Greg Watson

Infobox Recent cricketer


nationality = Australian
country = Australia
country abbrev = Aus
name = Greg Watson
picture = Cricket_no_pic.pngbatting style = Left-handed batsman
bowling style = Right arm fast-medium
FCs = 45
FC runs = 552
FC bat avg = 12.83
FC 100s/50s = 0/0
FC top score = 38
FC balls = 7,762
FC wickets = 102
FC bowl avg = 37.56
FC 5s = 1
FC 10s = 0
FC best bowling = 6-45
FC catches/stumpings = 12/0
List As = 8
List A runs = 19
List A bat avg = 4.75
List A 100s/50s = 0/0
List A top score = 7
List A balls = 465
List A wickets = 21
List A bowl avg = 11.38
List A 5s = 1
List A 10s = N/A
List A best bowling = 5-22
List A catches/stumpings = 0/0
debut date = 11 November
debut year = 1977
last date = 26 February
last year = 1980
source = http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8177.html Cricinfo

Gregory George Watson (born 29 January, 1955) is a former Australian cricketer, born in Mudgee, New South Wales. [Cricinfo gives Mudgee as Watson's place of birth. CricketArchive, however, gives it as Gulgong, about 26km from Mudgee.]

Watson made his first-class debut for New South Wales at the Adelaide Oval against South Australia in the 1977-78 Sheffield Shield. He took four wickets, his maiden victim being opposing captain Ashley Woodcock, but did not bat in either innings. He played a further six games in the Shield, capturing another 13 wickets, and made a single List A appearance in the Gillette Cup, taking 1-25 from 8 eight-ball overs.

In 1978 Watson came to England to play county cricket for Worcestershire. He had a reasonably successful season, taking 48 first-class wickets at just under 32 in 21 games, including a career-best 6-45 against Sussex in early August. He also made his highest score with the bat: 38 against Somerset. In one-day cricket he had great success, claiming 19 wickets at a mere 9.52 apiece, including 5-22 (again a career best) against Combined Universities in the Benson & Hedges Cup, a performance which won him the man-of-the-match award.

The defection of many of the senior Australian players to join World Series Cricket in 1977 led to speculation that Watson would be a contender for the Australian team in the 1978/79 Ashes series against England. [McGilray, A. (1978) "Alan McGilvray's Australian selections", "England Tour of Australia 1978-79", ABC Cricket Book, Sydney.] However, Watson had a poor season in 1978/79, taking only 13 first-class wickets for New South Wales at average just under 50. He returned for another season with Worcestershire in 1979, but played only nine times in first-class cricket (taking 22 wickets at 37.50) and not at all in the one-day format; from mid-July onwards he had to satisfy himself with a diet consisting entirely of Second XI games.

Watson was to play only one more match: a single outing in the 1979-80 Sheffield Shield for Western Australia against Queensland at Perth. The game was drawn, but Watson himself had a rather poor match: he conceded 135 runs from 30 six-ball overs and had only the second-innings wickets of Ray Phillips and Alec Parker to show for it. Watson never played again.

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External links

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* [http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/6/6167/6167.html Statistical summary] from CricketArchive