Robin Hobbs, the former Essex and England leg-spinner, captained Glamorgan in 1979 having been signed by the Welsh county after the Chippenham-born leg spinner had enjoyed an illustrious career with Essex besides winning seven Test caps for England.
He was a most likeable and popular player but his arrival in South Wales came at a low ebb in Glamorgan’s history with his side not winning a first-class match under his captaincy during 1979 – the first-ever time in the Club’s history with Wisden’s correspondent succinctly describing his efforts as follows: “he tried very hard but found the task beyond him. He did not bowl a great deal, scored very few runs and the side slipped away. The senior players were getting older, the younger players lost form and the coach was unable to arrest the decline.”
Robin handed over the captaincy to Malcolm Nash for 1980 and featured in Glamorgan’s line-up for the nest couple of seasons before returning to Minor County cricket with Suffolk. In 1975 he had scored a century in the space of 44 minutes for Essex against the touring Australians in 1975. Robin said afterwards that he went out with the objective of having a good slog, and entertaining the crowd. He retired at the end of the 1981 season with a career tally of 1099 first-class wickets at an average of 27.
HOBBS, Robin Nicholas Stuart
Born – Chippenham, 8th May 1942.
Best performances for Glamorgan:
In first-class cricket – 49* v Hampshire at St. Helen’s, Swansea, 1981; 5/67 v Worcestershire at Hereford, 1981.
In List A cricket – 12* v Kent at St. Helen’s, Swansea, 1979; 3/41 v Derbyshire at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 1979.
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| First-class | 41 | 44 | 19 | 246 | 9.84 | – | – | 20 | – |
| List A | 14 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 6.50 | – | – | 3 | – |
| Balls | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| First-class | 4641 | 204 | 2370 | 65 | 36.46 | 2 | – |
| List A | 132 | 1 | 98 | 4 | 24.50 | – | – |