At 5 foot 4 inches, Tony Cottey may have been one of the shortest players to play for Glamorgan, but few have had a bigger heart than the right-handed batsman from Swansea. During the 1990`s Tony was a consistent batsman in the middle-order, scoring 1,465 runs in 1995 and 1,543 during 1996.
His gritty determination resulted in many solid innings, and amongst his finest innings was a remarkable 77 off just 42 balls against Northamptonshire in the AXA League game in 1998. Glamorgan had been set a stiff target of 174 in a mere 24 overs, but Tony used all of his experience and know-how to lead Glamorgan to victory with three balls in hand.
Tony was also a fine player of spin bowling with his nimble footwork, deft sweeping and rock-solid defence being the hallmarks of his play. He had a modest season with the bat during 1997 as Glamorgan became County Champions, but even so, he still shared a match-winning partnership with Matthew Maynard against Essex at Cardiff and helped to guide Glamorgan to a crucial victory. He returned to form in 1998 by passing a thousand runs in first-class cricket, but at the end of the season he rejected a new two-year deal with Glamorgan, and joined Sussex on a five-year contract, for whom after retirement from playing in 2004, he has worked in their commercial department.
Tony had made his Glamorgan debut in 1986 after a brief, but quite successful career as a professional footballer with Swansea City, during which time he won Welsh Youth soccer caps. After deciding to concentrate on cricket, Tony soon established a regular place for himself in the Glamorgan side, as a middle-order batsman and occasional off-spin bowler.
He won his county cap in 1992, and in 1996 was appointed the county’s vice-captain. The following year, Tony scored 203 against Leicestershire, fittingly on his home ground at St.Helen`s where he had first played as a schoolboy with the Swansea club. During this career-best innings, Tony also shared a record seventh wicket partnership of 211 with Otis Gibson.
COTTEY, Phillip Anthony
Born – Swansea, 2nd June 1966.
Best performances for Glamorgan:
In first-class cricket – 203 v Leicestershire at Swansea, 1994; 4/49 v Leicestershire at Swansea, 1996.
In List A cricket – 96 v Sussex at Hove, 1998; 4/56 v Essex at Chelmsford, 1992.
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| First-class | 197 | 320 | 49 | 10346 | 38.18 | 21 | 55 | 137 | – |
| List A | 195 | 171 | 31 | 3607 | 25.76 | – | 21 | 67 | – |
| Balls | M | R | W | AV | 5wI | 10wM | |
| First-class | 1004 | 20 | 704 | 11 | 64.00 | – | – |
| List A | 737 | 3 | 672 | 19 | 35.36 | – | – |