William Braithwaite Roberts (27 September 1914 – 23 August 1951) played first-class cricket for Lancashire as a lower-order batsman and left-arm spin bowler between 1939 and 1949.[1]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Braithwaite Roberts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 September 1914 Kirkham, Lancashire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 August 1951 (aged 36) Bangor, Caernarvonshire, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1939 to 1949 | Lancashire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 8 August 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
While serving in the Army during the Second World War Roberts showed good form in the cricket matches he was able to take part in, and he was chosen to play for England in three of the Victory Tests in 1945.[2] He had four successful seasons for Lancashire from 1946 to 1949, taking almost 400 wickets, but the younger left-arm spinners Malcolm Hilton and Bob Berry replaced him in the county team, and he returned to club cricket in 1951. After illness and an operation he died in August that year, aged 36.[2]
He became famous when he dismissed Australian batsman Don Bradman in 1948. He took 6 for 73 off 42 overs in the Australians' first innings, then on the last day he held out against the bowling of Ray Lindwall to give Lancashire a draw.[3] His best first-class figures were 8 for 50 (match figures of 51.5–23–83–11) for Lancashire against Oxford University in 1949.[4]
References
edit- ^ "William Roberts". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Obituary: W. B. Roberts", The Cricketer, September 1, 1951, p. 438.
- ^ Wisden 1949, pp. 249–50.
- ^ "Oxford University v Lancashire 1949". Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
External links
edit- William Roberts at ESPNcricinfo
- William Roberts at CricketArchive (subscription required)