Simon Francis (cricketer)

Simon Richard George Francis (born 15 August 1978) is an English former cricketer. He bowled right-arm medium-fast and batted right-handed. He made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 1997, making a handful of appearances for the county until he moved to Somerset for the 2002 season. However, appearances for the first XI became less frequent and Francis was released at the end of the 2006 season. He was signed by Nottinghamshire early in the 2007 season, which proved to be his final year in professional cricket.

Francis also toured with England A in India in 2003-04 and appeared in one Youth One-Day International, coming in January 1997 on the England Under-19s' tour of Pakistan. He also represented England at hockey at Under-18 level.

Francis's brother, John, is also a former first-class cricketer, having played similarly for Hampshire and Somerset.

References

External links

  • Simon Francis at Cricket Archive
  • Simon Francis at Cricinfo
  • Simon Francis

    Simon Francis may refer to:

  • Simon Francis (footballer) (born 1985), footballer
  • Simon Francis (cricketer) (born 1978), cricketer
  • See also

  • All pages with titles containing Simon Francis

  • Simon Francis (footballer)

    Simon Charles Francis (born 16 February 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for AFC Bournemouth.

    Career

    Born in Nottingham, Francis was rejected as a youngster by both of the city clubs: Notts County and Nottingham Forest. Instead he joined Bradford City as a trainee in 2002 after being spotted playing for South Nottingham College. He made his debut for Bradford on 16 November 2002 against Nottingham Forest days after he came on as a substitute for England under 18s against France. He made more than 50 starts for the Bantams, scoring his first career goal in a game against Crystal Palace, before being sold for £200,000 by the administrators in 2004. Bradford received offers from Sunderland and Sheffield United, with Francis choosing the latter to be nearer his home in Nottingham and link up with manager Neil Warnock.

    Competition for places meant that Francis was never quite able to hold down a regular place at Bramall Lane, restricting him to just 15 appearances for the Blades during his two-year sojourn. He spent most of the 2005–06 season on loan with Grimsby Town and then Tranmere Rovers (where he scored once against Swansea City). His final appearance for Sheffield United was as a late substitute at Luton in the penultimate game of the season.

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