Craig Joseph Simmons (born 1 December 1982) is an Australian former professional cricketer. He played domestically for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL). The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...

and

Adelaide Strikers The Adelaide Strikers are an Australian professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia that compete in the Big Bash League (BBL).Cricket Australia (n.d), Teams and Players, Cricket Australia, accessed 1 Decembe ...

. At

grade cricket Grade cricket, also known as Premier Cricket is the name of the senior inter-club or district cricket competitions in each of the Australian states and territories. The term may refer to: *Victorian Premier Cricket * NSW Premier Cricket * Queens ...

level, he plays for Rockingham-Mandurah in the WACA district competition, having previously played for Fremantle in WACA district matches and Gordon in

Sydney Grade Cricket NSW Premier Cricket (formerly known as Sydney Grade Cricket) is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia. The competition began in 1893 when a number of clubs that had been playing for many years on an ad hoc basis voted to create a forma ...

matches. A left-handed batsman, Simmons represented the Australian national under-19 side at the 2002 Under-19 World Cup, playing seven matches. At the tournament, he scored 155 runs from 115 balls against Kenya's under-19 team, contributing to Australia's total of 6/480 from 50 overs and eventual win by 430 runs. Simmons made his first-class debut for Western Australia in December 2003, against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at the

WACA Ground The WACA (formally the WACA Ground) is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium's name derives from the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association. The WACA has been referred to as Wester ...

in Perth. He transferred to New South Wales for the 2005–06 season, and regularly played

ING Cup The Ing Cup () is an international Go tournament with a cash prize of over US$400,000. It was created by, and is named after, Ing Chang-ki. The tournament is held once every four years and hence often nicknamed the Go Olympics. In the 7th Ing ...

matches, as well as top-scoring for New South Wales in the final of the inaugural KFC Twenty20 Big Bash season, which the team lost to Victoria. Playing only twice at state level the following season, Simmons'

Cricket NSW Cricket NSW (officially known as the ''New South Wales Cricket Association'') is an Australian sporting association that administers cricket in New South Wales. It is based at the Sydney Olympic Park. The New South Wales Blues, the New South ...

contract was not renewed for the 2007–08 season, and he subsequently returned to Western Australia, breaking into the side for a small number of games during the 2008–09 and 2011–12 seasons. After good form for Rockingham-Mandurah at district level, Simmons replaced the injured Liam Davis in the

' squad for the

2013–14 Big Bash League season The 2013–14 Big Bash League season or BBL, 03 was the third season of the Big Bash League, the premier Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The tournament began on 20 December 2013 and ended on 7 February 2014. The format remained the sam ...

. In his fourth game for the Scorchers, against the

in mid-January 2014, Simmons scored a century from 39 balls, breaking the record for the fastest Big Bash League century. He was dismissed shortly after, finishing with 102 runs from 41 balls, with his innings including eight fours and eight sixes. In the team's semi-final against the

Sydney Sixers The Sydney Sixers are an Australian professional franchise men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the New ...

, Simmons scored another century, 112 runs from 58 balls. He thus became the first player to score two centuries in Big Bash League matches, and also equalled

Chris Gayle Christopher Henry Gayle, OD (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricketer who has been playing international cricket for the West Indies since 1999. A destructive batter, Gayle is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen to have play ...

's competition record of eleven sixes in a match. As of that match, he has a strike rate of 176.51 runs per 100 balls, the best of any player who has faced over 125 balls in the competition.Big Bash League / Records / Highest strike rates
– ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 February 2014. He subsequently signed for the

for the 2014-15 and the 2015-16 BBL seasons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Craig 1982 births Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Living people New South Wales cricketers Perth Scorchers cricketers Western Australia cricketers Adelaide Strikers cricketers