Bob Cottam

Bob Cottam

Personal information
Full name	Robert Michael Henry Cottam
Born	(1944-10-16) 16 October 1944 Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast-medium
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 441)	21 February 1969 v Pakistan
Last Test	30 December 1972 v India
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1978	Devon
1972–1976	Northamptonshire
1964–1973	Marylebone Cricket Club
1963–1971	Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA Matches 4 289 133 Runs scored 27 1,278 262 Batting average 6.75 6.98 5.57 100s/50s –/– –/1 –/– Top score 13 62* 23* Balls bowled 903 53,053 6,605 Wickets 14 1,010 180 Bowling average 23.35 20.91 22.55 5 wickets in innings – 58 8 10 wickets in match – 6 – Best bowling 4/50 9/25 4/9 Catches/stumpings 2/– 153/– 37/–
Source: Cricinfo, 9 May 2010

Bob Cottam (born Robert Michael Henry Cottam, 16 October 1944, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire) is a former English cricketer who played in four Tests from 1969 to 1972. Cottam was a right-handed batsman, who bowled right-arm fast-medium. The cricket writer, Colin Bateman, noted that "Cottam's ability to bowl sharp seamers or cutters at a reduced pace on turning wickets made him a useful tourist, and his four England caps came on two tours of the Indian subcontinent".

Life and career

After attending school in Wembley, Cottam began his career at Hampshire in 1963 and used his height, stamina and accuracy to good effect with the new ball. He took 100 wickets in a season on three occasions and took 9 for 25 against Lancashire in 1965. Although ideally suited to English conditions, his only Test caps came on tours of the subcontinent, to Pakistan and Ceylon under Colin Cowdrey in 1968/9, and India and Pakistan in 1972/3 under Tony Lewis. It was a testament to his skill that he took 14 wickets at 23.35 in his four tests, and he was unlucky to miss out on home selection. He switched counties to Northants in 1971, his style of bowling evolving to concentrate on remorseless accuracy, and continued to be a prolific wicket taker. He took over a 1,000 first-class wickets in all, at an average of 20.91. Although skilled with the ball, he was a confirmed tailender with the bat, recording just one half century in 289 first-class matches.

He turned to coaching after retiring from the playing arena, appointed as Warwickshire's manager and then Somerset's director of cricket, before being picked by David Lloyd to serve as England's bowling coach between 1998 and 2001. He also played minor county cricket for Devon. His son, Andy Cottam, played first-class cricket for Derbyshire and Somerset.

External links

• Player profile: Bob Cottam from ESPNcricinfo
• Player profile: Bob Cottam from CricketArchive