Claude William Henderson (born 14 June 1972) is a South African former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who bowled left-arm spin and played in seven Test matches and four

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s in 2001 to 2002.

Domestic cricket

Henderson played domestically for Boland and Western Province before joining

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in 2004, Henderson became the first Kolpak registered player in the County Championship, which allows certain players without a British passport, to play in England without counting as an overseas player under the restrictions on overseas players. In June 2006, against

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, Henderson recorded an innings analysis of three wickets for 235 runs from 54 overs and 2 ball, the most expensive innings figures in the history of the County Championship. Henderson was in fine form for the Lions cricket team in the 2006–07

SuperSport Series The CSA 4-Day Domestic Series is the domestic first class cricket competition of South Africa. The tournament is contested by teams from all nine provinces of South Africa. First contested as the Currie Cup from 1889–90, the tournament has u ...

. He was the 5th leading wicket taker in the competition with 34 wickets at an average of 24 He has had a disappointing 2007 season with Leicestershire though. In 2008, he joined

Cape Cobras The Cape Cobras are a former franchise cricket team representing the Western Province, Boland, and South Western Districts regions in what was the South African domestic franchise era. The team's home venues were based between Newlands ...

and after consistent performances, he gained a place in the Cobras squad for the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 competition in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 2009. 2011 marked Henderson's testimonial year at Leicestershire. Despite this, he was also Leicester's leading wicket taker in the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

and was a significant contributor in the Foxes 2011 Friends Life t20 cup win, where his 4 over spell in the final against

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

conceded just 11 runs. He was rewarded with a new contract at the end of the season. Henderson announced that he would be retiring from first class cricket at the end of the 2013 season at the age of 41. He plans to return to South Africa, where he will become a television pundit and coach. His last game turned out to be the County Championship match at the end of April 2013 against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, where his final victim was Benny Howell.

International cricket

Henderson had to wait until 2001 to make his international debut after

Nicky Boje Nico Boje ( ; born 20 March 1973) is a South African former cricketer who played in 43 Tests, 115 One Day Internationals and single Twenty20 International for South Africa. Boje was a member of the South Africa team that won the 1998 ICC KnockO ...

needed surgery. He was selected to make his test debut against neighbours

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

. Following the retirement of Boje from the South African test side, Henderson was approached to replace him for the home series against

. Henderson rejected the approach because of his contract with Leicestershire, only willing to play for South Africa if he was given a contract with the South African cricket board.

Coaching career

On 5 October 2021, Henderson was announced as director of cricket at

County Cricket Club.

Career-best performances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Claude 1972 births South Africa Test cricketers South Africa One Day International cricketers South African cricketers Boland cricketers Cape Cobras cricketers Leicestershire cricketers Lions cricketers 21st-century South African sportsmen Western Province cricketers Living people Worcestershire Cricket Board cricketers Sportspeople from Worcester, South Africa South African cricket coaches Cricketers from the Western Cape South African expatriate cricketers in England