William Robertson (Canterbury cricketer)
William Robertson (4 March 1864 – 5 April 1912) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury from 1894 to 1901 and played in New Zealand's first representative matches.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 4 March 1864 Invercargill, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 April 1912 (aged 48) Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Pro[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off-spin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1893-94 to 1900-01 | Canterbury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 24 September 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cricket career
editAn off-spinner who opened the bowling, on his first-class debut for Canterbury against Auckland in January 1894 Robertson took 8 for 59 then, bowling unchanged throughout the second innings, 6 for 48.[2] In his next match he took 6 for 72 (unchanged again) and 2 for 72.[3] Selected for New Zealand's first representative match in February 1894, he was New Zealand's outstanding player, taking 6 for 76 and 4 for 73 in a 160-run loss to New South Wales.[4] He then took seven wickets against Otago and eight against Hawke's Bay to give him 47 wickets in five matches at an average of 12.12. He was New Zealand's leading wicket-taker for the season.[5]
After taking only one wicket in the first match in 1894-95, he then took 4 for 65 and 9 for 98 against Wellington,[6] 6 for 54 and 5 for 40 against Fiji,[7] and four wickets against Otago, to finish with 29 wickets at 14.00. He was New Zealand's joint leading wicket-taker for the season.[8]
He played only one match in 1895-96, for New Zealand against New South Wales, when he took three wickets and made his highest score, 15, in a tenth-wicket partnership of 67 with Arthur Fisher that gave New Zealand a sufficient lead to enable them to go on to their first victory.[9] After a gap of five years he returned to the Canterbury side in 1900-01 for his final two matches, and took six wickets.[citation needed]
Dick Brittenden said of Robertson: "He spun the ball either way a prodigious amount ... Small and slender, he suffered much ill-health, and asthma ended a brilliant career cruelly early." An accident in his youth had resulted in the loss of two fingers of his left hand.[10]
Often known as "Billy" or "Pro", Robertson was also a successful cricket coach.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ "Thursday Association". Press: 5. 8 April 1912.
- ^ Canterbury v Auckland 1893-94
- ^ Canterbury v New South Wales 1893-94
- ^ New Zealand v New South Wales 1893-94
- ^ 1893-94 bowling by average
- ^ Canterbury v Wellington 1894-95
- ^ Canterbury v Fiji 1894-95
- ^ 1894-95 bowling by average
- ^ New Zealand v New South Wales 1893-94
- ^ R.T. Brittenden, Great Days in New Zealand Cricket, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, p. 25.
- ^ "Cricket". Press: 11. 2 January 1923.
- ^ Fowke, Johnny (24 January 1920). "Reminiscences of the Sporting World". Star: 8.