Robert Coombs (cricketer)
cricketer (born 1959)
Robert Vincent Jerome Coombs (born 20 July 1959) played first-class cricket for Somerset in 1985 and 1986. 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. 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. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack noted approvingly his "good bowling action and attacking bent". 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.
The public source identifies “Robert Coombs (cricketer)” as cricketer (born 1959). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Robert, Coombs and cricketer.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Robert Coombs (cricketer)”, the useful work is to connect “cricketer (born 1959)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7343097. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1959, 1985, 1986 and 1987.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Robert Coombs (cricketer)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Robert Coombs (cricketer) primary sources, Robert Coombs (cricketer) archive and Robert research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Robert Coombs (cricketer)”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Robert Coombs (cricketer)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.