Neil Alan Foster (born 6 May 1962) is an English former professional cricketer, who played 29 Test matches and 48 One Day Internationals for England from 1983 to 1993.

Supported by a star-studded team that included other England players such as Graham Gooch, Keith Fletcher, John Lever, Derek Pringle and later Nasser Hussain, Essex with Foster as their spearhead fast bowler won the County Championship on five occasions (1983, 1984, 1986, 1991 and 1992) during his time there.

[3] Foster came to England's attention during Essex's County Championship campaign of 1983, featuring in an incident where they dismissed Surrey for only 14.

Foster made his mark on Test cricket at a similar time to other fellow Essex players and captain Graham Gooch.

In 1988, Foster was selected as Wisden Cricketer of the Year alongside Jonathan Agnew, David Hughes, Peter Roebuck and Pakistan international Saleem Malik.

Earlier in the tournament he shared a crucial stand with Allan Lamb and hit the winning runs as England secured an important unexpected victory against the West Indies.

He became the fourth South African rebel to be rehabilitated, after Gatting, John Emburey and Paul Jarvis, and his selection was designed to bring more aggression to the English attack.

"Back and knee injuries plagued the career of Essex seam bowler Neil Foster so much that the plates in his body once apparently set off an airport metal-detector.