Gareth Cross
Encyclopedia
Gareth David Cross is an English cricket
er. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler and wicket-keeper who currently plays for Lancashire County Cricket Club
. He started his cricket at Roe Green Cricket Club in Worsley
, Salford
. Cross made his first-class
debut in 2005. Lancashire stalwart Warren Hegg
retired at the end of the season, and the signing of Luke Sutton
in the off-season limited Cross' first-team opportunities. Despite the competition he established himself as a regular in the one-day side, although struggled to break into the County Championship team. In 2009 Cross captained the Second XI, leading them to the semi-final of the Second XI Trophy. Sutton left in late 2010, leaving Cross as Lancashire's first-choice 'keeper.
. He continued to play List A cricket for three years prior to his first-class debut.
Having graduated from Lancashire's Academy, 2005 was Cross' first year with the senior squad. Lancashire's veteran wicket-keeper Hegg was impressed by Cross, and said "He has a really good work ethic, and he listens when you talk about the game. He's the one in line to take over from me." Cross made hist first-class debut on 25 May 2005, along with Steven Croft and Tom Smith in a match against Oxford University
. He batted just once in the match, scoring two runs, although he dismissed five batsmen, one by stumping and four caught. His second opportunity to play first-class cricket came in the last match of the season; with Lancashire's stalwart Warren Hegg
injured, Cross was given the responsibility of taking over as wicket-keeper. Playing in the County Championship
for the first time, according to The Wisden Cricketer
Cross "showed enough pure technique to deserve his chance to develop". Although Hegg retired at the end of the season, Lancashire quickly signed experienced wicket-keeper Luke Sutton
from Derbyshire
, hampering Cross' chances to regularly play first-team cricket. In the 2005/06 Australian cricket season, Cross travelled to the southern hemisphere to play for St Kilda Cricket Club
in the Victorian Premier Cricket
. He spent most of the season playing for the club's second team.
Having won the second division title in 2005, for the 2006 season Lancashire were playing in the first division of the County Championship. A successful first season for Sutton in which he broke the record for highest score by a Lancashire 'keeper and had a batting average of 61 meant that Cross spent most of 2006 playing for the Second XI. However, he was given a chance in the first team when Luke Sutton broke his thumb in July. Cross played three Championship matches before Sutton returned, managing half-centuries against Kent and Sussex
. This was the season that Cross made his Twenty20
(T20) debut; he played eight matches for Lancashire, scoring 61 runs at an average of 8.71 with a highest score of 36. Lancashire were runners-up in the Championship and C&G Trophy
, although went out in the first round of the T20 Cup.
Spanning the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Cross's first-class experience was limited to two matches, one at the start of each season against Durham University
. However, Cross regularly featured in Lancashire's one-day side. Sutton did not play a single T20 match in the 2007 season, so Cross kept wicket in his place. During the same season, he also opened the batting a few times in the 40-over competition as a specialist batsman. In six T20 matches, Cross scored 113 runs at an average of 22.60 with a highest score of 62, his first half-century in T20 cricket; he also dismissed seven people, four caught and three stumped. An attacking batsman, Cross showcased his batting ability in an innings of 76 off 69 balls against Warwickshire
in a Pro40 match to help Lancashire to victory. It was Cross' maiden half-century for Lancashire in list A cricket, beating his previous highest score of 36. Lancashire-batsman Mal Loye
identified Cross as a talented cricketer with the potential to play for England, remarking that "His natural ability is just unbelievable".
Relative to 2007, Cross had less impact in 2008. Although he played more list A cricket, he scored fewer runs than in the previous year. He played eleven T20 matches, scoring 97 runs at an average of 24.25 and affecting eleven dismissals, seven caught and four stumped. In September, towards the end of the 2008 season, Cross was one of ten players from Lancashire's Development Programme to extend or sign contracts with the club. The group was expected to form the basis of the senior squad in the future.
Cross played for the St Kilda Saints in Australia as a batsman in the 2008/09 season. He won the prestigious Jack Ryder Medal, presented to the Player of the Year in the Victorian Premier League
. During his stint with the club, Cross scored 541 runs at an average of 41, with a highest score of 111. Although primarily a batsman, Cross occasionally bowled, taking six wickets with best figures of 4/41. He was surprised to receive the award, and said that "This was my fourth spell with St Kilda and each time I've thoroughly enjoyed my cricket. I set myself a challenge this winter of focusing on my batting, improving my technique and doing my best for the club. Everything seemed to click and I was very happy with my own performance and that of the team. My focus now is to continue to do well during Lancashire’s pre-season fixtures, and push for first team selection." Despite his promising winter, Cross was less successful in the 2009 season than desired. He didn't play any first-class cricket and didn't score as many runs in the one-day competitions as hoped. However, despite not experiencing much success in the first team, Cross captained Lancashire's second XI and was a regular in their top order
. Under his leadership, the team progressed to the final of the Second XI Championship
and the semi-final of the Second XI Trophy.
Two years after he last played a first-class match, Cross returned to the County Championship team in July 2010. With Luke Sutton acting as wicket-keeper and batting at seven, Cross played as a specialist batsman. Playing against Hampshire
, he batted at six; he scored his maiden century, beating his previous best score of 70, to help Lancashire draw. Cross was reprimanded in August for showing dissent in a second XI match. Sutton left the club towards the end of the season, and Cross was expected to take the position of Lancashire's first-choice wicketkeeper.
in June Cross reached the landmark of 1,000 first-class runs in his career.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler and wicket-keeper who currently plays for Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
. He started his cricket at Roe Green Cricket Club in Worsley
Worsley
Worsley is a town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies along the course of Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. The M60 motorway bisects the area....
, Salford
City of Salford
The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
. Cross made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut in 2005. Lancashire stalwart Warren Hegg
Warren Hegg
Warren Kevin Hegg is an English cricketer. He played County Cricket for Lancashire. Although primarily a wicket-keeper, Hegg was also a handy lower-order batsman, and made several first-class hundreds...
retired at the end of the season, and the signing of Luke Sutton
Luke Sutton
Luke David Sutton is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He won the NBC Denis Compton Award in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and has also played List A and Twenty20 cricket....
in the off-season limited Cross' first-team opportunities. Despite the competition he established himself as a regular in the one-day side, although struggled to break into the County Championship team. In 2009 Cross captained the Second XI, leading them to the semi-final of the Second XI Trophy. Sutton left in late 2010, leaving Cross as Lancashire's first-choice 'keeper.
One-day regular
Cross made his debut for the Second XI a week and a half before his 18th birthday, in a game against DurhamDurham County Cricket Club
Durham County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Durham. Its limited overs team is called the Durham Dynamos. Their kit colours are blue with yellow trim and the shirt sponsor was...
. He continued to play List A cricket for three years prior to his first-class debut.
Having graduated from Lancashire's Academy, 2005 was Cross' first year with the senior squad. Lancashire's veteran wicket-keeper Hegg was impressed by Cross, and said "He has a really good work ethic, and he listens when you talk about the game. He's the one in line to take over from me." Cross made hist first-class debut on 25 May 2005, along with Steven Croft and Tom Smith in a match against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
. He batted just once in the match, scoring two runs, although he dismissed five batsmen, one by stumping and four caught. His second opportunity to play first-class cricket came in the last match of the season; with Lancashire's stalwart Warren Hegg
Warren Hegg
Warren Kevin Hegg is an English cricketer. He played County Cricket for Lancashire. Although primarily a wicket-keeper, Hegg was also a handy lower-order batsman, and made several first-class hundreds...
injured, Cross was given the responsibility of taking over as wicket-keeper. Playing in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
for the first time, according to The Wisden Cricketer
The Wisden Cricketer
The Wisden Cricketer is the world's best-selling monthly cricket magazine.It was created in 2003 by a merger between The Cricketer magazine and Wisden Cricket Monthly....
Cross "showed enough pure technique to deserve his chance to develop". Although Hegg retired at the end of the season, Lancashire quickly signed experienced wicket-keeper Luke Sutton
Luke Sutton
Luke David Sutton is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He won the NBC Denis Compton Award in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and has also played List A and Twenty20 cricket....
from Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
, hampering Cross' chances to regularly play first-team cricket. In the 2005/06 Australian cricket season, Cross travelled to the southern hemisphere to play for St Kilda Cricket Club
St Kilda Cricket Club
St Kilda Cricket Club is a cricket club in the elite club competition of Melbourne, Australia, known as Victorian Premier Cricket.Its home ground is the St Kilda Cricket Ground, often called the Junction Oval.-History:...
in the Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket
Victorian Premier Cricket is the elite club cricket competition in the state of Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams of adult players and usually play on weekends and public holidays. Matches are played on turf wickets under limited-time rules, with most results...
. He spent most of the season playing for the club's second team.
Having won the second division title in 2005, for the 2006 season Lancashire were playing in the first division of the County Championship. A successful first season for Sutton in which he broke the record for highest score by a Lancashire 'keeper and had a batting average of 61 meant that Cross spent most of 2006 playing for the Second XI. However, he was given a chance in the first team when Luke Sutton broke his thumb in July. Cross played three Championship matches before Sutton returned, managing half-centuries against Kent and Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
. This was the season that Cross made his Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
(T20) debut; he played eight matches for Lancashire, scoring 61 runs at an average of 8.71 with a highest score of 36. Lancashire were runners-up in the Championship and C&G Trophy
C&G 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 compete each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland...
, although went out in the first round of the T20 Cup.
Spanning the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Cross's first-class experience was limited to two matches, one at the start of each season against Durham University
Durham University Centre of Cricketing Excellence
Durham MCC University is a cricket coaching centre based at Durham University in Durham, County Durham, England and the name under which the university's cricket team plays....
. However, Cross regularly featured in Lancashire's one-day side. Sutton did not play a single T20 match in the 2007 season, so Cross kept wicket in his place. During the same season, he also opened the batting a few times in the 40-over competition as a specialist batsman. In six T20 matches, Cross scored 113 runs at an average of 22.60 with a highest score of 62, his first half-century in T20 cricket; he also dismissed seven people, four caught and three stumped. An attacking batsman, Cross showcased his batting ability in an innings of 76 off 69 balls against Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
in a Pro40 match to help Lancashire to victory. It was Cross' maiden half-century for Lancashire in list A cricket, beating his previous highest score of 36. Lancashire-batsman Mal Loye
Mal Loye
Malachy Bernard Loye , most commonly known as Mal Loye, is an English cricketer who has played first class cricket for Northamptonshire, Lancashire, and England A. Loye is a right-handed batsman, particularly well known for his slog sweep shot against fast bowlers...
identified Cross as a talented cricketer with the potential to play for England, remarking that "His natural ability is just unbelievable".
Relative to 2007, Cross had less impact in 2008. Although he played more list A cricket, he scored fewer runs than in the previous year. He played eleven T20 matches, scoring 97 runs at an average of 24.25 and affecting eleven dismissals, seven caught and four stumped. In September, towards the end of the 2008 season, Cross was one of ten players from Lancashire's Development Programme to extend or sign contracts with the club. The group was expected to form the basis of the senior squad in the future.
Cross played for the St Kilda Saints in Australia as a batsman in the 2008/09 season. He won the prestigious Jack Ryder Medal, presented to the Player of the Year in the Victorian Premier League
Victorian Premier League
The Victorian Premier League is the highest State level association football competition in Victoria, Australia, and second highest nationally after the A-League...
. During his stint with the club, Cross scored 541 runs at an average of 41, with a highest score of 111. Although primarily a batsman, Cross occasionally bowled, taking six wickets with best figures of 4/41. He was surprised to receive the award, and said that "This was my fourth spell with St Kilda and each time I've thoroughly enjoyed my cricket. I set myself a challenge this winter of focusing on my batting, improving my technique and doing my best for the club. Everything seemed to click and I was very happy with my own performance and that of the team. My focus now is to continue to do well during Lancashire’s pre-season fixtures, and push for first team selection." Despite his promising winter, Cross was less successful in the 2009 season than desired. He didn't play any first-class cricket and didn't score as many runs in the one-day competitions as hoped. However, despite not experiencing much success in the first team, Cross captained Lancashire's second XI and was a regular in their top order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
. Under his leadership, the team progressed to the final of the Second XI Championship
Second XI Championship
The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status...
and the semi-final of the Second XI Trophy.
Two years after he last played a first-class match, Cross returned to the County Championship team in July 2010. With Luke Sutton acting as wicket-keeper and batting at seven, Cross played as a specialist batsman. Playing against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
, he batted at six; he scored his maiden century, beating his previous best score of 70, to help Lancashire draw. Cross was reprimanded in August for showing dissent in a second XI match. Sutton left the club towards the end of the season, and Cross was expected to take the position of Lancashire's first-choice wicketkeeper.
First full season
At the start of 2011, Cross was the only wicket-keeper with a first-team contract at Lancashire. The club had a small squad, just 19 players at the start of the season and choosing to place their trust in young local players, which led some pundits to declare that Lancashire would be ighting to avoid relegation form the County Championship. Speaking in March of his aims for the coming season, Cross stated that "I got below 700 runs from No.7, I’d be really disappointed". During a match against Sussex in April 2011, Cross beat his highest score in first-class cricket. His innings of 125 came from 195 balls. During a match against NottinghamshireNottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
in June Cross reached the landmark of 1,000 first-class runs in his career.
External links
- Gareth Cross at Cricket Archive