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

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 played for

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 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 cons ...

, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm

fast medium 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 ...

pace. In September 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Cricket career

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

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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 a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and was offered a contract. He made his

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 ...

debut in September 2003 versus

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, 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 Brixworth is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 5,162, increasing to 5,228 at the 2011 census. The village's All Saints' Church is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Location T ...

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

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 Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In ...

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 Graeme Peter Swann (born 24 March 1979) is an English former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. Born in Northampton, he attended Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire. He was primarily a right-arm off-spinner, and also ...

, 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 Australian expatriate cricketers in England Middlesex cricketers Cricketers from Adelaide 21st-century Australian sportsmen