Sam Parkinson

Samuel David Haslam Parkinson (born 8 August 1960) is a former Australian cricketer. Parkinson was a left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm fast-medium. He was born in Adelaide, South Australia.

Parkinson played for Buckinghamshire 1981, making his debut for the English county in the Minor Counties Championship against Oxfordshire. He made 9 further appearances for Buckinghamshire in that season, the last of which came against Hertfordshire. Returning to Australia, Parkinson made his first-class debut for South Australia against New South Wales in the 1981/82 Sheffield Shield. He went on to make a further 35 first-class appearances for South Australia, the last of which came against Western Australia in the 1987/88 Sheffield Shield. In his 36 first-class appearances for South Australia, he took 102 wickets at an average of 34.04, with best figures of 7/98. These figures, one of four five wicket hauls he took, came against Western Australia in the 1982/83 Sheffield Shield. A lower order batsman, Parkinson scored 376 runs at a batting average of 12.12, with a single fifty score of 62, which came against Tasmania in the 1985/86 Sheffield Shield.

In the same season that he made his first-class debut, he also made his List A debut for South Australia against Victoria in the 1981/82 McDonald's Cup. Seen as a player better suited to the longer format of the game, he made just 9 further List A appearances for South Australia, the last of which came against Central Districts during South Australia's tour of New Zealand in 1986/87. He struggled with the ball in the shorter format of the game, taking just 5 wickets at an expensive average of 56.80, with best figures of 2/43.