Full name Mark Francis Cleary
Born July 19, 1980, Moorabbin, Melbourne, Victoria
Current age 29 years 130 days
Major teams Leicestershire, South Australia, Yorkshire
Nickname Ice
Playing role All-rounder
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium
Height 1.87 m
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-class | 48 | 71 | 12 | 1096 | 109* | 18.57 | 1817 | 60.31 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | ||
| List A | 71 | 51 | 18 | 524 | 70 | 15.87 | 703 | 74.53 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Twenty20 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 69 | 24* | 11.50 | 62 | 111.29 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-class | 48 | 7932 | 4436 | 142 | 7/80 | 31.23 | 3.35 | 55.8 | 6 | 4 | 1 | ||
| List A | 71 | 3286 | 2789 | 86 | 4/55 | 4/55 | 32.43 | 5.09 | 38.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Twenty20 | 16 | 16 | 337 | 452 | 21 | 3/11 | 3/11 | 21.52 | 8.04 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class debut | 2002/03 |
| Last First-class | South Australia v Tasmania at Adelaide, Oct 13-16, 2009 scorecard |
| List A debut | 2002/03 |
| Last List A | Western Australia v South Australia at Bunbury, Feb 8, 2009 scorecard |
| Twenty20 debut | Lancashire v Leicestershire at Manchester, Jul 2, 2004 scorecard |
| Last Twenty20 | Tasmania v South Australia at Launceston, Jan 15, 2009 scorecard |
Mark Cleary's sharp pace catapulted him to Australia A selection in only his second first-class season, but since then he has struggled to maintain the high early standards in the Pura Cup. With 30 wickets in 2003-04, he was picked to appear in two games against Zimbabwe and collected three victims in a beneficial experience. However, the Australia A days were followed by some interruptions back at South Australia, where he had moved from Mildura a couple of years earlier. A back injury hampered him in 2004-05, when he added only eight Pura Cup wickets, and during the following off-season he nominated for the state transfer pool without receiving any interest. He backed up with seven dismissals in four games in 2005-06 as his lack of variety and the return of Jason Gillespie held him up. Despite a slow first-class campaign, he starred in the one-day arena and was crucial to South Australia's run to the final with an equal-competition-best collection of 16 wickets. There was also a spectacular maiden first-class century for Cleary, an aggressive allrounder, as he pounded 109 from 104 balls against Tasmania. His follow-up in 2006-07 was disappointing as he added only six wickets from six one-day games, but last summer he bounced back into Pura Cup contention with 13 victims at 22.61 from four games. With Gillespie now retired, Cleary will be aiming to cement a position in 2008-09. In 2003 he attended the Academy and spent the next winter at Leicestershire, where he was part of the Twenty20-winning team in front of a full house at Edgbaston.
Cricinfo staff October 2008
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