Simon John Renshaw (born 6 March 1974) is an English 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. He played cricket at first-class and List A level as a bowler predominantly for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. He also played at minor counties level for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, and toward the latter part of his minor counties career, he was considered 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 cons ...

Early cricket career

Renshaw was born in March 1974 in Bebington, Cheshire. Renshaw began playing

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

for Oxton, and later attended the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, where he came to the attention of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He made his debut in

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

against

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in the 1994

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...

, with Renshaw making eight appearances for Cheshire that season in the Minor Counties Championship, alongside making his debut in List A one-day cricket against

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

at Bowdon in the first round of the

1994 NatWest Trophy The 1994 NatWest Trophy was the 14th NatWest Trophy. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 21 June and 3 September 1994. The tournament was won by Worcestershire County Cricket Club who defeated Warwicks ...

. Whilst attending the University of Leeds, Renshaw was selected to represent the

Combined Universities cricket team The British Universities cricket team was a cricket team whose players were drawn from university students studying in Great Britain. The team played under the title of Combined Universities until 1995. The team played List A cricket from 1975 t ...

in 1995, making his debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the team against the touring

West Indians A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West Ind ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, with

Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely renowned as one of the greatest Batting (cricket), batsmen of all time. He holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest in ...

scoring five fours from one of Renshaw's overs. He also made five appearances for the Combined Universities in the

Benson & Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Engla ...

Career at Hampshire

Renshaw was signed by

ahead of the 1996 season, making his Hampshire debut in a first-class match against

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Fenner's Fenner's is Cambridge University Cricket Club's ground. History Cambridge University Cricket Club had previously played at two grounds in Cambridge, the University Ground and Parker's Piece. In 1846, Francis Fenner leased a former cherry orc ...

in 1996. In his debut season, he also made six appearances 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 ...

, taking 15 first-class wickets at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 49.53 in his debut season. He also made five one-day appearances for Hampshire in the 1996 Axa Equity & Law League, having played for Cheshire earlier in the season against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

in the first round of the

NatWest Trophy The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom. It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland. Lan ...

. The following season, he made thirteen first-class appearances, taking 37 wickets at an average of 34.54; during the season he took his only career

five wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Taking ...

in first-class cricket, with figures of 5 for 110 against

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. His 25 one-appearances in 1997 yielded him 37 wickets at an average of 25.70, with Renshaw taking his only one-day five wicket haul with 6 for 25 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 ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

; as of , he is one of only nine Hampshire players to have taken six wickets or more in a limited-overs fixture. His performances in 1997 saw him named the

NBC Denis Compton Award The NBC Denis Compton Award was an annual award given to 'The Most Promising Young Player' at each of the 18 first-class counties in England and Wales. The award was made between 1996 and 2011. A player may receive the award more than once. Hist ...

recipient for Hampshire. Peter Hartley's arrival in 1998 saw Renshaw's opportunities that season restricted to just two first-class and three one-day matches. With the retirement of

Cardigan Connor Cardigan Adolphus Connor (born 24 March 1961) is an Anguillan born former English cricketer. Connor was a right-handed Batting (cricket), batsman and a right-arm Seam bowling, fast-medium bowler. Career Connor left his home island of Anguilla ...

following the 1998 season, Renshaw found increased opportunities during the 1999 season. His twelve first-class appearances that season saw him take 30 wickets at an average of 37.50, whilst in one-day cricket he took 13 wickets from thirteen matches. With the signing of fast bowler Alan Mullally from

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 ...

for the 2000 season, Renshaw once again found his first team opportunities limited. That season he was limited to just four first-class and three one-day appearances, however he did

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

the Hampshire Second XI in the first-ever match played on Hampshire's new home, the

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

. He was released by Hampshire at the end of that season, alongside the retiring Hartley and

Lee Savident Lee Savident (born 22 October 1976) is a Guernsey former cricketer who played at first-class level for Hampshire and international cricket for Guernsey. He is the current head coach of the Guernsey cricket team. Cricket Career with Hampshire ...

. For Hampshire he played as a right-arm

medium-fast Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

bowler, taking 91 wickets in 38 matches at an average of 37.24. In 49 one-day matches, he took 62 wickets at an average of 28.02. A tailend batsman, he made one half century for Hampshire, which came in a first-class match.

Return to minor counties cricket

Renshaw returned to play minor counties cricket for Cheshire in 2001, making five appearances in that season's Minor Counties Championship and one appearance in the

MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...

; additionally during his first season back at Cheshire, he made a single List A one-day match against

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Camborne Camborne (from Cornish language, Cornish ''Cambron'', "crooked hill") is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth, C ...

in the second round of the

2001 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy The 2001 Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 1 May and 1 September 2001. It was the first Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy following its change of name from the NatWest T ...

. He played for Cheshire until the end of the 2004 season, and was a regular member of their team in the Minor Counties Championship. He also played two further List A one-day matches, against

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

in the first round of the

2004 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy The 2004 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was an English county cricket tournament, held between 28 August 2003 and 28 August 2004. The competition was won by Gloucestershire Gladiators who beat the Worcestershire Royals by 8 wickets at Lord's. ...

(played in August 2003) and against Hampshire in the second round, which was played in May 2004. In stark contrast to his first-class career, Renshaw's second-spell with Cheshire saw him excel as a batsman, particularly in 2002, when he scored 340 runs from seven

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, at a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of 56.66. Overall for Cheshire he made 28 appearances in the Minor Counties Championship, scoring 1,035 runs at a batting average of 32.34, with one

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

. With the ball, he took 80 wickets at an average of 28.78, claiming five wickets in an innings on four occasions and ten-wickets in a match once. Renshaw left Cheshire following the 2004 season to join

, for whom he played one season for in 2005. There he played three Minor Counties Championship and two MCCA Knockout Trophy matches, alongside playing against Surrey

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

in the first round of the

2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy The 2005 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy was the 4th Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, an English county cricket tournament, held between 3 May and 3 September 2005. The competition was contested by all 18 first-class counties, as well as 10 minor ...

, in what was his final appearance in List A one-day cricket. Renshaw lived in

, where he was a full-time sales manager. There he played club cricket for Kibworth in the Leicestershire Cricket League.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Renshaw, Simon 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Bebington Cricketers from Merseyside Alumni of the University of Leeds English cricketers Cheshire cricketers British Universities cricketers Hampshire cricketers NBC Denis Compton Award recipients Hampshire Cricket Board cricketers Staffordshire cricketers