William Hawksworth OBE (3 March 1911 – 14 July 1966) was a New Zealand cricketer and doctor.
 Hawksworth in 1940 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 3 March 1911 Nelson, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 14 July 1966 (aged 55) Oxford, England | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
| 1929/30–1933/34 | Otago | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 18 August 2020 | |||||||||||||||
Life and career
editHawksworth was born at Nelson in 1911 and educated at Wairarapa High School and then at Nelson College from 1925 to 1928.[1][2] He went on to study medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1935.[3] He won the university medal for obstetrics.[4]
He played twelve first-class matches as a wicket-keeper for Otago between the 1929–30 and 1933–34 seasons. He represented the province whilst studying in Dunedin, and played no first-class cricket after graduating as a doctor in 1935.[5] He scored a total of 162 first-class runs, with a highest score of 27 not out. He scored 21 runs in an innings which formed part of a tenth wicket partnership of 184 runs with Roger Blunt. The partnership, which was made against Canterbury at Lancaster Park in December 1931, set a record for the tenth wicket in New Zealand domestic cricket which, as of January 2024, still stands.[2][6][7]
Hawksworth worked as house surgeon at New Plymouth Hospital before moving to London in the late 1930s to continue his studies.[8] He married Roberta Jolliffe of Wellington in London in July 1940.[8]
Hawksworth served in the Medical Corps of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War II. He served in North Africa, Greece, Crete and Italy, commanding a field ambulance.[9] He was awarded the OBE for his services.[10]
After the war Hawksworth returned to England. He became a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist to the United Oxford Hospitals. In 1959 he received the degree of MA Oxon as a Fellow of University College. He served on the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for six years.[9] Among his patients in Oxford was the American actress Patricia Neal, who gave birth in 1965 after being partially paralysed by a series of strokes.[11]
Hawksworth died in Oxford after a short illness in July 1966, aged 55. He was survived by his widow, a son and two daughters.[9][11]
References
edit- ^ "Full school list of Nelson College, 1856–2005". Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006 (CD-ROM) (6th ed.). 2006.
- ^ a b McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 65. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2 (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)
- ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Ha–He". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "University of Otago". Otago Daily Times: 4. 22 May 1935.
- ^ "William Hawksworth". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ William Hawksworth, CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 January 2023. (subscription required)
- ^ First-Class Highest Partnerships for Tenth Wicket, Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b "[Untitled]". Evening Post: 14. 18 September 1940.
- ^ a b c "Hawksworth, William (1911 - 1966)". Royal College of Surgeons. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "William Hawksworth". Auckland Museum. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Doctor Dies". Press: 14. 16 July 1966.