Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Robert John Bailey
Born October 28, 1963, Biddulph, Staffordshire
Current age 44 years 345 days
Major teams England, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Other Umpire

Batting and fielding averages

Mat

Inns

Runs

Ave

100

Tests

119

14.87

326

36.50

ODIs

137

43*

68.50

196

69.89

First-class

374

628

21844

224*

40.52

111

272

List A

396

376

12076

153*

38.82

111

Bowling averages

Mat

Inns

Balls

Runs

Wkts

BBI

BBM

Ave

Econ

Tests

ODIs

4.16

First-class

374

9713

5144

121

5/54

42.51

3.17

80.2

List A

396

3092

2564

5/45

35.61

4.97

42.9

Career statistics

Test debut

England v West Indies at The Oval, Aug 4-8, 1988 scorecard

Last Test

West Indies v England at St John's, Apr 12-16, 1990 scorecard

Test statistics

ODI debut

England v Pakistan at Sharjah, Mar 26, 1985 scorecard

Last ODI

West Indies v England at Georgetown, Mar 15, 1990 scorecard

ODI statistics

First-class span

1982 - 2001

List A span

1983 - 2003

Rob Bailey was an unlucky cricketer. One of the more talented batsmen of his generation, he acquitted himself well enough on debut in the final Test of 1988 against the fearsome West Indies to secure a place on that winter's tour to India, a trip that was subsequently cancelled for political reasons. He started the summer of 1989 poorly, but his form returned in time for him to win selection for the 1989-90 tour to the Caribbean. Called up for the third Test, he made a pair, and in the next Test received a shocking decision, given out caught behind off Curtly Ambrose when the ball brushed his hip. He made a dogged 42 in the fifth Test in Antigua against a barrage of fast, short bowling but never received another chance in either Tests or ODIs despite several impressive seasons for Northanptonshire in the early 1990s. Bailey was a courageous batsman who enjoyed taking on quick bowlers, and despite a short backlift he hit the ball extremely hard. He was also a useful offspinner, a solid fielder, and a loyal player - in 1989 he turned down the offer of a place on Mike Gatting's rebel tour to South Africa. At the end of 1999 Northamptonshire didn't renew his contract and he moved to Derbyshire where he continued to make a valuable contribution to a county in crisis. He retired at the end of 2001 and joined the reserve umpires list. "Bailey is generally regarded as one of the finest men to have played county cricket in the past 30 years," wrote Michael Henderson. "He was a very good batsman too, in his palmy days a most accomplished strokeplayer for Northamptonshire." He was appointed to the full list of first-class umpires for the 2006 season.
Wisden Cricinfo staff

Apr 11, 2006

Portrait of Robert Bailey © Getty Images

Aug 6, 2001

Rob Bailey batting portrait, 2001, National League © Cricinfo Ltd

Jul 8, 2001

Rob Bailey batting thumbnail ; 2001 © Cricinfo Ltd

View the full list of 10 related images