Wife: Laura Gleeson
Richard Gleeson is a right-arm fast-medium bowler whose journey to international cricket is one of the most remarkable in recent memory. The 38-year-old from Blackpool made his England debut at 34 and announced himself in spectacular fashion, dismissing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant within his first eight balls. His path to the top was far from conventional: he made his first professional appearance at 27 as a trialist at Northamptonshire and had nearly quit the game entirely the previous winter due to injury. After establishing himself as a key part of Northamptonshire’s T20 Blast side with his aggressive, full-length bowling and mastery of the yorker, Gleeson earned a three-year contract and later returned to Lancashire, where he had once worked as a community coach. His performances opened doors to franchise cricket worldwide, including stints in the BBL, BPL, IPL, and SA20, as well as call-ups to the England Lions. After suffering stress fractures that threatened his career, Gleeson reinvented himself on a T20-only contract with Lancashire in 2022, earned his England call-up, and was part of the squad that won the T20 World Cup in Australia that winter.
| Bowling | |||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
| T20Is | 6 | 6 | 126 | 187 | 9 | 3/15 | 3/15 | 20.77 | 8.90 | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FC | 34 | 57 | 5526 | 3053 | 143 | 6/43 | 10/113 | 21.34 | 3.31 | 38.6 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| List A | 21 | 18 | 841 | 816 | 28 | 5/47 | 5/47 | 29.14 | 5.82 | 30.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| T20s | 145 | 141 | 2867 | 3909 | 170 | 5/33 | 5/33 | 22.99 | 8.18 | 16.8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Batting & Fielding | |||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct |
| T20Is | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 4 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| FC | 34 | 39 | 16 | 259 | 31 | 11.26 | 760 | 34.07 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 8 |
| List A | 21 | 13 | 5 | 53 | 13 | 6.62 | 126 | 42.06 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| T20s | 145 | 36 | 20 | 67 | 8 | 4.18 | 98 | 68.36 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler known for his aggressive full-length bowling and mastery of the yorker under pressure.
He made his England debut at the age of 34 and dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant within his first eight balls, announcing his arrival in spectacular fashion.
He has represented two IPL franchises: Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
He made his first professional appearance at the age of 27 as a trialist at Northamptonshire and had nearly quit the game altogether the previous winter due to injury.
He has played for Northamptonshire, Lancashire, and Cumberland in English domestic cricket, and has also represented various franchise teams worldwide.
His best first-class figures came for Northamptonshire against Kent at Canterbury, where he took 6 for 79 in an innings and 9 for 95 in the match.
He suffered stress fractures in his back, including a recurrence, that left him fighting for his future as a professional. He juggled training with teaching commitments at Myerscough College in Preston while playing on a T20-only contract in 2022.
Yes, he was a travelling reserve as England won the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.
He has featured in multiple leagues including the BBL (Melbourne Renegades), BPL (Rangpur Riders), IPL (CSK, MI), SA20 (Joburg Super Kings, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Durban's Super Giants), and the Abu Dhabi T10.
He was born on December 2, 1987, in Blackpool, Lancashire, making him 38 years old.
