Roland Lefebvre
CountryNetherlands
FullnameRoland Philippe Lefebvre
Birth date7 February 1963 (age 63)
Birth placeRotterdam, Netherlands
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Internationaltrue
Internationalspan1996–2003
Odidebutdate17 February
Odidebutyear1996
OdidebutagainstNew Zealand
Odicap7
Lastodidate28 February
Lastodiyear2003
LastodiagainstZimbabwe
Odishirt1
Club 3Glamorgan
Year 31993–1995
Club 1Somerset
Year 11990–1992
Club 2Canterbury
Year 21990/91
Columns3
Column 1ODI
Matches 111
Runs 1171
Bat avg 128.50
100s/50s 10/0
Top score 145
Deliveries 1534
Wickets 19
Bowl avg 138.44
Fivefor 10
Tenfor 10
Best bowling 12/38
Catches/stumpings 14/–
Column 2FC
Matches 277
Runs 21,494
Bat avg 220.46
100s/50s 21/3
Top score 2100
Deliveries 213,485
Wickets 2149
Bowl avg 236.23
Fivefor 23
Tenfor 20
Best bowling 26/45
Catches/stumpings 236/–
Column 3LA
Matches 3137
Runs 3955
Bat avg 317.05
100s/50s 30/0
Top score 345
Deliveries 36,783
Wickets 3178
Bowl avg 323.05
Fivefor 32
Tenfor 30
Best bowling 37/15
Catches/stumpings 363/–
Date15 May
Year2017
Sourcehttp://www.espncricinfo.com/netherlands/content/player/24918.html Cricinfo

Roland Philippe Lefebvre (born 7 February 1963), is a Dutch former international cricketer who captained the Netherlands national cricket team in One Day International matches.[1]

Domestic career

Lefebvre made his first-class debut with Somerset against Oxford University in 1990, then took 5/30 on his first County Championship appearance the following week. Later that year, he claimed 7/15 (at the time the equal fifth-best return in List A cricket) in Somerset's record 346-run victory against Devon in the NatWest Trophy.[2] Lefebvre spent the winter in New Zealand, playing for Canterbury, where he achieved his career-best first-class bowling figures of 6/45, then back in England in 1991 scored his only first-class hundred, making exactly 100 against Worcestershire.[3]

Lefebvre was signed by Glamorgan for 1993 and proved particularly effective in one-day cricket where his consistent accuracy made him difficult for batsmen to dominate, as evidenced by a superb bowling analysis of 11-5-13-2 in the quarter-final of the NatWest Trophy game against Worcestershire. Lefebvre's bowling was a significant factor in Glamorgan's Sunday League triumph in 1993.

Lefebvre was also a popular figure at Glamorgan, Andrew Hignell listing him among the county's cult heroes.[4]

International career

In 1989 Lefebvre was in the Netherlands side that recorded a surprising victory over an England XI including Nasser Hussain, Alec Stewart and Derek Pringle in a limited-over match,[5] and he was also present when they repeated the achievement (with Hussain again and Darren Gough in the England XI) four years later.[6] In between, Lefebvre also helped the Netherlands in their surprise victory against a West Indies team including Richie Richardson, Desmond Haynes, Courtney Walsh and Carl Hooper (who Lefebvre dismissed) in another limited-over match in 1991.[7] These matches did not have one-day international status but, during the following winter, 1993/4, Lefebvre took 11 wickets at 16.45 in the ICC Trophy,[8] helping the Netherlands to achieve third place in the tournament and qualification for the 1996 Cricket World Cup,[9] ensuring the team would play its first full internationals in that tournament.

Although a bad groin injury in 1995 forced Lefebvre to retire from professional cricket, he continued to appear for his country in the ICC Trophy, a competition for which he holds several career records: most appearances (43), most wickets taken (71 at just 11.64) and most catches by an outfielder (26). He also appeared for the Netherlands at full One Day International level in both the 1996 and 2003 World Cups and in the 2002–03 Champions Trophy, captaining the Dutch team from 1999 onwards. Although because of injury he missed his team's first victory in a one-day international, coming in the 2003 World Cup against Namibia,[10] ESPNCricinfo describes Lefebvre as "arguably the best cricketer Holland has produced".[11]

Lefebvre retired from playing after the 2003 World Cup, and now serves as the Dutch national youth coach.

References

  1. ^ "Roland Lefebvre". Cricket Europe. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Devon v Somerset at Torquay". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Somerset v Worcestershire at Weston-super-Mare". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. ^ "County Cult Heroes - Glamorgan". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Netherlands XI v England XI at Amstelveen, 16 Aug 1989". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  6. ^ "England XI v The Netherlands at Haarlem, 10 July 1993". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Netherlands v West Indies at Haarlem, 15 August 1991". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  8. ^ "1994 ICC Trophy in Kenya Averages Netherlands". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  9. ^ "ICC Trophy in Kenya, Feb-Mar 1994 - Results Summary". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Dutch prove to be too strong for brave Namibia". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Roland Lefebvre profile and biography". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.