Robert Coombs (cricketer)

Robert Vincent Jerome Coombs (born 20 July 1959) played first-class cricket for Somerset in 1985 and 1986.^[1] He was born at Barnet, Hertfordshire.

Coombs was a tall left-arm orthodox spin bowler and a tail-end right-handed batsman. Educated at Exeter University, he had played Minor Counties cricket for Dorset and second eleven cricket for Hampshire before arriving at Somerset in 1985. Brought into the first-team late in an unexpectedly poor season for the county side, Coombs made an immediate impact, taking the first five Middlesex wickets to fall in a rain-ruined match at Weston-super-Mare at a cost of 58 runs.^[2] In a soggy end to the 1985 season, Coombs bowled in only three further first-class innings spread across three rain-affected matches, but he took 11 further wickets in those and his 16 wickets at an average of 16.75 put him at the top of Somerset's bowling for the season.^[3] Wisden Cricketers' Almanack noted approvingly his "good bowling action and attacking bent".^[3] More frequent games in 1986, however, brought little success and the bowling figures from his first match remained the best of his short first-class career. In 1987, he was back playing Minor Counties cricket for Dorset and remained there until 1990. He did not play any List A cricket.

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