Steven Paul Crook (born 28 May 1983) is a former Australian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

in English county cricket. He is an

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm

fast medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

pace. In September 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Sir Alastair Cook described Steven as the worst bowler he had faced during the recent Tailenders Live show at the Palace Theatre Manchester #Tailendersoftheworlduniteandtakeover

Cricket career

Crook was born and brought up in Australia, of British parents. He holds a

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passport, so is not classified as an overseas player for the purposes of county cricket's overseas player restrictions. While he was playing league cricket in England, he caught the eye of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and was offered a contract. He made his

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

debut in September 2003 versus

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, having previously played a first-class match against university opposition and two limited over county games. Crook moved to

in 2005, and played for them until 2009. He left Northants in 2009, having been severely limited by injury; in his final season he was only able to play two first-class matches. He spent the 2010 season out of county cricket, playing for Brixworth in the

Northamptonshire Cricket League The Hevey Building Supplies Northamptonshire Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Northamptonshire, England, and since 1999 has been a designated ECB Premier League. The league headquarters is based i ...

, before signing for Middlesex the following year. He played two seasons for Middlesex, taking 44 wickets at an average of 30.59 in 16 first-class games. In 2013 he returned to play for Northants. He scored his maiden first-class century in June 2014 against former club Middlesex, and has since scored four more. He has been to

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

finals day three times, twice finishing on the winning team, in 2013 and 2016, and as runners-up in 2015.

Music career

Crook also fronts a band, Juliet the Sun, as lead vocalist. Tabloids told that they provided inspiration for England during the

2005 Ashes The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors. The ...

and even became brief tabloid darlings when it emerged that former team-mates James Anderson and Monty Panesar were blasting out their signature tune, "Time for Heroes", in the dressing room in between sessions. Crook plays at the Cricketers Arms. in Northampton.

Personal life

Crook is involved in supporting various charities including a 2015 £1 per run and more benefit for Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS)-sufferer, Lewis Herbert. Among those assisting have been Jimmy Anderson, Graeme Swann, The Cube Disability and many others. Besides Crook, The Cube sponsors Northants Steelbacks Mohammad Azharullah.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, Steven 1983 births Living people Australian cricketers Northamptonshire cricketers Lancashire cricketers Middlesex cricketers Cricketers from Adelaide