Tony Greig was one of England’s finest all-rounders, who captained his country in 14 Tests.
Standing at 6’6”, Greig was a towering presence during a six-year international career, which spawned eight Test centuries and 141 wickets at an impressive rate.
Greig was appointed as captain of the national side in 1975 – when he was also named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year – and became one of the most imposing and influential leaders in the history of English cricket.
The South Africa born Sussex cricketer did, however, court controversy during his career, and his achievements in the game are often overshadowed.
In 1976 he infamously stated his intention to make the touring West Indies side “grovel”, and was ultimately stripped of the England captaincy in 1977 as a consequence of his involvement with Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket initiative.
Greig played his last professional match in 1978 and currently works as a commentator for Australian television network, Channel Nine, and was awarded Honorary Life Membership of MCC in 1998.
Greig’s career in stats
Batting
Right-hand, middle order
Matches Runs High Ave 100s 50s
Tests
58
3,599
148
40.43
8
20
ODIs
22
269
48
16.81
0
0
First-class
350
16,660
226
31.19
26
96
List A
190
3,899
129
24.67
3
21
Bowling
Right-arm medium-fast/off-spin
Matches Wickets Average Best 5 Wkts
Tests
58
141
32.20
8/86
6
ODIs
22
19
32.57
4/45
0
First-class
350
856
28.85
8/25
33
List A
190
244
23.15
6/28
3
England legend
How does Greig compare to other great England Test all-rounders, Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff?
Matches Runs Bat av. Wickets Bow av.
Greig
58
3,599
40.43
141
32.20
Botham
102
5,200
33.54
383
28.40
Flintoff
78
3,795
31.89
219
33.34
