Craig Meschede joined Glamorgan on a three-year contract having spent 2015 on a season-long loan from Somerset. It proved to be a successful first season for the all-rounder in Wales, with Craig striking two centuries, including a maiden first-class hundred against Surrey at The SSE SWALEC, besides bowling some useful spells in both red and white ball cricket.
2016 saw Craig complete a maiden Championship ‘five-for’ during the Welsh county’s victory over Essex at Chelmsford with his penetrative seam bowling helping to prevent to home side from building a sizeable lead on first innings. In 2017 he excelled in white-ball cricket and delivered many accurate and economical spells during the middle of the innings in T20 matches, besides featuring in the Welsh county’s side at Finals Day at Edgbaston.
The Johannesburg-born all-rounder, with a German father, had attended King’s College, Taunton before appearing in age-group teams for Somerset and progressing onto the county’s academy. He made his first-class debut against Sussex at Hove in 2011, besides later in the season showcasing his explosive talents with the bat by striking a whirlwind 53 from just 28 balls as Craig helped Somerset defeat Glamorgan in a Twenty20 contest at Taunton. During 2013 he played in every one-day fixture for Somerset and took career-best figures of 4/5 against Leicestershire in the Yorkshire Bank40 competition in Taunton.
In 2019 Craig played for Germany – the country of his father’s birth – and appeared in five International T20 matches as part of the ICC World T20 competition involving Associate members in Europe. However, in June 2020 the 28 year-old was forced into retirement from professional cricket having been diagnosed with a Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome – a condition which limited his shoulder mobility and strength, and had not improved despite many months of rehabilitation work.
MESCHEDE, Craig Anthony Joseph
Born – Johannesburg, 21st November 1991.
Best performances for Glamorgan:
In first-class cricket – 107 v Northamptonshire at The SSE SWALEC, 2015; 5/84 v Essex at The SSE SWALEC, 2016.
In List A cricket – 45 v Hampshire at Swansea, 2016; 2/23 v Essex at The SSE SWALEC, 2015.
In T20 cricket – 77* v Gloucestershire at Sophia Gardens, 2018; 3/17 v Leicestershire at The SSE SWALEC, 2017.
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| First-class | 38 | 56 | 8 | 1442 | 30.04 | 2 | 7 | 12 | – |
| List A | 22 | 19 | 2 | 206 | 12.12 | – | – | 4 | – |
| T20 | 40 | 26 | 6 | 257 | 12.85 | – | – | 8 | – |
| Balls | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| First-class | 5624 | 158 | 3272 | 84 | 38.95 | 1 | – |
| List A | 948 | 3 | 865 | 14 | 61.79 | – | – |
| T20 | 507 | 0 | 704 | 27 | 26.67 | – | – |