selectors gambled on youth to rebuild the team, appointing Craig as the skipper for the 1957–58 tour of South Africa
despite him having played in only six Tests and not being an established member of the team. Aged just 22 years and 194 days, Craig was the youngest captain in Test history and led a team derided as the worst to have left Australian shores. Craig led his team to a convincing 3–0 victory, but his batting was poor, averaging less than 20. He contracted hepatitis
before the start of the 1958–59 season and withdrew from cricket. Craig returned in the following season for New South Wales, but could not regain his position in the Test team. He retired from first-class cricket at the age of just 26 as work commitments as a pharmacist increasingly restricted his ability to train. In later life, Craig was the managing director of the Australian subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical firm Boots. He has continued his involvement in cricket as an administrator, working with the New South Wales Cricket Association
, the Sydney Cricket Ground
Trust and the Bradman Museum.
Shortly after his birth in the rural town of Yass, Craig's father John jokingly told his friends that "Australia's second Don Bradman has just been born". Having moved to Sydney
from his home town at the age of three, Craig studied at North Sydney Boys High School
, while his father rose to be chief manager of the Sydney office of the Bank of New South Wales
. He showed his aptitude for ball sports from an early age. Craig was a member of Australia's schoolboy baseball
team for three years, making his first team at only 13 years of age. He was also a member of the state's schoolboy rugby union
team and captained the school team, but was only vice captain of the First XI cricket team behind Peter Philpott
, another future Test player. At the time, cricket was only his third priority. He joined Mosman Cricket Club on Sydney's North Shore
and scored a first-grade
century at the age of 16. Craig was not coached heavily; the philosophy of the day was to supervise young players and to only intervene if mistakes were being made.
at the age of 16 years and 249 days, during the 1951–52 season, making him the youngest ever Sheffield Shield player. He struck 91 against South Australia
in his only first-class innings of the season, before falling leg before wicket
. His first-class career started on a successful note as New South Wales completed an innings victory.
Craig found himself in the state team at the start of the 1952–53 season. He had moderate success in the first eight matches of the season, scoring 350 runs at 35.00, with three fifties. He was given a chance to push his claims for Test selection after being selected for the Australian XI to play South Africa, but he made only 38 and 11.
The next day, he resumed and teammate Sid Barnes
offered him a new bat if he reached 200. He compiled 213 not out
in an innings marked by cover driving, helping to build a total of 416 runs for the loss of seven wickets
(7/416). Craig scored his runs quickly, making 98 of the 159 runs scored in a partnership
with captain Keith Miller
, a Test player known for his attacking strokeplay. Craig brought up his double century by sweeping
Hugh Tayfield
for a boundary. He remains the youngest Australian to have achieved the feat, although it is no longer a world record. The innings generated comparisons with Don Bradman, widely regarded as the finest batsman in cricket history. Bradman had dominated Australian sports media coverage for two decades until his retirement in 1948 and the Australian public were eager for another sporting hero of his magnitude. Bradman was not playing first-class cricket at 17 and did not make his Test debut until the age of 20, so Craig's quicker rise up the ranks caused much excitement. The Daily Telegraph
said that Craig batted with "a grim purposefulness" that was "reminiscent of Bradman". Miller cautioned against heaping so much media pressure on Craig, but the newspapers persisted, even comparing Craig's batting grip to that of Bradman.
The double century caught the eye of Australian selectors
and Craig was selected for the Test team. He was named twelfth man for the Fourth Test, before making his debut in the Fifth Test after Miller and Ray Lindwall
were rested due to mild injuries. Australia were leading the series 2–1 heading into the deciding match.
Craig's debut Test was at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
. At the age of 17 years and 239 days, he became the youngest ever Australian to play Test cricket. Australia batted first and Craig received a standing ovation from the 47,000-strong crowd as he walked out to bat under heavy public expectations, doffing his cap twice. According to Ray Robinson
, Craig walked out with "quick short steps, straight-backed as a pupil coming forward to receive a prize". As South African captain Jack Cheetham
stopped proceedings to set his field, the crowd jeered. Australia were comfortably positioned at 3/269 with Craig's partner Neil Harvey
on his way to a double century. Short and slightly built at 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) and 63 kg (139 lb), Craig was a boy among men. He cover drove his third ball, bowled by Percy Mansell
, for four and quickly moved to 20. In an innings marked by leg glances and fine cuts, Craig progressed to 53 before the new ball was taken. He hit a ball into the covers and was caught, ending the 148-run partnership with Harvey and silencing the crowd. Australia collapsed and ended at 520 but still took a first innings lead of 85 runs. Craig top-scored in the second innings with 47, giving him exactly 100 runs for the match as Australia collapsed to be all out for 209 and conceded defeat by six wickets. Given Bradman's Test average of 99.94, Craig's match aggregate prompted further press discussions of Bradmanesque similarities. However, his debut ended on a sour note as South Africa scored 4/297 to win by six wickets and level the series 2–2.
as the last player to make the cut, after only 10 first-class matches. The youngest Australian player ever to be sent to England, Craig was 15 months younger than Clem Hill
in 1896.
Craig had been one of the leading batsmen of the summer, scoring 867 first-class runs at a batting average
of 54.18 with seven half-centuries
in addition to his double century. This placed him fourth among Australian batsmen for the season in terms of run-scoring, with only leading Test batsman Neil Harvey
averaging higher. Craig had a strong preparation before departing for England, scoring fifties in three consecutive matches for the Australians on home soil.
Craig was again the centre of media speculation, with some media likening his arrival to Bradman's first tour of England in 1930
. Bradman had scored a world Test series record of 974 runs in 1930, a mark that remains unsurpassed. At a reception at the start of the tour, British judge and cricket enthusiast Lord Birkett said "If I know the English as I think I do, every Mother in the land will pray for him." During the tour he was presented with a birthday cake on television.
However, the trip was unsuccessful. It started poorly; in ten innings before the Tests started, Craig scored only 146 runs at 14.60 without passing fifty. He was overlooked for the First Test, and continued to perform poorly during the tour. Craig ended with only 429 runs in 27 innings with a top score of 71 not out
and an average of 16.50. He was not selected for any Tests. Craig had difficulty adjusting to the English pitch conditions and his confidence plummeted. Craig had particular trouble against off cutter
s on the seaming pitches
. In a reception at Lord's, the home of cricket, Queen Elizabeth II asked him "I understand this is your first visit to England?", which prompted Craig to reply "Yes, your majesty, and unless my batting improves, it will be my last." During the tour, tensions sometimes arose between the senior players, who were war veterans and drinkers, while the younger players including Craig tended to abstain from alcohol. Craig estimated that bus journeys to matches proceeded at an average speed of 16 km/h because of persistent stoppages outside pubs, something that frustrated the non-drinkers.
's XI in a testimonial match against Lindsay Hassett
's XI, his first century against Australian opposition.
Craig's career was interrupted by final year university studies for a diploma
of pharmacy
at the University of Sydney
and national service
, causing him to miss the entire 1954–55 season, including the home Test series against England
, the early 1955 tour to the West Indies and the Sheffield Shield season.
Craig returned to first-class cricket during the 1955–56 Australian season, and a healthy aggregate of 495 runs at 45.09 with one century. During the season, he made his first century in the Sheffield Shield, amassing 145 against Queensland
. These performances saw him selected on the 1956 Ashes tour as the last player picked.
and Gloucestershire
before breaking through in a match against Somerset
. He was dropped before going on to score 62 and 100 not out—his first century in 38 innings in England. This was early, He was selected for the Fourth Test at Old Trafford
, after Australia had suffered a heavy defeat at Headingley
in the Third Test at the hands of the Surrey
spin
pairing of Jim Laker
and Tony Lock
, Australia's first innings defeat in 18 years. The Fourth Test was to be known as Laker's Test, in which Laker took a record 19 wickets and routed the Australians. Laker trapped Craig leg before wicket
for eight in the first innings as Australia were skittled for 84. In the second innings, Craig came out to bat at 1/28 in the second innings on a sticky wicket
and combined in a defiant third-wicket partnership of 59 with Colin McDonald. He battled for over four hours in compiling 38 before being dismissed by Laker. Reflecting on the match, Craig said "Jim bowled well, and we batted very badly. We were all pissed off, felt we'd been dudded and we dropped our bundle a bit". His stubborn display saw him retain his position for the Fifth Test at The Oval
when he scored two and seven. Craig ended the season with 872 runs at 36.33 from 20 matches, with one century and five fifties, the fifth highest aggregate in a disappointing Australian campaign. He top-scored with 76 and 64* in a low-scoring win over Derbyshire
.
Despite his failure to reach double figures at The Oval
, Craig maintained his position in the playing XI on the tour of the Indian subcontinent
en route to Australia in late 1956, playing Test matches against Pakistan
and India
. However, he failed to pass 40 in any of his five innings. He made a duck
and 18 on a matting wicket
in Australia's one-off Test against Pakistan in Karachi
before playing in the First Test against India, scoring 40 in an innings win in Madras
. He was dropped for the Second Test but returned to make 36 and 6 in the Third Test in Calcutta
as Australia took a 2–0 series win. The matches were the first time that Australia had played a Test in Asia
.
The 1956–57 season marked the start of a renewal phase in Australian cricket. Australia had lost three consecutive Ashes
series and had fallen from the heights of the Invincibles of 1948. Australia were not scheduled to play any Tests until a tour of South Africa in 1957–58 and captain Ian Johnson
and his deputy Keith Miller
had retired upon their return to Australia, with both being in their late 30s. In a move regarded as surprising, the 21-year old Craig, rather than Richie Benaud
, replaced the retired Miller as state captain and staked his claim to be a part of Australia's long-term future with a consistent season in which he scored 521 runs at an average of 47.36, with two centuries. New South Wales won another Sheffield Shield title under Craig's leadership. In one match against arch-rivals Victoria, Craig was ill with tonsillitis
, but came out to bat with his team struggling at 7/70 while chasing a low total of 161. Craig made 24 and put on 70 with Benaud to take his team towards victory, but the match eventually ended in a tie.
Near the end of the 1956–57 season, the selectors met to choose a team for a short non-Test tour of New Zealand
. The leading contender for the captaincy was 28-year-old Victorian Neil Harvey
, who had been a regular member of the team for eight years and was the senior batsman. However, both Harvey and Miller had been criticised for their attitude towards Johnson in an official report to the board about the 1956 tour. The selectors thus thrust Craig into the leadership at the age of 21 and a half. He was a young player leading an inexperienced team—the youngest cricket team from any country to be sent overseas, with no players older than 30. It was seen as a bold move, as Craig had only played six Tests and was far from being a regular member of the team and had only a year of captaincy at first-class level.
Craig was seen as being personable, level-headed and well educated and was seen as an investment in the future following a trough in Australian cricket during the 1950s. Personal skills were seen as important in an era when captains were expected to make many after-dinner speeches at functions on tours, especially to England. Ray Robinson
opined that "a sincere nature and unassuming manner" reduced the risk of team friction in the rebuilding phase and that Craig was "level headed and tactful beyond his years". Craig's lack of leadership ambition was cited as a major reason for the improvement in team harmony.
The day after the announcement, the Harvey-led Victorians met Craig's New South Welshmen at the SCG. Harvey admitted to being irked by the board's snub and felt that it was because of his blunt nature. The men were cordial at the toss and Craig sent the Victorians in to bat. At the same time, Colin McDonald broke his nose while practising in the nets and was taken to hospital. Harvey asked Craig for a gentleman's agreement to allow a substitute, but the home skipper refused. An angry Harvey struck 209 in five hours, but Craig scored 45 and 93 to help secure a draw and the Sheffield Shield.
said that Craig "had to do it himself…I wasn't so dumb that I couldn't see the senior players didn't give him much support". The senior players resented his surprise selection as captain, but he gained favour by defying a management-imposed curfew, which was later scrapped.
During the tour, the Australians won all three of their first-class matches against the hosts' provincial teams. In the first match against the New Zealand national team, Craig scored an unbeaten 123 in the second innings to ensure a draw after the visitors had conceded a first innings lead. In the second match, Australia stumbled to 6/146 in their second innings after conceding a first innings lead of 34. After the unconvincing performances in the first two matches, Craig scored 57 in the third match, which Australia won by ten wickets. Craig ended with 224 runs at 56.00 in the three international matches and 308 runs at 38.50 overall.
At the start of the 1957–58 season, the responsibility was raised to another level when Craig was made captain for the Test tour to South Africa
, making him the youngest captain in Test history at the age of 22 years and 194 days, with Harvey as his deputy. The appointment came despite his mixed batting form during the New Zealand tour. The selectors further demonstrated their view to the future when they dropped veteran Ray Lindwall
altogether. The average age of Craig's team was two and a half years younger than the Australian squad sent to England in 1956, and had only one player over the age of 30, whereas the 1956 team had five members over the age of 30. The relative inexperience resulted in Craig's men being described as the worst to have left Australian shores. Craig joined his team in Johannesburg
after flying in from London
, where he had been working for six months as a pharmacist with the approval of the Australian board.
The workload grew after the team manager Jack Jantke suffered a heart attack before the tour, leaving Craig to handle things off the field until a replacement was found after two weeks. He instituted a novel set of rules to raise morale, but journalists and former players Dick Whitington derided it as "Anglicised fripperies", while Jack Fingleton
said that Craig was "much too callow in years and experience to lead a team abroad". Some players remained resentful of Craig's dubious elevation but appreciated that he had not promoted himself and that he was fair and open to input from teammates.
Craig made a good start to the tour in two warm-up matches against Rhodesia, scoring a century in each match. Australia won the matches by an innings and ten wickets respectively. Craig led his men in five first-class matches before the Tests and Australia won all by convincing margins; three ended in innings victories and the others were won by nine and ten wickets. This included a match against a South African XI, in which Craig scored 88 as Australia amassed 8/519 declared
before winning by an innings to take a psychological advantage ahead of the Tests.
Aged just 22 years and 194 days, Craig was the youngest captain in Test history and led his team into the First Test at Johannesburg
starting on 23 December with an extremely inexperienced Test bowling attack. With Lindwall dropped, the pace attack
was led by Alan Davidson
, who at the time had managed only 16 Test wickets in 12 matches. Davidson's partner Ian Meckiff
was making his debut. Benaud was in his first Test as the lead spinner
, while left arm wrist spinner Lindsay Kline
was another debutant. In all, Craig's team had four debutants. Craig made only 14 and 17 as his team held on for a draw. At the end of the match, an unpopular 10 p.m. curfew that was imposed by the replacement manager was repealed.
The Australian skipper again struggled with the bat in the Second Test in Cape Town
, making a duck
, but this was overlooked by the media as his team won its first Test by a decisive innings margin. In the Third Test at Durban
, Craig made 52 on a bowler-friendly pitch as Australia managed a draw, his first Test half-century since his debut. Australia struggled to be all out for 163 in the first innings, and after the hosts made 384, Craig made a duck in the first innings as Australia struggled to end at 7/292 to salvage a draw. In the Fourth Test at Johannesburg, Craig promoted Benaud ahead of him in the batting order, feeling that flexibility in the team interest was paramount. Benaud scored a century, prompting Robinson to describe Craig's action as "the most imaginative piece of captaincy of the season". The innings allowed Australia to seize the momentum and set up a 10-wicket victory, which yielded an unassailable 2–0 series lead.
Despite the disagreement as to whether Craig was deserving of the captaincy, the team proceeded smoothly without infighting. Prior to the Fifth Test, Craig wanted to drop himself due to poor form, which would have made Harvey captain. Peter Burge, the third member of the selection panel and a Harvey supporter, was comfortable with this, but Harvey relinquished his opportunity to seize the leadership by ordering Burge to retain Craig. When the vote was formally taken, Harvey and Burge outvoted Craig, who was still offering to drop himself.
Craig failed to pass 20 in the Fifth Test as Australia won again to take a creditable 3–0 series win, something that was highly unexpected at the beginning of the tour. Overall, Craig's men won 11 of their 20 first-class games on tour, and the South African Cricket Annual recognised the Australian captain's leadership by naming him as one of their Five Cricketers of the Year.
before the start of the 1958–59 season. Craig returned to cricket at the beginning of the season, but was underprepared, scoring two ducks in his only two innings of the season, the second coming against the touring England team. Craig declared that he was not ready for a return to Test cricket and relinquished the Test captaincy, which the selectors handed to Benaud. Benaud went on to defeat England 4–0, widely regarded as the best team at the time, thereby establishing himself as captain of a resurgent Australia.
The illness-enforced layoff left Craig facing an uphill battle to regain his place in the national team. Prior to the start of the 1959–60, Craig recovered his health and toured South Africa with a Commonwealth XI, where he scored 276 runs at 55.20 including a century against a combined Transvaal XI
.
to New Zealand—while the first choice team toured the Indian subcontinent—hoping that he was still good enough to secure a long-term future in the Australian team. The four matches against New Zealand were closely contested. In the first match, Australia were 7/201 in pursuit of 22 for victory when time ran out. In the second fixture, Craig made 70 as the tourists struggled to 8/211 in pursuit of 262 for victory to hold on for a draw. After narrowly escaping defeat in the first two matches, Australia won the third match by eight wickets. In the final match, Australia reduced New Zealand to 8/149 in pursuit of 284 when time ran out, sealing a 1–0 series win. Craig struggled with the bat, making 222 runs at 27.75 in the games against New Zealand.
Craig had a strong Sheffield Shield season in 1960–61. At the time, he had become a production manager at his pharmaceutical firm and declared that the season would be his last due to work reasons. His employers had been pressuring him to commit to a career after cricket. Early in the campaign, Craig scored consecutive centuries against Queensland and Victoria. He then scored 83 as New South Wales defeated the touring West Indians by an innings and 97 runs, but he was overlooked for Test selection. He ended his season with 197 in an innings victory over Western Australia. Overall, he totalled 710 runs at 59.16, as New South Wales won their eighth successive Shield. After a successful campaign, he reversed his decision and made himself available for the 1961 tour of England
, but Bill Lawry
was selected as the reserve opener.
Craig signed off on his first-class career at the end of the season with a tour of New Zealand with an International XI. He played in three matches and ended with 240 runs at 48.00; in his final match, which against the Cricket Club of India President's XI, he made 101, his 15th century at first-class level.
Standing 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) and weighing 63 kg (139 lb), Craig was a lightly built and frail looking batsman. He had a neat and compact batting style. Craig was known for his leg side
batting repertoire, in particular his ability to clip the ball from his pads. He had an unorthodox grip, low on the bat handle with the back of the top hand pointing to point
. This caused him to have a tendency to close the face of his bat. Although Craig was small in stature, he was still able to hit the ball a long distance. During the testimonial match for Lindsay Hassett
at the end of the 1953–54 season, Craig struck four sixes in five balls from the off spin
of Johnson. During his first tour to England, Craig had difficulty with off cutters bowled by pacemen and eschwed the hook shot
, but after his comeback from illness, he transformed himself into an opening batsman, earning praise for his performances against the express pace of Wes Hall
and Ian Meckiff
. Benaud felt that Craig was finally reaping the rewards of his early experience. On Australian pitches, Craig had a reputation for having difficulty with the left arm wrist spin of Kline and David Sincock
. Craig's light build allowed him to move quickly while fielding, prompting Robinson to call him "the Bambi of the fielding side". In his early years, Craig was a non-smoker, but the pressure and tension brought on by the burden of captaincy resulted in him taking up the habit. He was known for being softly spoken, with his players often having to ask him to repeat his instructions. Craig had a reputation for being good-natured; he did not complain about his cricket career and said that he had "no regrets".
in Sydney grade cricket on weekends until 1969. His marriage to Rosslyn Carroll in 1962 and his pharmaceutical career prevented him from applying himself fully to cricket. The couple had a boy and a girl, as well as an adopted son. Craig joined the Australian subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical firm Boots, rising to the position of managing director. He later served on the board of directors of the Bradman Museum in Bowral and later became its chairman. He was a board member of the New South Wales Cricket Association
(NSWCA) for three years and served on the Trust of the Sydney Cricket Ground
for varying periods from 1968 to 1996, totalling 18 years. Upon first being appointed in 1968 to replace Stan McCabe
, Craig was the youngest ever trustee of the SCG. One of the most controversial incidents during this time occurred in 1977–78 during the period of the breakaway World Series Cricket
, which wanted to install floodlights at the SCG. The NSWCA opposed this, while the government sided with WSC. As a result of Craig's support of the NSWCA, the government dismissed him. Craig retired as the managing director of Boots' Australian subsidiaries.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er who represented Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958. A slightly built right-handed batsman
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
, Craig holds the record for being the youngest Australian to make a first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
double century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
, gain Test selection and captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
his country. Burdened by the public expectation of being the "next Bradman", Craig's career did not fulfil its early promise. In 1957, he was appointed captain of a young team as part of a regeneration plan following the decline of the national team in the mid-1950s, but a loss of form and illness forced him out of the team after one season. Craig made a comeback, but work commitments forced him to retire from first-class cricket at only 26 years of age.
A teenage prodigy, Craig made his first-class debut for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
in the last match of the 1951–52 Australian season, aged only 16. The following summer, Craig earned comparisons to Don Bradman, widely regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, after becoming the youngest player to score a first-class double century with an unbeaten
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
213 against the touring South African cricket team
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
. The innings secured Craig's Test debut in the final match against South Africa, making him the youngest player to represent Australia in a Test, aged 17 years and 239 days. Craig started his Test career well, scoring 53 and 47 to ensure his selection for the 1953 Ashes tour
Australian cricket team in England in 1953
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1953 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the final Test to take the series 1-0 after the first four Tests were all drawn. England therefore recovered the Ashes for the first time since losing them in...
, making him the youngest Australian player to tour England. Craig's arrival precipated media attention likening him to the arrival of Bradman in 1930
Australian cricket team in England in 1930
Australia won the 1930 Ashes series against England, winning two of the matches and losing one, with the other two tests drawn:*1st Test — England won by 93 runs - *2nd Test — Australia won by 7 wickets -...
, but he performed poorly, missing selection for all five Tests.
Having missed a season due to national service
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and university studies, Craig returned to first-class cricket in 1955–56, earning himself a place in the 1956 Ashes touring squad
Australian cricket team in England in 1956
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1956 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the series 2-1 with 2 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes....
. Craig regained a Test position for the final two Tests of the series. Australia had suffered three consecutive Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
series defeats and captain Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
and vice-captain Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
retired upon arriving back in Australia. The selectors gambled on youth to rebuild the team, appointing Craig as the skipper for the 1957–58 tour of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
despite him having played in only six Tests and not being an established member of the team. Aged just 22 years and 194 days, Craig was the youngest captain in Test history and led a team derided as the worst to have left Australian shores. Craig led his team to a convincing 3–0 victory, but his batting was poor, averaging less than 20. He contracted hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
before the start of the 1958–59 season and withdrew from cricket. Craig returned in the following season for New South Wales, but could not regain his position in the Test team. He retired from first-class cricket at the age of just 26 as work commitments as a pharmacist increasingly restricted his ability to train. In later life, Craig was the managing director of the Australian subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical firm Boots. He has continued his involvement in cricket as an administrator, working with the New South Wales Cricket Association
New South Wales Cricket Association
The New South Wales Cricket Association is a sporting club who administer cricket in New South Wales, based at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Their trading name is Cricket NSW....
, the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
Trust and the Bradman Museum.
Early years
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
from his home town at the age of three, Craig studied at North Sydney Boys High School
North Sydney Boys High School
North Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective, public high school for boys, located at Crows Nest in Sydney, Australia.- History :...
, while his father rose to be chief manager of the Sydney office of the Bank of New South Wales
Westpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
. He showed his aptitude for ball sports from an early age. Craig was a member of Australia's schoolboy baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team for three years, making his first team at only 13 years of age. He was also a member of the state's schoolboy rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team and captained the school team, but was only vice captain of the First XI cricket team behind Peter Philpott
Peter Philpott
Peter Ian Philpott was a leg-spin bowler and middle order batsman for New South Wales and Australia in the 1960s. He made his debut in the West Indies in 1964-65 and took 18 wickets...
, another future Test player. At the time, cricket was only his third priority. He joined Mosman Cricket Club on Sydney's North Shore
North Shore (Sydney)
The North Shore is an informal term used to describe the primarily residential area of northern metropolitan Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The term usually refers to the suburbs located on the north shore of Sydney Harbour between Middle Harbour and the Lane Cove River, up to...
and scored a first-grade
Sydney Grade Cricket
Sydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs, which had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis, voted to create a formal competition structure....
century at the age of 16. Craig was not coached heavily; the philosophy of the day was to supervise young players and to only intervene if mistakes were being made.
First Class debut
Craig was selected to make his first-class debut for New South WalesNew South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
at the age of 16 years and 249 days, during the 1951–52 season, making him the youngest ever Sheffield Shield player. He struck 91 against South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
in his only first-class innings of the season, before falling leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
. His first-class career started on a successful note as New South Wales completed an innings victory.
Craig found himself in the state team at the start of the 1952–53 season. He had moderate success in the first eight matches of the season, scoring 350 runs at 35.00, with three fifties. He was given a chance to push his claims for Test selection after being selected for the Australian XI to play South Africa, but he made only 38 and 11.
The 'Next Bradman'
Soon after, Craig broke through. In January 1953, at the age of 17 years and 207 days and standing only 170 cm and weighing 63 kg, Craig became the youngest double centurion in the history of first-class cricket, in only his 13th first-class innings. In a match for New South Wales against the touring South Africans, Craig came in with the score at 3/80 and struggled to find the middle of the bat at the start of his innings. After reaching 105 not out by stumps, Craig went to work in the evening as an apprentice pharmacist.The next day, he resumed and teammate Sid Barnes
Sid Barnes
Sidney George Barnes was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer, who played 13 Test matches between 1938 and 1948. Able to open the innings or bat down the order, Barnes was regarded as one of Australia's finest batsmen in the period immediately following the Second World War...
offered him a new bat if he reached 200. He compiled 213 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
in an innings marked by cover driving, helping to build a total of 416 runs for the loss of seven wickets
Dismissal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
(7/416). Craig scored his runs quickly, making 98 of the 159 runs scored in a partnership
Partnership (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in partnership, although only one is on strike at any time. The partnership between two batsmen will come to an end when one of them is dismissed or retires, or the innings comes to a close In the sport of cricket, two batsmen always bat in...
with captain Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
, a Test player known for his attacking strokeplay. Craig brought up his double century by sweeping
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
Hugh Tayfield
Hugh Tayfield
Hugh Joseph Tayfield was a cricketer. He played 37 Test matches for South Africa from 1949 to 1960 and was one of the best off spinners the game has seen. He was the fastest South African to take 100 wickets in Tests until Dale Steyn claimed the record in March 2008...
for a boundary. He remains the youngest Australian to have achieved the feat, although it is no longer a world record. The innings generated comparisons with Don Bradman, widely regarded as the finest batsman in cricket history. Bradman had dominated Australian sports media coverage for two decades until his retirement in 1948 and the Australian public were eager for another sporting hero of his magnitude. Bradman was not playing first-class cricket at 17 and did not make his Test debut until the age of 20, so Craig's quicker rise up the ranks caused much excitement. The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
said that Craig batted with "a grim purposefulness" that was "reminiscent of Bradman". Miller cautioned against heaping so much media pressure on Craig, but the newspapers persisted, even comparing Craig's batting grip to that of Bradman.
The double century caught the eye of Australian selectors
Selector (sport)
In many team sports, a selection panel consist of selectors who choose teams or individuals to represent a country or club in sporting competitions.Selectors tend to be past players....
and Craig was selected for the Test team. He was named twelfth man for the Fourth Test, before making his debut in the Fifth Test after Miller and Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
were rested due to mild injuries. Australia were leading the series 2–1 heading into the deciding match.
Test debut
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. At the age of 17 years and 239 days, he became the youngest ever Australian to play Test cricket. Australia batted first and Craig received a standing ovation from the 47,000-strong crowd as he walked out to bat under heavy public expectations, doffing his cap twice. According to Ray Robinson
Ray Robinson (cricket writer)
Raymond John Robinson was an Australian journalist and author, best known for his writings on the sport of cricket. Born in Melbourne, Robinson attended Brighton State school and joined the Melbourne's The Herald as a copyboy. Given a cadetship with the paper, he reported on Australian football...
, Craig walked out with "quick short steps, straight-backed as a pupil coming forward to receive a prize". As South African captain Jack Cheetham
Jack Cheetham
John Erskine Cheetham was a South African cricketer who played in 24 Tests from 1949 to 1955...
stopped proceedings to set his field, the crowd jeered. Australia were comfortably positioned at 3/269 with Craig's partner Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
on his way to a double century. Short and slightly built at 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) and 63 kg (139 lb), Craig was a boy among men. He cover drove his third ball, bowled by Percy Mansell
Percy Mansell
Percy Neville Frank Mansell was a South African cricketer who played in thirteen Tests from 1951 to 1955....
, for four and quickly moved to 20. In an innings marked by leg glances and fine cuts, Craig progressed to 53 before the new ball was taken. He hit a ball into the covers and was caught, ending the 148-run partnership with Harvey and silencing the crowd. Australia collapsed and ended at 520 but still took a first innings lead of 85 runs. Craig top-scored in the second innings with 47, giving him exactly 100 runs for the match as Australia collapsed to be all out for 209 and conceded defeat by six wickets. Given Bradman's Test average of 99.94, Craig's match aggregate prompted further press discussions of Bradmanesque similarities. However, his debut ended on a sour note as South Africa scored 4/297 to win by six wickets and level the series 2–2.
1953 Ashes
Craig was selected for his first tour of England in 1953Australian cricket team in England in 1953
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1953 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the final Test to take the series 1-0 after the first four Tests were all drawn. England therefore recovered the Ashes for the first time since losing them in...
as the last player to make the cut, after only 10 first-class matches. The youngest Australian player ever to be sent to England, Craig was 15 months younger than Clem Hill
Clem Hill
Clement "Clem" Hill was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five...
in 1896.
Craig had been one of the leading batsmen of the summer, scoring 867 first-class runs at a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 54.18 with seven half-centuries
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
in addition to his double century. This placed him fourth among Australian batsmen for the season in terms of run-scoring, with only leading Test batsman Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
averaging higher. Craig had a strong preparation before departing for England, scoring fifties in three consecutive matches for the Australians on home soil.
Craig was again the centre of media speculation, with some media likening his arrival to Bradman's first tour of England in 1930
Australian cricket team in England in 1930
Australia won the 1930 Ashes series against England, winning two of the matches and losing one, with the other two tests drawn:*1st Test — England won by 93 runs - *2nd Test — Australia won by 7 wickets -...
. Bradman had scored a world Test series record of 974 runs in 1930, a mark that remains unsurpassed. At a reception at the start of the tour, British judge and cricket enthusiast Lord Birkett said "If I know the English as I think I do, every Mother in the land will pray for him." During the tour he was presented with a birthday cake on television.
However, the trip was unsuccessful. It started poorly; in ten innings before the Tests started, Craig scored only 146 runs at 14.60 without passing fifty. He was overlooked for the First Test, and continued to perform poorly during the tour. Craig ended with only 429 runs in 27 innings with a top score of 71 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
and an average of 16.50. He was not selected for any Tests. Craig had difficulty adjusting to the English pitch conditions and his confidence plummeted. Craig had particular trouble against off cutter
Off cutter
An off cutter is a type of delivery in the game of cricket. It is bowled by fast bowlers.A bowler releases a normal fast delivery with the wrist locked in position and the first two fingers positioned on top of the cricket ball, giving it spin about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the length of...
s on the seaming pitches
Seam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
. In a reception at Lord's, the home of cricket, Queen Elizabeth II asked him "I understand this is your first visit to England?", which prompted Craig to reply "Yes, your majesty, and unless my batting improves, it will be my last." During the tour, tensions sometimes arose between the senior players, who were war veterans and drinkers, while the younger players including Craig tended to abstain from alcohol. Craig estimated that bus journeys to matches proceeded at an average speed of 16 km/h because of persistent stoppages outside pubs, something that frustrated the non-drinkers.
In the wilderness
Upon returning home, Craig was unable to maintain the level of performances that he displayed in the previous Australian summer. In a purely domestic season, he made 395 runs at an average of 35.90 in eight matches, placing him 20th in the season's run scoring list. He scored 93 in an eight-wicket victory over South Australia, and then amassed 106 for Arthur MorrisArthur Morris
Arthur Robert Morris MBE is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of...
's XI in a testimonial match against Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
's XI, his first century against Australian opposition.
Craig's career was interrupted by final year university studies for a diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
of pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
and national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, causing him to miss the entire 1954–55 season, including the home Test series against England
English cricket team in Australia in 1954-55
Len Hutton captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1954–55, playing as England in the 1954-55 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour. It was the first time that an England team had toured Australia under a professional captain since the 1880s...
, the early 1955 tour to the West Indies and the Sheffield Shield season.
Craig returned to first-class cricket during the 1955–56 Australian season, and a healthy aggregate of 495 runs at 45.09 with one century. During the season, he made his first century in the Sheffield Shield, amassing 145 against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
. These performances saw him selected on the 1956 Ashes tour as the last player picked.
1956 Ashes
His tour started poorly, with food poisoning hampering his ability until after the Second Test—one particular severe bout forced him to be hospitalised. In his first six first-class matches, Craig made only 104 runs at 17.33. Craig's tour began to improve in late June. He made consecutive half-centuries against YorkshireYorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
before breaking through in a match against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
. He was dropped before going on to score 62 and 100 not out—his first century in 38 innings in England. This was early, He was selected for the Fourth Test at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
, after Australia had suffered a heavy defeat at Headingley
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
in the Third Test at the hands of the Surrey
Surrey County Cricket Club
Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions...
spin
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
pairing of Jim Laker
Jim Laker
James "Jim" Charles Laker was a cricketer who played for England in the 1950s, known for "Laker's match" in 1956 at Old Trafford, when he took nineteen wickets in England's victory against Australia...
and Tony Lock
Tony Lock
Graham Anthony Richard Lock was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each.-Life and career:...
, Australia's first innings defeat in 18 years. The Fourth Test was to be known as Laker's Test, in which Laker took a record 19 wickets and routed the Australians. Laker trapped Craig leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
for eight in the first innings as Australia were skittled for 84. In the second innings, Craig came out to bat at 1/28 in the second innings on a sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
and combined in a defiant third-wicket partnership of 59 with Colin McDonald. He battled for over four hours in compiling 38 before being dismissed by Laker. Reflecting on the match, Craig said "Jim bowled well, and we batted very badly. We were all pissed off, felt we'd been dudded and we dropped our bundle a bit". His stubborn display saw him retain his position for the Fifth Test at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
when he scored two and seven. Craig ended the season with 872 runs at 36.33 from 20 matches, with one century and five fifties, the fifth highest aggregate in a disappointing Australian campaign. He top-scored with 76 and 64* in a low-scoring win over Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
.
Despite his failure to reach double figures at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
, Craig maintained his position in the playing XI on the tour of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
en route to Australia in late 1956, playing Test matches against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
and India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
. However, he failed to pass 40 in any of his five innings. He made a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
and 18 on a matting wicket
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
in Australia's one-off Test against Pakistan in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
before playing in the First Test against India, scoring 40 in an innings win in Madras
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. He was dropped for the Second Test but returned to make 36 and 6 in the Third Test in Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
as Australia took a 2–0 series win. The matches were the first time that Australia had played a Test in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Youngest ever Australian captain
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
series and had fallen from the heights of the Invincibles of 1948. Australia were not scheduled to play any Tests until a tour of South Africa in 1957–58 and captain Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
and his deputy Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
had retired upon their return to Australia, with both being in their late 30s. In a move regarded as surprising, the 21-year old Craig, rather than Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, replaced the retired Miller as state captain and staked his claim to be a part of Australia's long-term future with a consistent season in which he scored 521 runs at an average of 47.36, with two centuries. New South Wales won another Sheffield Shield title under Craig's leadership. In one match against arch-rivals Victoria, Craig was ill with tonsillitis
Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection. Symptoms of tonsillitis include sore throat and fever. While no treatment has been found to shorten the duration of viral tonsillitis, bacterial causes are treatable with antibiotics...
, but came out to bat with his team struggling at 7/70 while chasing a low total of 161. Craig made 24 and put on 70 with Benaud to take his team towards victory, but the match eventually ended in a tie.
Near the end of the 1956–57 season, the selectors met to choose a team for a short non-Test tour of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The leading contender for the captaincy was 28-year-old Victorian Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
, who had been a regular member of the team for eight years and was the senior batsman. However, both Harvey and Miller had been criticised for their attitude towards Johnson in an official report to the board about the 1956 tour. The selectors thus thrust Craig into the leadership at the age of 21 and a half. He was a young player leading an inexperienced team—the youngest cricket team from any country to be sent overseas, with no players older than 30. It was seen as a bold move, as Craig had only played six Tests and was far from being a regular member of the team and had only a year of captaincy at first-class level.
Craig was seen as being personable, level-headed and well educated and was seen as an investment in the future following a trough in Australian cricket during the 1950s. Personal skills were seen as important in an era when captains were expected to make many after-dinner speeches at functions on tours, especially to England. Ray Robinson
Ray Robinson (cricket writer)
Raymond John Robinson was an Australian journalist and author, best known for his writings on the sport of cricket. Born in Melbourne, Robinson attended Brighton State school and joined the Melbourne's The Herald as a copyboy. Given a cadetship with the paper, he reported on Australian football...
opined that "a sincere nature and unassuming manner" reduced the risk of team friction in the rebuilding phase and that Craig was "level headed and tactful beyond his years". Craig's lack of leadership ambition was cited as a major reason for the improvement in team harmony.
The day after the announcement, the Harvey-led Victorians met Craig's New South Welshmen at the SCG. Harvey admitted to being irked by the board's snub and felt that it was because of his blunt nature. The men were cordial at the toss and Craig sent the Victorians in to bat. At the same time, Colin McDonald broke his nose while practising in the nets and was taken to hospital. Harvey asked Craig for a gentleman's agreement to allow a substitute, but the home skipper refused. An angry Harvey struck 209 in five hours, but Craig scored 45 and 93 to help secure a draw and the Sheffield Shield.
South African tour
The tour was regarded as a test of Craig as a leader. Wicket-keeper Barry JarmanBarry Jarman
Barrington Noel Jarman OAM is a former Australian Test cricketer and International Cricket Council Match Referee....
said that Craig "had to do it himself…I wasn't so dumb that I couldn't see the senior players didn't give him much support". The senior players resented his surprise selection as captain, but he gained favour by defying a management-imposed curfew, which was later scrapped.
During the tour, the Australians won all three of their first-class matches against the hosts' provincial teams. In the first match against the New Zealand national team, Craig scored an unbeaten 123 in the second innings to ensure a draw after the visitors had conceded a first innings lead. In the second match, Australia stumbled to 6/146 in their second innings after conceding a first innings lead of 34. After the unconvincing performances in the first two matches, Craig scored 57 in the third match, which Australia won by ten wickets. Craig ended with 224 runs at 56.00 in the three international matches and 308 runs at 38.50 overall.
At the start of the 1957–58 season, the responsibility was raised to another level when Craig was made captain for the Test tour to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, making him the youngest captain in Test history at the age of 22 years and 194 days, with Harvey as his deputy. The appointment came despite his mixed batting form during the New Zealand tour. The selectors further demonstrated their view to the future when they dropped veteran Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
altogether. The average age of Craig's team was two and a half years younger than the Australian squad sent to England in 1956, and had only one player over the age of 30, whereas the 1956 team had five members over the age of 30. The relative inexperience resulted in Craig's men being described as the worst to have left Australian shores. Craig joined his team in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
after flying in from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he had been working for six months as a pharmacist with the approval of the Australian board.
The workload grew after the team manager Jack Jantke suffered a heart attack before the tour, leaving Craig to handle things off the field until a replacement was found after two weeks. He instituted a novel set of rules to raise morale, but journalists and former players Dick Whitington derided it as "Anglicised fripperies", while Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
said that Craig was "much too callow in years and experience to lead a team abroad". Some players remained resentful of Craig's dubious elevation but appreciated that he had not promoted himself and that he was fair and open to input from teammates.
Craig made a good start to the tour in two warm-up matches against Rhodesia, scoring a century in each match. Australia won the matches by an innings and ten wickets respectively. Craig led his men in five first-class matches before the Tests and Australia won all by convincing margins; three ended in innings victories and the others were won by nine and ten wickets. This included a match against a South African XI, in which Craig scored 88 as Australia amassed 8/519 declared
Declaration and forfeiture
In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket...
before winning by an innings to take a psychological advantage ahead of the Tests.
Aged just 22 years and 194 days, Craig was the youngest captain in Test history and led his team into the First Test at Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
starting on 23 December with an extremely inexperienced Test bowling attack. With Lindwall dropped, the pace attack
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
was led by Alan Davidson
Alan Davidson (cricketer)
Alan Keith Davidson, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an all rounder: a hard-hitting lower-order left-handed batsman, and an outstanding left-arm fast-medium opening bowler...
, who at the time had managed only 16 Test wickets in 12 matches. Davidson's partner Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Tests between 1957 and 1963...
was making his debut. Benaud was in his first Test as the lead spinner
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
, while left arm wrist spinner Lindsay Kline
Lindsay Kline
Lindsay Francis Kline is former Australian and Victorian cricketer. He played in 13 Tests for Australia and 88 first-class matches between 1955/56 and 1961/1962...
was another debutant. In all, Craig's team had four debutants. Craig made only 14 and 17 as his team held on for a draw. At the end of the match, an unpopular 10 p.m. curfew that was imposed by the replacement manager was repealed.
The Australian skipper again struggled with the bat in the Second Test in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, making a duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
, but this was overlooked by the media as his team won its first Test by a decisive innings margin. In the Third Test at Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, Craig made 52 on a bowler-friendly pitch as Australia managed a draw, his first Test half-century since his debut. Australia struggled to be all out for 163 in the first innings, and after the hosts made 384, Craig made a duck in the first innings as Australia struggled to end at 7/292 to salvage a draw. In the Fourth Test at Johannesburg, Craig promoted Benaud ahead of him in the batting order, feeling that flexibility in the team interest was paramount. Benaud scored a century, prompting Robinson to describe Craig's action as "the most imaginative piece of captaincy of the season". The innings allowed Australia to seize the momentum and set up a 10-wicket victory, which yielded an unassailable 2–0 series lead.
Despite the disagreement as to whether Craig was deserving of the captaincy, the team proceeded smoothly without infighting. Prior to the Fifth Test, Craig wanted to drop himself due to poor form, which would have made Harvey captain. Peter Burge, the third member of the selection panel and a Harvey supporter, was comfortable with this, but Harvey relinquished his opportunity to seize the leadership by ordering Burge to retain Craig. When the vote was formally taken, Harvey and Burge outvoted Craig, who was still offering to drop himself.
Craig failed to pass 20 in the Fifth Test as Australia won again to take a creditable 3–0 series win, something that was highly unexpected at the beginning of the tour. Overall, Craig's men won 11 of their 20 first-class games on tour, and the South African Cricket Annual recognised the Australian captain's leadership by naming him as one of their Five Cricketers of the Year.
Hepatitis
Although the match results were encouraging for such a young and inexperienced team, Craig's batting was a problem, scoring only 103 runs at 14.71. Despite his contributions as a leader, Craig's batting was not up to standard. He had trouble with his defensive skills, being bowled eight times in 17 innings. In the 12 matches in the last three months of the tour, Craig passed fifty only once in 13 innings. The selectors avoided having to reverse their youth policy when Craig contracted a bout of hepatitisHepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
before the start of the 1958–59 season. Craig returned to cricket at the beginning of the season, but was underprepared, scoring two ducks in his only two innings of the season, the second coming against the touring England team. Craig declared that he was not ready for a return to Test cricket and relinquished the Test captaincy, which the selectors handed to Benaud. Benaud went on to defeat England 4–0, widely regarded as the best team at the time, thereby establishing himself as captain of a resurgent Australia.
The illness-enforced layoff left Craig facing an uphill battle to regain his place in the national team. Prior to the start of the 1959–60, Craig recovered his health and toured South Africa with a Commonwealth XI, where he scored 276 runs at 55.20 including a century against a combined Transvaal XI
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
.
Attempted comeback
Returning to Australia, he had a moderately successful Sheffield Shield season, accumulating 376 runs at 31.33 with three half-centuries. New South Wales went on to win another title. Despite this, the selectors named him to lead an Australian Second XIAustralia A cricket team
The Australia A cricket team is a cricket team representing Australia and is the second team of the Australian cricket team. They have also played far more one-day than first-class matches; indeed they have played only three first-class games against equivalent A sides, against South Africa A in...
to New Zealand—while the first choice team toured the Indian subcontinent—hoping that he was still good enough to secure a long-term future in the Australian team. The four matches against New Zealand were closely contested. In the first match, Australia were 7/201 in pursuit of 22 for victory when time ran out. In the second fixture, Craig made 70 as the tourists struggled to 8/211 in pursuit of 262 for victory to hold on for a draw. After narrowly escaping defeat in the first two matches, Australia won the third match by eight wickets. In the final match, Australia reduced New Zealand to 8/149 in pursuit of 284 when time ran out, sealing a 1–0 series win. Craig struggled with the bat, making 222 runs at 27.75 in the games against New Zealand.
Craig had a strong Sheffield Shield season in 1960–61. At the time, he had become a production manager at his pharmaceutical firm and declared that the season would be his last due to work reasons. His employers had been pressuring him to commit to a career after cricket. Early in the campaign, Craig scored consecutive centuries against Queensland and Victoria. He then scored 83 as New South Wales defeated the touring West Indians by an innings and 97 runs, but he was overlooked for Test selection. He ended his season with 197 in an innings victory over Western Australia. Overall, he totalled 710 runs at 59.16, as New South Wales won their eighth successive Shield. After a successful campaign, he reversed his decision and made himself available for the 1961 tour of England
Australian cricket team in England in 1961
The 1961 Australian cricket tour of England began with a three day match versus Worcestershire CCC at the County Ground, New Road, Worcester on Sat 29 April, play continuing on Mon 1 May and Tues 2 May. This match was rain-affected and ended in a draw...
, but Bill Lawry
Bill Lawry
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971...
was selected as the reserve opener.
Final season
The 1961–62 season was Craig's last at first-class level; he accumulated 629 runs at 37.00, with seven fifties but he was unable to convert any of these into a century. In one match against arch-rivals Victoria, Craig scored 80 and 65 not out to help his team to a ten-wicket triumph. New South Wales won six consecutive matches to seal another title, but found himself under increasing pressure for his place in the state team as the Australian season was purely domestic, meaning that all the Test players would be threatening his state position. New South Wales had a streak of nine consecutive Shield titles up until 1961–62, and the batting line-up was particularly strong. The 1950s–60s era teams regarded as one of the strongest in Australian history. In total, Craig acted as captain in 48 matches first-class matches, winning 27, tying one and losing only two. Although Craig's record as the youngest captain in Test history has now surpassed, he remains the youngest Australian to have scored a double century, gained Test selection and the national captaincy.Craig signed off on his first-class career at the end of the season with a tour of New Zealand with an International XI. He played in three matches and ended with 240 runs at 48.00; in his final match, which against the Cricket Club of India President's XI, he made 101, his 15th century at first-class level.
Style
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
batting repertoire, in particular his ability to clip the ball from his pads. He had an unorthodox grip, low on the bat handle with the back of the top hand pointing to point
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
. This caused him to have a tendency to close the face of his bat. Although Craig was small in stature, he was still able to hit the ball a long distance. During the testimonial match for Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
at the end of the 1953–54 season, Craig struck four sixes in five balls from the off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
of Johnson. During his first tour to England, Craig had difficulty with off cutters bowled by pacemen and eschwed the hook shot
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
, but after his comeback from illness, he transformed himself into an opening batsman, earning praise for his performances against the express pace of Wes Hall
Wes Hall
Wesley Winfield Hall is a Barbadian former cricketer and politician. A tall, strong and powerfully built man, Hall was a genuine fast bowler and despite his very long run up, he was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells. Hall played 48 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1969...
and Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff
Ian Meckiff is a former cricketer who represented Australia in 18 Tests between 1957 and 1963...
. Benaud felt that Craig was finally reaping the rewards of his early experience. On Australian pitches, Craig had a reputation for having difficulty with the left arm wrist spin of Kline and David Sincock
David Sincock
David John Sincock is a former Australian cricketer who played in three Tests from 1964 to 1966....
. Craig's light build allowed him to move quickly while fielding, prompting Robinson to call him "the Bambi of the fielding side". In his early years, Craig was a non-smoker, but the pressure and tension brought on by the burden of captaincy resulted in him taking up the habit. He was known for being softly spoken, with his players often having to ask him to repeat his instructions. Craig had a reputation for being good-natured; he did not complain about his cricket career and said that he had "no regrets".
After cricket
Craig retired from first-class cricket at just 26 years of age in 1962, but continued playing for MosmanMosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
in Sydney grade cricket on weekends until 1969. His marriage to Rosslyn Carroll in 1962 and his pharmaceutical career prevented him from applying himself fully to cricket. The couple had a boy and a girl, as well as an adopted son. Craig joined the Australian subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical firm Boots, rising to the position of managing director. He later served on the board of directors of the Bradman Museum in Bowral and later became its chairman. He was a board member of the New South Wales Cricket Association
New South Wales Cricket Association
The New South Wales Cricket Association is a sporting club who administer cricket in New South Wales, based at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Their trading name is Cricket NSW....
(NSWCA) for three years and served on the Trust of the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
for varying periods from 1968 to 1996, totalling 18 years. Upon first being appointed in 1968 to replace Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
, Craig was the youngest ever trustee of the SCG. One of the most controversial incidents during this time occurred in 1977–78 during the period of the breakaway World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
, which wanted to install floodlights at the SCG. The NSWCA opposed this, while the government sided with WSC. As a result of Craig's support of the NSWCA, the government dismissed him. Craig retired as the managing director of Boots' Australian subsidiaries.
Test match performance
| Batting | Bowling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High Score | 100 / 50 | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best (Inns) |
| England | 2 | 55 | 13.75 | 38 | 0/0 | – | – | – | – |
| India | 2 | 82 | 27.33 | 40 | 0/0 | – | – | – | – |
| Pakistan | 1 | 18 | 9.00 | 18 | 0/0 | – | – | – | – |
| South Africa | 6 | 203 | 22.55 | 53 | 0/2 | – | – | – | – |
| Overall | 11 | 358 | 19.88 | 53 | 0/2 | – | – | – | – |