{{Short description|Australian cricketer (born 1957)}} {{good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Shaun Graf | country = Australia | fullname = Shaun Francis Graf | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|05|19|df=yes}} | birth_place = Somerville, Victoria, Australia | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right-arm fast-medium | role = | international = true | odidebutdate = 23 November | odidebutyear = 1980 | odidebutagainst = New Zealand | odicap = 62 | lastodidate = 24 November | lastodiyear = 1981 | lastodiagainst = West Indies | club1 = Wiltshire | year1 = 1979 | club2 = Victoria | year2 = {{nowrap|1979/80–1982/83}} | club3 = Hampshire | year3 = 1980 | club4 = Cornwall | year4 = 1983 | club5 = Western Australia | year5 = 1983/84 | club6 = Victoria | year6 = 1984/85 | columns = 3 | column1 = ODI | matches1 = 11 | runs1 = 24 | bat avg1 = 4.00 | 100s/50s1 = 0/0 | top score1 = 8 | deliveries1 = 522 | wickets1 = 8 | bowl avg1 = 43.12 | fivefor1 = 0 | tenfor1 = 0 | best bowling1 = 2/23 | catches/stumpings1 = 1/– | column2 = FC | matches2 = 55 | runs2 = 1,559 | bat avg2 = 25.14 | 100s/50s2 = 1/8 | top score2 = 100* | deliveries2 = 9,220 | wickets2 = 124 | bowl avg2 = 33.91 | fivefor2 = 1 | tenfor2 = 0 | best bowling2 = 5/95 | catches/stumpings2 = 30/– | column3 = LA | matches3 = 41 | runs3 = 300 | bat avg3 = 15.00 | 100s/50s3 = 0/0 | top score3 = 37* | deliveries3 = 2,033 | wickets3 = 51 | bowl avg3 = 25.58 | fivefor3 = 0 | tenfor3 = 0 | best bowling3 = 4/15 | catches/stumpings3 = 7/– | date = 26 February | year = 2013 | source = http://content.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/player/5420.html Cricinfo }}
'''Shaun Francis Graf''' (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian former international cricketer who played eleven One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia in the early 1980s as a bowling all-rounder. He played his domestic cricket at first-class level predominantly for Victoria, but also spent a season with Western Australia. Graf also played domestically in England, at first-class level for Hampshire and at minor counties level for Wiltshire and Cornwall. He later became a prominent administrator with Cricket Victoria.
==Cricket career== ===Early life and career=== Shaun Francis Graf was born on 19 May 1957 in Somerville, Victoria.<ref name="PRO">{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/shaun-graf-5420|title=Shaun Graf|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=19 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250913121434/https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/shaun-graf-5420|archive-date=13 September 2025|url-status=live}}</ref> He was educated at St Bede's College in the Melbourne suburb of Mentone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au/collegians-news/the-st-bedes-college-old-collegians-cricket-hall-of-champions/|title=The St Bede's College Old Collegians Cricket Hall of Champions|website=www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au|access-date=19 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260312035105/https://www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au/collegians-news/the-st-bedes-college-old-collegians-cricket-hall-of-champions/|archive-date=12 March 2026|url-status=live}}</ref> He made his grade debut at the age of 19 for St Kilda Cricket Club as a fast bowling all-rounder in the 1976–77 season.<ref name="STS">{{cite web|url=https://stumptostump.com/stkildacricketclub-o__ZTro/shaungrafbeinthegame-s__fdrq|title=St Kilda Cricket Club|website=www.stumptostump.com|date=26 August 2021|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919125243/https://stumptostump.com/stkildacricketclub-o__ZTro/shaungrafbeinthegame-s__fdrq|archive-date=19 September 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1979, he played minor counties cricket in England for Wiltshire, making five appearances in the Minor Counties Championship.<ref name="MCM">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/Minor_Counties_Championship_Matches.html|title=Minor Counties Championship Matches Played by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Alongside minor counties cricket, he spent time in Bristol playing club cricket for Knowle.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004769/19790423/010/0010|title=Drew Hammers Unbeaten Ton|work=Bristol Evening Post|page=10|date=23 April 1979|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref> Returning to Australia after his minor counties stint, Graf made his debut in first-class cricket for Victoria against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1979–80 Sheffield Shield, with him playing a further five Shield matches that season.<ref name="FCM">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/First-Class_Matches.html|title=First-Class Matches Played by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He scored 135 runs in his debut first-class season,<ref name="FCBAS">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/f_Batting_by_Season.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> in addition to taking 17 wickets with his right-arm fast-medium bowling at an average of 27.88.<ref name="FCBOS">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/f_Bowling_by_Season.html|title=First-Class Bowling in Each Season by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the same season, he debuted in List A one-day cricket, making four appearances in the McDonald's Cup, the forerunner of the modern-day Dean Jones Trophy;<ref name="LAM">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/List_A_Matches.html|title=List A Matches Played by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> he played in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), taking 2 for 34 to help Victoria win the match.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/39/39783.html|title=Victoria v New South Wales, McDonald's Cup 1979/80 (Final)|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=7 November 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
In December 1979, he joined Hampshire ahead of the 1980 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001121/19791228/012/0012|title=Pocock is New Captain|work=Grimsby Telegraph|page=12|date=28 December 1979|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref> He made his debut for the county in a 1980 County Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Southampton. Graf made 15 first-class appearances in 1980, including against the touring Australians.<ref name="FCM"/> In these, he scored 284 runs at a batting average of 20.28,<ref name="FCBAT">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/f_Batting_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> in addition to taking 20 wickets at an average of 44.45.<ref name="FCBOW">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/f_Bowling_by_Team.html|title=First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He made 12 appearances in one-day cricket,<ref name="LAM"/> taking 17 wickets at an average of 18.23.<ref name="LABOW">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/a_Bowling_by_Team.html|title=List A Bowling For Each Team by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
===International call-up=== Graf's first-class form was better in the Australian 1980–81 season. In his first Sheffield Shield game of the season, against Western Australia, he scored 34 and 64 and took four wickets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/40/40683.html|title=Western Australia v Victoria, Sheffield Shield 1980/81|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=7 November 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Later in the season, he scored his maiden first-class century against the same opponents at the MCG.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/40/40724.html|title=Victoria v Western Australia, Sheffield Shield 1980/81|publisher=CricketArchive|url-access=subscription|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> Across the season, he made eight first-class appearances,<ref name="FCM"/> scoring 286 runs at an average of 40.85;<ref name="FCBAS"/> with the ball he took 20 wickets at an average of 30.30.<ref name="FCBAS"/> His Shield form led to Graf being selected in the Australia squad for the second Test match of their home series against New Zealand, at a time when the Australian selectors were seeking an all-rounder.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126162916|title=Cricket - Graf Named in Test Team|work=The Canberra Times|page=20|date=8 December 1980|access-date=5 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> Commenting on Australia lacking a true all-rounder, their captain Greg Chappell said at the time: "Shaun Graf is an up-and-comer in this area and he is possibly what Australia needs – not only in one day cricket but in Test matches as well".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126162514|title=Cricket - Graf Could Get Chance|work=The Canberra Times|page=50|date=6 December 1980|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> He did not end up playing in the Test series, with a back injury ruling him out, and Trevor Chappell replacing him in the side for the third Test.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126165927|title=Graf to Miss Test|work=The Canberra Times|page=18|date=24 December 1980|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> He did make his One Day International (ODI) debut against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in the first match of the Australia Tri-Nation Series which followed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126159038 |title=Cricket - Walters, Chappell in One-Day Team|work=The Canberra Times|page=26|date=18 November 1980|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> He played in nine ODI matches during the series, that also included India,<ref name="ODI">{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/ODI_Matches.html|title=ODI Matches Played by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> with Graf taking eight wickets at an average of 31.87;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1616/o_Bowling_by_Season.html|title=ODI Bowling in Each Season by Shaun Graf|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> he was omitted from the four-match final against New Zealand. Alongside the ODI series, Australia played India in a Test series, with Graf replacing Trevor Chappell in the squad for the first Test, but he did not play.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126166819|title=Cricket - Test Drawn After NZ Run Chase Falters|work=The Canberra Times|page=20|date=31 December 1980|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> He was replaced in the second Test by Bruce Yardley.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125648429|title=Yardley a Prospect for Tour|work=The Canberra Times|page=28|date=22 January 1981|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref>
The following season, he made two further ODI appearances in the second and third matches of the Tri-Nation Series against Pakistan and the West Indies, having been called up to replace the injured Dennis Lillee.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126859586|title=Graf Comes in to Fill Gap|work=The Canberra Times|page=18|date=20 November 1981|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> During the 1981–82 domestic season, Graf made eight first-class appearances scoring 230 runs at an average of 19.16,<ref name="FCBAS"/> while with the ball he took 17 wickets at an average of 39.47.<ref name="FCBOS"/> In one-day cricket, he made three appearances in the McDonald's Cup.<ref name="LAM"/> The following season, he made six first-class appearances, scoring 155 runs at an average of 19.16,<ref name="FCBAS"/> and with the ball he took 14 wickets at an average of 30.50;<ref name="FCBOS"/> playing against Western Australia at the WACA, he took the only five-wicket haul of his first-class career with figures of 5 for 95 in the Western Australia second innings, having taken 4 for 53 in their first innings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/42/42934.html|title=Western Australia v Victoria, Sheffield Shield 1982/83|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He also played three one-day matches during the season.<ref name="LAM"/> Graf returned to England for the 1983 season, playing minor counties cricket for Cornwall.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003586/19830505/557/0033|title=Shaun Signs|work=West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser|location=Truro|page=33|date=5 May 1983|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref> He made eight appearances in the Minor Counties Championship,<ref name="MCM"/> and returned to Bristol to play for Knowle when he wasn't required by Cornwall.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004974/19830415/013/0013|title=Shaun Back to Lift Knowle|work=Western Daily Press|location=Bristol|page=13|date=15 April 1983|access-date=19 September 2024|url-access=subscription|via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref>
===Move to Western Australia=== Graf moved to Western Australia for the 1983–84 season, being selected to play in the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria as a replacement for injured batsman Wayne Andrews.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116411599?searchTerm=shaun%20graf%20western%20australia|title=SA Shield Sponsor|work=The Canberra Times|page=44|date=12 October 1983|access-date=19 September 2024|via=Trove}}</ref> In his only season with Western Australia, in which they won their ninth Sheffield Shield,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article124996228|title=Queensland Fails in Final WA Wins its Ninth Shield|work=The Canberra Times|page=44|date=14 March 1984|access-date=11 December 2014|via=Trove}}</ref> he made 11 first-class appearances, scoring 420 runs at an average of 35.<ref name="FCBAS"/> With the ball, he took 32 wickets at an average of 32.75.<ref name="FCBOS"/> He also made four one-day appearances in the McDonald's Cup,<ref name="LAM"/> with Graf playing against South Australia in the final of the competition at the Adelaide Oval. He came close to guiding Western Australia to victory, with a late unbeaten cameo of 37 runs from 33 balls, but Western Australia ultimately fell eight runs short.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/44/44512.html|title=South Australia v Western Australia, McDonald's Cup 1983/84 (Final)|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=7 November 2017|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He returned to Victoria the following season, making one appearance in the Sheffield Shield against Queensland.<ref name="FCM"/>
==Playing style and statistics== Described as an athletic all-rounder by the cricket journalist Christopher Martin-Jenkins,{{sfn|Martin-Jenkins|1996|page=42}} Graf made 55 first-class appearances, scoring 1,559 runs at an average of 25.14;<ref name="PRO"/> described by Martin-Jenkins as possessing a wristy action and able to consistently bowl away-swinging deliveries,{{sfn|Martin-Jenkins|1996|page=42}} he took 124 first-class wickets at an average of 33.91.<ref name="PRO"/> In one-day cricket, he made 41 appearances, scoring 300 runs at an average of exactly 15, whilst with the ball he took 51 wickets at an average of 25.58.<ref name="PRO"/>
==Later life== After retiring, Graf continued to play Grade Cricket for St Kilda until 1999, making 243 appearances for the club across 24 seasons, scoring 4,200 runs and taking 382 wickets.<ref name="STS"/> He became a selector for the Victoria cricket team during the 1990–91 season, and became the cricket operations manager of the Victorian Cricket Association (later Cricket Victoria) in 1995.<ref name="VIC">{{cite web|url=https://www.cricketvictoria.com.au/news/news/shaun-graf-to-call-stumps-in-2022/|title=Shaun Graf to Call Stumps in 2022|publisher=Cricket Victoria|date=9 February 2022|access-date=19 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920022851/https://www.cricketvictoria.com.au/news/news/shaun-graf-to-call-stumps-in-2022/|archive-date=20 September 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> He retired from his role with Cricket Victoria in July 2022.<ref name="VIC"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==Works cited== *{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/worldcricketersb0000mart|title=World Cricketers: A Biographical Dictionary|last=Martin-Jenkins|author-link=Christopher Martin-Jenkins|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-1921-0005-4|language=en|url-access=registration|via=Internet Archive}}
==External links== *{{cricinfo|id=5420}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Shaun}} Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Cricketers from Melbourne Category:People educated at St Bede's College (Mentone) Category:Australian cricketers Category:Wiltshire cricketers Category:Victoria cricketers Category:Hampshire cricketers Category:Australia One Day International cricketers Category:Cornwall cricketers Category:Western Australia cricketers Category:Australian cricket administrators Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen