CHARL WILLOUGHBY

Birthplace: Cape Town, South Africa
Date of Birth: 3rd December, 1974
Left-hand batsman,
Left-arm fast medium bowler

Charl was no stranger to English cricket when he joined Somerset in 2006, having spent much of the previous season playing for Leicestershire and before that playing minor county cricket for Berkshire and club cricket for Basingstoke in the Home Counties League from 2000 onwards.

During his stay at Grace Road, he helped Leicestershire to beat Somerset in the C&G in 2005 by taking six for 16, the best ever return for the midland county, as well as playing for the Foxes in the Twenty20 finals at The Brit Oval.

Educated at Wynberg Boy's High School and Stellenbosch University, Charl toured Zimbabwe with the South African Academy in 1998-9, went to the West Indies in 2000 and again to Zimbabwe in 2004.

He toured with the full South Africa side to Sharjah to take part in the Coca-Cola Sharjah Cup in 1999-2000. He went to Bangladesh in 2003 where he made his Test debut and later that year came to England where Charl played for the tourists at the County Ground in mid July before going on to play in the first Test at Edgbaston.  In addition he has made three one-day international appearances for his country.

Charl enjoyed a highly successful season in 2006, taking over 100 wickets in all forms of cricket for Somerset during his first year at the County Ground. He was the leading wicket-taker for his newly adopted county in the county championship with 66 wickets at 25.56 to top the Somerset averages.

He achieved his career best figures of seven for 44 in the championship victory over Gloucestershire and achieved another career best when he hit an unbeaten 47 against Worcestershire, also at Taunton.

The 2007 season saw Charl enjoy another successful campaign taking 85 wickets overall during which he was awarded his county cap.

During the winter Charl plays cricket back in South Africa for Western Province (Cape Cobras) where he has played since the 2000-01 season.

Away from cricket he is studying hard for a degree in commerce and enjoys spending time with his wife Nicky and baby son Cole Spencer, who was born in Taunton in October 2006.