Shaun Francis Graf (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian former international cricketer who played eleven One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia in the early 1980s as a bowling all-rounder. He played his domestic cricket at first-class level predominantly for Victoria, but also spent a season with Western Australia. Graf also played domestically in England, at first-class level for Hampshire and at minor counties level for Wiltshire and Cornwall. He later became a prominent administrator with Cricket Victoria.

Shaun Francis Graf was born on 19 May 1957 in Somerville, Victoria.^[1] He was educated at St Bede's College in the Melbourne suburb of Mentone.^[2] He made his grade debut at the age of 19 for St Kilda Cricket Club as a fast bowling all-rounder in the 1976–77 season.^[3] In 1979, he played minor counties cricket in England for Wiltshire, making five appearances in the Minor Counties Championship.^[4] Alongside minor counties cricket, he spent time in Bristol playing club cricket for Knowle.^[5] Returning to Australia after his minor counties stint, Graf made his debut in first-class cricket for Victoria against New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1979–80 Sheffield Shield, with him playing a further five Shield matches that season.^[6] He scored 135 runs in his debut first-class season,^[7] in addition to taking 17 wickets with his right-arm fast-medium bowling at an average of 27.88.^[8] In the same season, he debuted in List A one-day cricket, making four appearances in the McDonald's Cup, the forerunner of the modern-day Dean Jones Trophy;^[9] he played in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), taking 2 for 34 to help Victoria win the match.^[10]

In December 1979, he joined Hampshire ahead of the 1980 season.^[11] He made his debut for the county in a 1980 County Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Southampton. Graf made 15 first-class appearances in 1980, including against the touring Australians.^[6] In these, he scored 284 runs at a batting average of 20.28,^[12] in addition to taking 20 wickets at an average of 44.45.^[13] He made 12 appearances in one-day cricket,^[9] taking 17 wickets at an average of 18.23.^[14]

Graf's first-class form was better in the Australian 1980–81 season. In his first Sheffield Shield game of the season, against Western Australia, he scored 34 and 64 and took four wickets.^[15] Later in the season, he scored his maiden first-class century against the same opponents at the MCG.^[16] Across the season, he made eight first-class appearances,^[6] scoring 286 runs at an average of 40.85;^[7] with the ball he took 20 wickets at an average of 30.30.^[7] His Shield form led to Graf being selected in the Australia squad for the second Test match of their home series against New Zealand, at a time when the Australian selectors were seeking an all-rounder.^[17] Commenting on Australia lacking a true all-rounder, their captain Greg Chappell said at the time: "Shaun Graf is an up-and-comer in this area and he is possibly what Australia needs – not only in one day cricket but in Test matches as well".^[18] He did not end up playing in the Test series, with a back injury ruling him out, and Trevor Chappell replacing him in the side for the third Test.^[19] He did make his One Day International (ODI) debut against New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in the first match of the Australia Tri-Nation Series which followed.^[20] He played in nine ODI matches during the series, that also included India,^[21] with Graf taking eight wickets at an average of 31.87;^[22] he was omitted from the four-match final against New Zealand. Alongside the ODI series, Australia played India in a Test series, with Graf replacing Trevor Chappell in the squad for the first Test, but he did not play.^[23] He was replaced in the second Test by Bruce Yardley.^[24]

The following season, he made two further ODI appearances in the second and third matches of the Tri-Nation Series against Pakistan and the West Indies, having been called up to replace the injured Dennis Lillee.^[25] During the 1981–82 domestic season, Graf made eight first-class appearances scoring 230 runs at an average of 19.16,^[7] while with the ball he took 17 wickets at an average of 39.47.^[8] In one-day cricket, he made three appearances in the McDonald's Cup.^[9] The following season, he made six first-class appearances, scoring 155 runs at an average of 19.16,^[7] and with the ball he took 14 wickets at an average of 30.50;^[8] playing against Western Australia at the WACA, he took the only five-wicket haul of his first-class career with figures of 5 for 95 in the Western Australia second innings, having taken 4 for 53 in their first innings.^[26] He also played three one-day matches during the season.^[9] Graf returned to England for the 1983 season, playing minor counties cricket for Cornwall.^[27] He made eight appearances in the Minor Counties Championship,^[4] and returned to Bristol to play for Knowle when he wasn't required by Cornwall.^[28]

Graf moved to Western Australia for the 1983–84 season, being selected to play in the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria as a replacement for injured batsman Wayne Andrews.^[29] In his only season with Western Australia, in which they won their ninth Sheffield Shield,^[30] he made 11 first-class appearances, scoring 420 runs at an average of 35.^[7] With the ball, he took 32 wickets at an average of 32.75.^[8] He also made four one-day appearances in the McDonald's Cup,^[9] with Graf playing against South Australia in the final of the competition at the Adelaide Oval. He came close to guiding Western Australia to victory, with a late unbeaten cameo of 37 runs from 33 balls, but Western Australia ultimately fell eight runs short.^[31] He returned to Victoria the following season, making one appearance in the Sheffield Shield against Queensland.^[6]

Described as an athletic all-rounder by the cricket journalist Christopher Martin-Jenkins,^[32] Graf made 55 first-class appearances, scoring 1,559 runs at an average of 25.14;^[1] described by Martin-Jenkins as possessing a wristy action and able to consistently bowl away-swinging deliveries,^[32] he took 124 first-class wickets at an average of 33.91.^[1] In one-day cricket, he made 41 appearances, scoring 300 runs at an average of exactly 15, whilst with the ball he took 51 wickets at an average of 25.58.^[1]

After retiring, Graf continued to play Grade Cricket for St Kilda until 1999, making 243 appearances for the club across 24 seasons, scoring 4,200 runs and taking 382 wickets.^[3] He became a selector for the Victoria cricket team during the 1990–91 season, and became the cricket operations manager of the Victorian Cricket Association (later Cricket Victoria) in 1995.^[33] He retired from his role with Cricket Victoria in July 2022.^[33]

• Martin-Jenkins (1996). World Cricketers: A Biographical Dictionary. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1921-0005-4 – via Internet Archive.

• Shaun Graf at ESPNcricinfo