Craig Kieswetter

Craig Kieswetter

Personal information
Full name	Craig Kieswetter
Born	(1987-11-28) 28 November 1987 (age 36) Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa
Nickname	Hobnob[1]
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Opening batter; wicket-keeper
International information
National side	England
ODI debut (cap 214)	28 February 2010 v Bangladesh
Last ODI	19 January 2013 v India
T20I debut (cap 49)	5 May 2010 v West Indies
Last T20I	29 September 2012 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2007–2015	Somerset (squad no. 22)
2013/14	Brisbane Heat (squad no. 22)
2014	Warriors
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA Matches 46 25 115 134 Runs scored 1,054 526 5,728 4,254 Batting average 30.11 21.91 39.23 39.38 100s/50s 1/5 0/3 11/31 11/17 Top score 107 63 164 143 Balls bowled – – 54 12 Wickets – – 2 1 Bowling average – – 14.50 19.00 5 wickets in innings – – 0 0 10 wickets in match – – 0 0 Best bowling – – 2/3 1/19 Catches/stumpings 53/12 17/3 331/12 136/26
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 26 September 2014

Craig Kieswetter (born 28 November 1987) is an English professional golfer and former cricketer who appeared in 71 matches for the England cricket team between 2010 and 2013. Born and raised in South Africa, Kieswetter moved to England to complete his education, and began playing county cricket for Somerset in 2007. Three years later, he made his international debut in a One Day International (ODI) against Bangladesh. A wicket-keeper batsman, he was considered a one-day specialist, and all his international appearances came in ODIs or Twenty20 Internationals.

Kieswetter played junior cricket for Western Province until the age of 18, but lack of opportunity led him to seek an alternative route in England. He studied at Millfield, where he was noticed by Somerset. The county's lack of a strong wicket-keeper gave Kieswetter his opportunity, and he made his debut for the team early in the 2007 season. Through his Scottish mother, he qualified to play county cricket, and his performances soon generated discussion about his potential to play for England. Around this time, the captain of South Africa, Graeme Smith, invited him to return to play in South Africa but Kieswetter preferred to qualify for England.

In early 2010, Kieswetter achieved his target; some strong performances for the England Lions, especially in a match against the senior England team, won him a place in the squad to face Bangladesh. His selection, along with the presence of other South African-born players in the England team, was criticised; some commentators suggested there should be fewer foreign-born players in the team. Kieswetter scored his only international century in his third match, and a couple of months later he was the man of the match in the final when England won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. After a promising start for England, he was dropped owing to his inconsistency before the end of 2010. He returned to the team the following year, but his place was insecure, and in 2013 he was replaced by Jos Buttler, his teammate at Somerset.

Kieswetter's career was cut short by an injury sustained while batting for Somerset in July 2014: a ball penetrated the gap between his helmet's grille and visor and struck him in the face, damaging his vision. There was some hope of a full recovery and he was named in a provisional England squad for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, but he continued to experience difficulties with his vision and he announced his retirement from professional cricket in June 2015, aged 27. In 2017, he became a professional golfer.