Ian David Craig OAM was an Australian cricketer who represented the Australian national team in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958. Craig made his first-class debut for New South Wales in the last match of the 1951–52 Australian season, aged only 16. At 16, he became the youngest ever Sheffield Shield player, making him the youngest player to score a double century during the 1951-52 season. At 17, he made his Test debut against South Africa, and was the youngest to represent Australia in a Test, aged 17 years and 239 days. At 22, he is the youngest captain in Test history, and led a team that critics dismissed as having no chance to a convincing 3–0 victory. He died of hepatitis before
About Ian Craig in brief
Ian David Craig OAM was an Australian cricketer who represented the Australian national team in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958. A teenage prodigy, Craig made his first-class debut for New South Wales in the last match of the 1951–52 Australian season, aged only 16. The following summer, Craig earned comparisons to Don Bradman, generally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time. In 1957, he was appointed Australian captain, leading a young team as part of a regeneration plan following the decline of the national team. A loss of form and illness forced him out of the team after one season. Craig made a comeback, but work commitments forced him to retire from first- class cricket at only 26 years of age. In later life, Craig was the managing director of the Australian subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical firm Boots. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1997 for his service to cricket. Craig was also a member of Australia’s schoolboy baseball team for three years, first playing at 13 years of age, and captained his school’s rugby union team. At the time of his death, cricket was only his third priority; his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests he was initially a better rugby player. He joined Mosman Cricket Club on Sydney’s North Shore and scored a first-grade century at the age of 16. He struck 91 against South Australia in his only Sheffield Shield match before falling wicket before falling leg before wicket in the leg of the wicket against Mosman.
At 16, he became the youngest ever Sheffield Shield player, making him the youngest player to score a double century during the 1951-52 season. At 17, he made his Test debut against South Africa, and was the youngest to represent Australia in a Test, aged 17 years and 239 days. At 22, he is the youngest captain in Test history, and led a team that critics dismissed as having no chance to a convincing 3–0 victory. He died of hepatitis before the start of the 1958–59 season and withdrew from cricket at just 26 years old. He had a continued involvement with cricket as an administrator, working with the New South Welsh Cricket Association, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and the Bradman Museum. He also played for the Australian cricket team in the First XI at a number of international tournaments. Craig’s death was announced in a statement released by the Australian Cricket Association on Monday, November 14, 2013. He is buried at the North Shore Cricket Club in North Shore, Sydney, where he was a first team player. His funeral was held on Tuesday, November 15, 2013, at 2pm (GMT) at the same time as the funeral of his father, John Craig, who died in a car crash in Sydney in 1972. He has a son, Peter, who also played cricket in the 1950s and 1960s, and a step-son, David Craig, also a first class cricketers.
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