{{Short description|English cricketer (1942–2024)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Use British English|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Robin Hobbs | image = | caption = | fullname = Robin Nicholas Stuart Hobbs | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|5|8|df=y}} | birth_place = Chippenham, Wiltshire, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|3|17|1942|5|8|df=y}} | death_place = | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Legbreak | columns = 2 | column1 = Test | matches1 = 7 | runs1 = 34 | bat avg1 = 6.79 | 100s/50s1 = 0/0 | top score1 = 15* | deliveries1 = 1,291 | wickets1 = 12 | bowl avg1 = 40.08 | fivefor1 = 0 | tenfor1 = 0 | best bowling1 = 3/25 | catches/stumpings1= 8/– | column2 = First-class | matches2 = 440 | runs2 = 4,942 | bat avg2 = 12.11 | 100s/50s2 = 2/2 | top score2 = 100 | deliveries2 = 62,395 | wickets2 = 1,099 | bowl avg2 = 27.09 | fivefor2 = 50 | tenfor2 = 8 | best bowling2 = 8/63 | catches/stumpings2= 295/– | international = true | country = England | testdebutagainst = India | testdebutdate = 8 June | testdebutyear = 1967 | lasttestdate = 8 July | lasttestagainst = Pakistan | lasttestyear = 1971 | source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/14227.html CricInfo | date = 7 November | year = 2022 }}
'''Robin Nicholas Stuart Hobbs''' (8 May 1942 – 17 March 2024) was an English cricketer who played in seven Tests for England from 1967 to 1971.<ref name="Cap">{{cite book |title=If The Cap Fits |last=Bateman |first=Colin |year=1993 |publisher=Tony Williams Publications |isbn=1-869833-21-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/ifcapfits0000unse/page/90 90] |url=https://archive.org/details/ifcapfits0000unse/page/90 }}</ref> He played first-class cricket for both Essex and Glamorgan.<ref name="Cap"/>
Cricket writer, Colin Bateman, remarked, "Hobbs was the last specialist leg-spinner to play for England before Ian Salisbury revived the art in 1992. A good spinner of the ball although he lacked the googly, an inventive batsman and great character, he was an immensely popular cricketer".<ref name="Cap"/>
==Life and career== Leg spinners have proved a rarity in post-war English cricket, thanks in part to the rise of one day cricket, and Hobbs was the last specialist to play for England before the emergence of Ian Salisbury.
Hobbs was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire but after moving to Scotland for a period during the war he grew up in Dagenham in east London. A keen ornithologist, Robin collected tropical birds in an aviary that he built behind his father's shop. This notably included a toucan which he named Terry. He made his debut for Essex in 1961 and for England in 1967, but his well flighted leg breaks failed to discomfort Indian and Pakistani batsmen raised on spin. His batting was unregarded, making his 44-minute century against the touring Australians in 1975, all the more remarkable.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/STATS/FC/BATTING/BAT_FASTEST_FC.html |title="Cricinfo: Fastest to 50,100,200" |access-date=17 March 2007 |archive-date=15 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915133412/http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/STATS/FC/BATTING/BAT_FASTEST_FC.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After fourteen years with Essex, Hobbs retired to minor county cricket with Suffolk, before re-emerging four years later after being invited to captain Glamorgan. He was Glamorgan captain in 1979 (a year in which the county didn't win a first class match) then played two more seasons under the captaincy of Malcolm Nash. He returned to Suffolk for the 1982 season, then retired.
Hobbs was the last English leg spin bowler to take 1,000 first-class wickets in his career. In all he took 1,099 scalps, with a best of 8 for 63 at an average of 27.09. An economy rate of 2.86 is testament to his accuracy, while a strike rate of 56.7 ranks with any spinner of his generation.
Hobbs died from complications following bowel surgery on 17 March 2024, at the age of 81.<ref>{{cite news |title=Death announcement |url=https://twitter.com/EssexCricket/status/1769672752972107941 |access-date=18 March 2024 |website=Essex CCC on X}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Robin Hobbs: England and Essex bowler dies aged 81 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-68596918 |access-date=18 March 2024 |publisher=BBC News |date=18 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Robin Hobbs obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/robin-hobbs-obituary-mischief-making-cricketer-who-took-princess-margaret-to-a-disco-xchhvq5xl |access-date=26 March 2024 |publisher=The Times |date=26 March 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== Rob Kelly, ''Hobbsy: A Life in Cricket'', Von Krumm Publishing, 2018
==External links== *{{cricinfo|id=14227}} *[http://www.cricketweb.net/blog/features/479.php The other Hobbs - the last of his line?]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Robin}} Category:1942 births Category:2024 deaths Category:England Test cricketers Category:English cricketers Category:Essex cricketers Category:Glamorgan cricketers Category:Glamorgan cricket captains Category:International Cavaliers cricketers Category:Suffolk cricketers Category:Minor Counties cricketers Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Category:D. H. Robins' XI cricketers Category:T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Category:Young England cricketers Category:Marylebone Cricket Club Under-25s cricketers Category:Marylebone Cricket Club President's XI cricketers Category:Cricketers from Chippenham Category:20th-century English sportsmen