Ian Craig

At 79 years old, Ian Craig has this physical status:

Ian David Craig, OAM (12 June 1935 – November 14, 2014) was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national team in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958.

Craig, a right-handed batsman, holds the Australian record for being the youngest Australian to reach a first-class double century, as well as captaining his country in a Test match.

Craig's career was not punctually promised, despite being boosted by the public's aspiration to be the "next Bradman."

In 1957, he was elected Australian captain, leading a youth team as part of a rebuilding effort following the demise of the national team in the mid-1950s, but a lack of fitness and illness kept him out of the team after one season.

Craig made a comeback, but work commitments compelled him to drop first-class cricket at the age of 26. Craig made his first-class debut for New South Wales in the final match of the 1951–52 Australian season, aged just 16.

Craig earned comparisons to Don Bradman, the first-class batsman of all time, after being the youngest player to score a first-class double century and beating the touring South African team in a tumultuous 213.

Early life

Ian Craig was John Craig and Katherine (née Dun), the first son of John Craig and his partner Katherine (née Dun). "Bern's second Don Bradman was born" shortly after Ian's birth in Yass' small town. When John's employers, Bank of New South Wales, relocated him to Sydney, the family was relocated when Ian was only three years old; John took over as the Sydney office's chief manager. Ian began playing basketball at North Sydney Boys High School and demonstrated an interest in ball games from an early age. He was a member of Australia's schoolboy baseball team for three years, first playing at 13 years old. He captained his school's rugby union team and was a member of the state's schoolboy team, but he was only vice captain of the First XI cricket team, behind Peter Philpott, another potential Test player. Cricket was only his third priority at the time, according to his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald, he started to be a better rugby player but was compelled to concentrate on cricket after breaking his jaw playing rugby. At the age of 16, he joined Mosman Cricket Club in Sydney's North Shore and achieved his first-grade century. Craig was not coached heavily; the day's mission was to supervise young players and not intervene if mistakes were made.

Craig was selected to make his first-class debut for New South Wales during the 1951–52 season, making him the youngest ever Sheffield Shield player. In his first-class innings of the season, he scored 91 against South Australia, before falling leg before wicket. He stayed in the team for the following season; with three fifties, he scored 350 runs in the first eight games. Since being chosen for the Australian XI to play South Africa, he had a chance to push his Test selection after being refused for Test selection.

Craig's breakthrough came in January 1953, when he reached the youngest double centurion in the history of first-class cricket at the age of 17 years and 207 days, but he was only his 13th first-class wicket. He is the youngest Australian to have achieved the feat in 2015 as of 2015. Craig came out to bat on the second day of a match for New South Wales against the touring South Africans, and after a slow start, the game ended with a score of 105 not out at the end of play. He went back to work as an apprentice pharmacist after play. Sid Barnes, a teammate, promised him a new bat if he reached 200. When play returned, he increased his score to 213 not out, contributing to a total of 416 runs for the loss of seven wickets (7/416). Craig hit many cover runs, scoring 98 of the 159 runs scored in a Test match with Keith Miller, a Test player known for his attacking strokeplay. Craig swept Hugh Tayfield for a boundary in his second century.

The innings brought comparisons with Don Bradman, who is widely regarded as the best batsman in cricket history. Bradman dominated Australian media coverage for two decades before his retirement in 1948, and the Australian people were eager for another sporting hero of his size. Bradman did not play first-class cricket until he was 20 when he made his Test debut, so Craig's quicker ascension into the top of the charts generated a lot of buzz. Craig batted with "a pathetic purposefulness" that was "reminiscent of Bradman," according to the Daily Telegraph. Miller advised against putting so much media pressure on Craig, but the newspapers persisted, comparing Craig's batting grip to that of Bradman.

Craig's innings also piqued the attention of Australian selectors, and he was chosen for the Test team. He was named the twelfth man for the Fourth Test before making his debut in the Fifth Test after Miller and Ray Lindwall were restrained due to mild injuries. Going into the deciding match, Australia was leading the sequence 2–1.

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Test match career

Craig made his Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and became the youngest Australian to play Test cricket at the age of 17 years and 239 days. Craig led Australia out to bat first and received a standing ovation from the 47,000-strong crowd as he walked out to bat amid high hopes from the public. The crowd applauded as South African captain Jack Cheetham called for orders to order his field. With Craig's partner Neil Harvey on his way to a double century, Australia were comfortably placed at 3/269. Craig cover drove his third ball, bowled by Percy Mansell for four wickets, and then soared to 20. Craig progressed to 53 runs before the new ball was taken in an innings marked by leg peeks and fine cuts. He pushed a ball into the covers and was trapped, snapping the 148-run partnership with Harvey and silencing the audience. Australia collapsed and died at 520, but it had a 82-run advantage in the first innings. 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. Craig's match aggregate sparked further press coverage of Bradman's Test average of 99.94. South Africa won by 6 wickets on his debut, but his debut was sour, as South Africa's 4/297 to win by six wickets and the series 2–2.

After only 10 first-class matches, Craig was selected for his first tour of England in 1953 as the last player to make the cut. Craig was 15 months younger than Clem Hill in 1896, the youngest Australian player to be sent to England. He was one of the best batsmen of the summer, scoring 867 first-class runs at an average of 54.18 with seven half-centuries in comparison to his double century. This put him fourth among Australian batsmen for the season in terms of run-scoring, with only top Test batsman Neil Harvey averaging higher. Craig had a strong preparation before leaving for England, scoring fifties in three consecutive matches for the Australians on home soil.

Craig was once more the center of media rumors, with some publications glorifying his arrival to Bradman's first tour of England in 1930. Bradman had a world Test series record of 974 runs in 1930, a record that is unbeaten. Lord Birkett, a British judge and cricket enthusiast, said at a reception at the start of the tour, "If I know the English as I do, every Mother in the land would pray for him." During the tour, he was given a birthday cake on television. However, in terms of batting, the trip was disappointing.

Craig started poorly; he scored only 146 runs at 14.60 without passing 50 runs in ten innings before the Tests began. He was ruled out for the first Test and continued to struggle for runs throughout the tour; he finished with 429 runs in 27 innings, with a top score of 71 not out and an average of 16.50. He was not chosen for any Tests. Craig had a difficult time adapting to English pitching conditions, and his moral plummeted. On the seaming pitches, Craig had a problem with off cutters. Queen Elizabeth II asked him "I understand this is your first trip to England?" said the monarch in a dinner at Lord's, the home of cricket. "Yes, your majesty, and if my batting improves, it will be my last," Craig said. During the tour, tensions between the senior players, veterans of war and drinkers, arose occasionally, but younger players, including Craig, tended to refrain from alcohol intake. According to Craig, bus journeys to matches increased at an average speed of 16 kilometers per hour, which upset the non-drinkers.

Craig was unable to perform at the same level as he did in the previous Australian summer when returning home. He scored 395 runs in eight matches in a season without international cricket, placing him 20th in the season's run scoring rankings. In a testimonial match against Lindsay Hassett's XI, he scored 93 in an eight-wicket victory over South Australia and 106 for Arthur Morris's XI, his first century against Australian opposition.

Craig's career was stifled 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 in the 1955–56 Australian season, with a healthy number of 495 runs at 45.09 per cent. He made his first century in the Sheffield Shield by winning 145 against Queensland during the season. He was chosen for the 1956 Ashes tour, becoming the first player to be chosen.

Craig's tour started poorly and food poisoning hampered him until the Second Test—one particular bad bout caused him to be hospitalized. Craig played only 104 runs at 17.33 in his first six first-class matches. In late June, his tour began to progress, as he made two-centuries against Yorkshire and Gloucestershire before faltering against Somerset 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. After Australia's humiliating loss in the Third Test at Old Trafford in the hands of the Surrey spin pairing Jim Laker and Tony Lock, Australia's first innings defeat in 18 years, he was selected for the Fourth Test at Old Trafford. Laker's Test was to be referred to as Laker's Test in the case, where Laker claimed a record 19 wickets. As Australia was bowled out for 84, Laker trapped Craig leg before wicket for eight wickets in the first innings. Craig came out to bat at 1/28 in the second innings on a muddy wicket and joined in a defiant third-wicket teaming of 59 with Colin McDonald. He fought for more than four hours in compiling 38 before being banned by Laker. Craig said, "Jim bowled well, and we batted really badly." We were all apprehensions, felt we'd been dumped, and we'd lost a little. After his tenacious effort, he retained his position in the Fifth Test at The Oval, scoring two and seven. Craig finished the season with 872 runs from 2020 matches, the fifth best figure for the Australians, with one century and five fifties.

Despite his inability to reach double figures at The Oval, Craig maintained his spot in the playing XI on the Indian subcontinent tour in late 1956, competing Test matches against Pakistan and India. He did not reach 40 in his five innings, but in his five innings, he did not reach 40 runs. In Australia's one-off Test against Pakistan in Karachi, he made a duck and 18 on a matting wicket before playing in the First Test against India, scoring 40 in an innings victory in Madras. He was withdrawn for the Second Test but in the Third Test in Calcutta, he made 36 and 6 as Australia secured a 2–0 series victory. It was the first time Australia had played a Test in Asia.

Later career

Craig scored only 103 runs at 14.71, despite the match's promising for such a young and inexperienced team. Despite his leadership, this was not up to par. He had a rough time with his defense, being bowled eight times in 17 innings. Craig played in the 12 matches over the course of three months but only once in 13 innings. However, Craig did not have to change their youth policies: hepatitis was not a problem that existed before the 1958–59 season. He returned to cricket at the start of the season, but was underprepared, scoring two ducks in his first two innings of the season, his second against the touring England team. Craig said he was not ready for a return to Test cricket and relinquished captaincy, which the selectors gave to Benaud. Benaud led England to defeat England 4–0; this established him as the captain of a resurgent Australia.

Craig was left with an uphill battle to regain his place in the national team after being sickened. Craig recovered his health and toured South Africa with a Commonwealth XI, where he scored 276 runs at 55.20, which was a century against a combined Transvaal XI.

He was back in Australia after a modestly successful Sheffield Shield season, totaling 376 runs at 31.33 with three half-centuries. New South Wales went on to win another trophy. The selectors selected him to lead an Australian Second XI to New Zealand, despite the fact that the first choice team toured the Indian subcontinent, hoping that his skills would ensure a long-term future in the Australian team. The four matches against New Zealand were close. When time ran out, Australia were 7/201 in the first match in the hopes of winning 22 for victory. Craig made 70 in the second fixture as the tourists fell to 8/211 in the search of 262 for victory, ending in a draw. Australia won the third match by eight wickets after barely escaping defeat in the first two matches. When time ran out, Australia reduced New Zealand to 8/149 in the final match, securing a 1–0 series victory. In the games against New Zealand, Craig struggled with the bat, scoring 222 runs at 27.75.

Craig had a good Sheffield Shield season from 1960 to 1961. He had been a production manager at his pharmaceutical company at the time and had predicted that the season would be his last due to work commitments. His employers had been urging him to change to a career after cricket. Craig scored centuries against Queensland and Victoria early in the campaign. New South Wales defeated the touring West Indians by an innings and 97 runs, but he was not eligible for Test selection. In an innings victory over Western Australia, he ended his season with 197. Overall, he hit 710 runs at 59.16 as New South Wales claimed their eighth successive Shield title. After a fruitful campaign, Bill Lawry reversed his decision and made himself available for the 1961 tour of England, but Bill Lawry was selected ahead of him.

Craig's last season at first-class average was 1961-1962; he hit 629 runs at 37.00, seven fifties, but he was unable to convert any of these into a century. Craig scored 80 and 65 not out in a single match against Victoria, his arch-rivals, to help his team win by ten wickets. New South Wales defeated six straight matches to win another trophy, but Craig came under increasing pressure for his position in the state team; with no internationals available at the time, putting his place under fire. Between 1961–62, New South Wales had a streak of nine consecutive Shield titles, and the batting line-up was particularly strong. The 1950s–60s teams were considered one of Australia's best in history. Craig was captain in 48 first-class games, winning 27, tied one, and losing only two. Despite Craig's legacy as the youngest captain in Test history has been surpassed, he remains the youngest Australian to have scored a first-class double century, play a Test match, then captain the national team.

Craig ended his first-class career with a tour of New Zealand with an International XI. In his last match, against the Cricket Club of India President's XI, he played in three games and ended with 240 runs at 48.00; his 15th century at first-class level.

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