Peter Downton Croft
Encyclopedia
Peter Downton Croft is a former England
and Great Britain
field hockey
player, a member of the British
squad at the 1960 Summer Olympics
, and also a former first-class
cricket
er, usually known as Peter Croft.
From 1953 to 1955 he served as a second lieutenant in the Royal Regiment of Artillery.
, Holt
, where he attended the junior and senior schools between 1945 and 1952, and then at the University of Cambridge
, Croft excelled in two sports, hockey and cricket, representing his school and university at both.
At hockey, after gaining his Blue at Cambridge, Croft played for Surrey
and later for the England national field hockey team
. He represented Great Britain at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome
.
Croft's first-class cricket
career representing Cambridge University ran from 1955 to 1957 and gained him another Blue. He was a right-hand batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler, with a batting average of 14.88.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
player, a member of the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
squad at the 1960 Summer Olympics
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
, and also a former 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...
cricket
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, usually known as Peter Croft.
From 1953 to 1955 he served as a second lieutenant in the Royal Regiment of Artillery.
Sporting life
Educated at Gresham's SchoolGresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, where he attended the junior and senior schools between 1945 and 1952, and then at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, Croft excelled in two sports, hockey and cricket, representing his school and university at both.
At hockey, after gaining his Blue at Cambridge, Croft played for Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and later for the England national field hockey team
England national field hockey team
The England national field hockey team represents England in international field hockey. The team finished in fifth-place in the 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany....
. He represented Great Britain at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Croft's first-class cricket
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...
career representing Cambridge University ran from 1955 to 1957 and gained him another Blue. He was a right-hand batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler, with a batting average of 14.88.