Tony Cottey

Phillip Anthony Cottey (born 2 June 1966) is a Welsh former cricketer who played for Glamorgan, Sussex and Eastern Transvaal in a first-class career lasting 18 years. He was a right-hand batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler.

Early life Cottey was born in Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales.

Football career Cottey played professional football for Swansea City in the 1984–85 season. Having come through the youth set-up he signed a professional contract in June 1984. He made three Football League appearances during the season before he was released in May 1985 by manager John Bond. Cottey also played for Wales Youth as captain. He also played soccer for Llanelli AFC.

Cricket career

Glamorgan Having played Second XI cricket in 1985, Cottey made his first-class debut for Glamorgan against Oxford University in 1986, opening the batting with Duncan Pauline he scored 6. He played three further first-class matches in his maiden season, finishing with 24 runs at an average of 6.

Cottey was used more regularly over the next two seasons, in 1988 playing 13 matches and scoring 603 runs, including five fifties.

He played just four matches the following season but had a breakthrough year in 1990 as he passed 1,000 runs for the first time in his career, included in this aggregate were three centuries. The other two centuries came in back-to-back innings against Leicestershire and Worcestershire.

Cottey had a poor season in 1991, in 20 innings he passed fifty just once and finished the year with an average of 23.

Cottey passed the landmark of 1,000 runs in a season in each of the next four years, culminating with his best seasonal total of 1,543 runs in 1996. The figure contained four centuries, including his first and only double century.

Cottey was a regular member of the Glamorgan team that won the County Championship in 1997, although his personal form was modest, scoring 475 runs at 27.94.

Cottey played 197 matches for Glamorgan, scoring 10,346 runs at 38.17, with 21 centuries.

Sussex Cottey signed a five-year contract with Sussex, and made his debut for the club in the opening fixture of the 1999 season against Lancashire, he finished his maiden season with 780 runs and was awarded a county cap.

In 2003 Cottey passed 1,000 runs for the eighth and final occasion in his career, he scored 1,149 at 45.96. In mid-season he enjoyed a sequence of seven consecutive fifties and only narrowly failed to score four successive hundreds. It was a successful season for Sussex as they won their first County Championship title since 1855. Cottey completed the rare feat of winning titles with two clubs.

Cottey was released by Sussex at the end of the 2004 season, his first team appearances had been limited by the arrival of Ian Ward. In six seasons with Sussex he made 74 appearances scoring 3,948 runs at 33.74, with 10 centuries. as Eastern Transvaal won the UCB Bowl.

Post-cricket Cottey was an after dinner speaker. he left this role in 2021.