Peter Michael Roebuck was born in Oxford and attended Millfield School in Glastonbury where his mother was a maths teacher and his father an economics teacher. He later went on to Cambridge University, where he won his cricket blue.
His cricketing ability was quickly recognised and he made his debut for Somerset Second Eleven at the age of 13. He made his first team debut in 1974 and went on to make over 17,000 runs, including 33 centuries, until he retired in 1991. He also captained an England XI in Holland and was one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1988.
He entered journalism and wrote his first cricket books while still playing the game. In the English winters he went to Australia where he played Grade cridcket for Waverley and taug
