Cricket Writer Peter Roebuck Found Dead

Noted cricket writer Peter Roebuck was found dead Saturday at his hotel in South Africa, where he was covering Australia-South Africa Test series.

The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that police had spoken to him earlier in the day.

Roebuck, 55, played alongside Sir Ian Botham and Sir Viv Richards at Somerset. He made his first class debut for Somerset in 1974 and played 335 four-day matches and 298 county one day games. He scored 33 first-class centuries and passed 1000 runs nine times in 12 seasons of country cricket. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1988.

He worked as a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age.

ABC Grandstand manager Craig Norenbergs paid tribute to Roebuck. He was an integral part of the Grandstand commentary team and apart from being a magnificent print journalist. For us he could describe a game of cricket in such a way that even if you didn't like the game, you liked the way that he went about his business, he said.