Ian David Craig was an Australian cricketer who represented the Australian national team in 11 Tests between 1953 and 1958.
56 Facts About Ian Craig
2.
Ian Craig's arrival precipitated media comparisons to the arrival and success of Bradman in 1930, but he performed poorly and was not selected for any of the Tests.
3.
Ian Craig regained a Test position for the final two Tests of the series.
4.
Ian Craig retired from first-class cricket at the age of just 26: work commitments as a pharmacist increasingly restricted his ability to train.
5.
In later life, Craig was the managing director of the Australian subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical firm Boots.
6.
Ian Craig had a continued involvement with cricket as an administrator, working with the New South Wales Cricket Association, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and the Bradman Museum.
7.
Ian Craig was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1997 for his service to cricket.
8.
Ian Craig was the first son of John Craig and his wife Katherine.
9.
Ian Craig studied at North Sydney Boys High School, and showed an aptitude for ball games from an early age.
10.
Ian Craig captained his school's rugby union team and was a member of the state's schoolboy team, but was only vice captain of the First XI cricket team behind Peter Philpott, another future Test player.
11.
Ian Craig joined Mosman Cricket Club on Sydney's North Shore and scored a first-grade century at the age of 16.
12.
Ian Craig was not coached heavily; the philosophy of the day was to supervise young players and to only intervene if mistakes were being made.
13.
Ian Craig struck 91 against South Australia in his only first-class innings of the season, before falling leg before wicket.
14.
Ian Craig remained in the team for the following season; in the first eight games he scored 350 runs at an average of 35.00, with three fifties.
15.
Ian Craig brought up his double century by sweeping Hugh Tayfield for a boundary.
16.
Bradman had not played first-class cricket at the age of 17 and was 20 when he made his Test debut, so Ian Craig's quicker rise up the ranks caused much excitement.
17.
Ian Craig was named twelfth man for the Fourth Test, before making his debut in the Fifth Test after Miller and Ray Lindwall were rested due to mild injuries.
18.
Australia batted first and Ian Craig received a standing ovation from the 47,000-strong crowd as he walked out to bat amid high expectations from the public.
19.
Ian Craig cover drove his third ball, bowled by Percy Mansell, for four and quickly moved to 20.
20.
Ian Craig hit a ball into the covers and was caught, ending the 148-run partnership with Harvey and silencing the crowd.
21.
Ian Craig was again the centre of media speculation, with some media likening his arrival to Bradman's first tour of England in 1930.
22.
Ian Craig began poorly; in ten innings before the Tests started, he scored only 146 runs at 14.60 without passing fifty.
23.
Ian Craig had difficulty adjusting to the English pitch conditions and his confidence plummeted.
24.
Ian Craig had particular trouble against off cutters on the seaming pitches.
25.
Ian Craig scored 93 in an eight-wicket victory over South Australia, and 106 for Arthur Morris's XI in a testimonial match against Lindsay Hassett's XI, his first century against Australian opposition.
26.
Ian Craig battled for over four hours in compiling 38 before being dismissed by Laker.
27.
Ian Craig made a duck and 18 on a matting wicket in Australia's one-off Test against Pakistan in Karachi before playing in the First Test against India, scoring 40 in an innings win in Madras.
28.
Ian Craig made 24 and put on 70 with Benaud to take his team towards victory, but the match eventually ended in a tie.
29.
The men were cordial at the toss and Craig sent the Victorians in to bat.
30.
An angry Harvey struck 209 in five hours, but Ian Craig scored 45 and 93 to help secure a draw and therefore win the Sheffield Shield.
31.
Ian Craig, regarded as a personable, level-headed and well-educated man, was seen as an investment in the future.
32.
Ian Craig ended with 224 runs at 56.00 in the three international matches and 308 runs at 38.50 overall.
33.
Ian Craig's workload grew after the team manager Jack Jantke suffered a heart attack before the tour, leaving the captain to handle off-field matters until a replacement for Jantke was found two weeks later.
34.
Ian Craig made a good start to the tour in two warm-up matches against Rhodesia, scoring a century in each match.
35.
Ian Craig led his men in five first-class matches before the Tests and Australia won all by convincing margins; three ended in innings victories and the others were won by nine and ten wickets.
36.
Ian Craig made only 14 and 17 as his team held on for a draw.
37.
Ian Craig returned to cricket at the beginning of the season, but was underprepared, scoring two ducks in his only two innings of the season, the second coming against the touring England team.
38.
Ian Craig declared that he was not ready for a return to Test cricket and relinquished the captaincy, which the selectors handed to Benaud.
39.
The illness-enforced layoff left Ian Craig facing an uphill battle to regain his place in the national team.
40.
Ian Craig struggled with the bat, making 222 runs at 27.75 in the games against New Zealand.
41.
Ian Craig's employers had been pressuring him to commit to a career after cricket.
42.
Early in the campaign, Ian Craig scored consecutive centuries against Queensland and Victoria.
43.
Ian Craig then scored 83 as New South Wales defeated the touring West Indians by an innings and 97 runs, but he was overlooked for Test selection.
44.
Ian Craig ended his season with 197 in an innings victory over Western Australia.
45.
In one match against arch-rivals Victoria, Ian Craig scored 80 and 65 not out to help his team to a ten-wicket triumph.
46.
New South Wales won six consecutive matches to seal another title, but Ian Craig found himself under increasing pressure for his place in the state team; with no internationals that season, all the Test players were available, which put his position under threat.
47.
In total, Ian Craig acted as captain in 48 first-class matches, winning 27, tying one and losing only two.
48.
Ian Craig signed off on his first-class career at the end of the season with a tour of New Zealand with an International XI.
49.
Ian Craig played in three matches and ended with 240 runs at 48.00; in his final match, against the Cricket Club of India President's XI, he made 101, his 15th century at first-class level.
50.
Ian Craig was known for his leg side batting repertoire, in particular his ability to clip the ball from his pads.
51.
Ian Craig had an unorthodox grip, low on the bat handle with the back of the top hand pointing to point.
52.
Benaud felt that Ian Craig was finally reaping the rewards of his early experience.
53.
Ian Craig was known for being softly spoken, with his players often having to ask him to repeat his instructions.
54.
Ian Craig later served on the board of directors of the Bradman Museum in Bowral and later became its chairman.
55.
Ian Craig was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1997 for his contributions to cricket as a player and administrator.
56.
Ian Craig died in Bowral from cancer on 16 November 2014.