Bruce Yardley (born 5 September 1947, Midland, Western Australia) is a former Australian cricketer who played in 33 Tests and 7 ODIs from 1978 to 1983.
Known to his teammates as 'Roo', Yardley was an off-spin bowler who, like many spinners, began life as a fast-medium pace seamer. In his late 20s Yardley switched to off-spin and had success at club and then state level. His technique was slightly unusual in that he bowled at near medium-pace, rolling the ball off his middle finger rather than the index finger like conventional off-spinners.
In the early 1980s Yardley was Australia's first-choice spinner; during this period he took most of his 126 Test wickets, including a Test-best of 7/98 against the West Indies at Sydney in 1981/82.
Yardley participated in Australia's first tour of Sri Lanka in 1983 and took seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul, in what proved to be his final Test. Yardley was also a handy number-eight batsman, good enough to score four Test half-centuries, and an exceptional fielder in the gully region, where he took some spectacular catches. He served as coach of Sri Lanka during the late 1990s.
