Ian Craig

Craig retired from first-class cricket at just 26 years of age in 1962, but continued playing for Mosman 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. Craig was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1997 for his contributions to cricket as a player and administrator. He died in Bowral from cancer on 16 November 2014.

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 Craig found himself under increasing pressure for his place in the state team; with no internationals that season, all the Test players were available, which put his position under threat. 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 were regarded as among the strongest in Australian history. In total, Craig acted as captain in 48 first-class matches, winning 27, tying one and losing only two. Although Craig's record as the youngest captain in Test history has now been surpassed, he remains the youngest Australian to have scored a first-class double century, play a Test match and then captain the national team.

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 owing to work commitments. 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 ahead of him.

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 season, 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.

Although the match results were encouraging for such a young and inexperienced team, Craig scored only 103 runs at 14.71. Despite his contributions as a leader, this was not up to standard. He had trouble with his defence, 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. However, the selectors did not have to reverse their youth policy: Craig contracted a bout of hepatitis before the start of the 1958–59 season. He 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 captaincy, which the selectors handed to Benaud. Benaud went on to defeat England 4–0; as England were widely regarded as the best team at the time, this established him as captain of a resurgent Australia.

At the start of the 1957–58 season, Craig was made captain for Australia's 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 they had only one player over the age of 30, whereas the 1956 team had five members over the age of 30. As a result of the team's relative inexperience, they were judged by critics to be 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.

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 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" team that had toured England in 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 retired upon their return to Australia, both men 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, was far from being a regular member of the team and had only a year of captaincy at first-class level.

Having missed a season due to national service and university studies, Craig returned to first-class cricket in 1955–56, earning a place in the 1956 Ashes touring squad. Craig regained a Test position for the final two Tests of the series. After the series, at which point Australia had suffered three consecutive Ashes series defeats, captain Ian Johnson and vice-captain Keith Miller retired. The selectors focussed on young players to rebuild the team, appointing Craig as the captain for the 1957–58 tour of South Africa, although he had played just six Tests and was not an established member of the team. Aged 22 years and 194 days, Craig was, at the time, the youngest captain in Test history and led a team that critics dismissed as having no chance to a convincing 3–0 victory; his own batting form was poor, and he averaged less than 20. He contracted hepatitis before the start of the 1958–59 season and withdrew from cricket. Although he returned the following season for New South Wales, he could not regain his Test place. He retired from first-class cricket at the age of just 26: 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 had a continued involvement with cricket as an administrator, working with the New South Wales Cricket Association, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and the Bradman Museum. Craig was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1997 for his service to cricket.

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. He 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. For these performances, he was selected for the 1956 Ashes tour, the last player to be picked.

Craig's breakthrough came in January 1953 when, at the age of 17 years and 207 days, he became the youngest double centurion in the history of first-class cricket at the time, in only his 13th first-class innings. As of 2015, he remains the youngest Australian to have achieved the feat. In a match for New South Wales against the touring South Africans, Craig came into bat on the second day and after a slow start reached 105 not out at the close of play. After play, he went to work at his job as an apprentice pharmacist. The next day, teammate Sid Barnes offered him a new bat if he reached 200. When play resumed, he took his score to 213 not out, helping to build a total of 416 runs for the loss of seven wickets (7/416). Hitting many cover drives, Craig scored quickly, making 98 of the 159 runs scored in a partnership with Keith Miller, a Test player known for his attacking strokeplay. Craig brought up his double century by sweeping Hugh Tayfield for a boundary.

Craig was selected for his first tour of England in 1953 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. He had been one of the leading batsmen of the summer, scoring 867 first-class runs at an 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.

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 eschewed 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."

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, generally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, after becoming the youngest player to score a first-class double century, an unbeaten 213 against the touring South African 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 precipitated media comparisons to the arrival and success of Bradman in 1930, but he performed poorly and was not selected for any of the Tests.

After good performances for Mosman, Craig was selected to make his first-class debut for 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 in his only first-class innings of the season, before falling leg before wicket. He remained in the team for the following season; in the first eight games he scored 350 runs at an average of 35.00, with three fifties. Given a chance to push his claims for Test selection after being selected for the Australian XI to play South Africa, he made only 38 and 11.

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 had not played first-class cricket at the age of 17 and was 20 when he made his Test debut, 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.

Upon returning home, Craig was unable to maintain the level of performances that he displayed in the previous Australian summer. In a season which contained no international cricket, he scored 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 106 for Arthur Morris's XI in a testimonial match against Lindsay Hassett's XI, his first century against Australian opposition.

Ian David Craig OAM (12 June 1935 – 16 November 2014) was an Australian cricketer who represented the Australian national team in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958. A right-handed batsman, Craig holds the records for being the youngest Australian to make a first-class double century, appear in a Test match, and captain his country in a Test match. Burdened by the public expectation of being the "next Bradman", Craig's career did not fulfil its early promise. In 1957, he was appointed Australian captain, leading 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.

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 in terms of batting.

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, against the Cricket Club of India President's XI, he made 101, his 15th century at first-class level.