William Braithwaite Roberts (27 September 1914 – 23 August 1951) played first-classcricket for Lancashire as a lower-order batsman and left-arm spin bowler between 1939 and 1949.[1]
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]
Referencesedit
^"William Roberts". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
^ ab"Obituary: W. B. Roberts", The Cricketer, September 1, 1951, p. 438.
William Roberts at CricketArchive(subscription required)
October 30, 2023
william, roberts, lancashire, cricketer, william, braithwaite, roberts, september, 1914, august, 1951, played, first, class, cricket, lancashire, lower, order, batsman, left, spin, bowler, between, 1939, 1949, william, robertspersonal, informationfull, namewil. 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 William RobertsPersonal informationFull nameWilliam Braithwaite RobertsBorn 1914 09 27 27 September 1914Kirkham Lancashire EnglandDied23 August 1951 1951 08 23 aged 36 Bangor Caernarvonshire WalesBattingRight handedBowlingSlow left arm orthodoxDomestic team informationYearsTeam1939 to 1949LancashireCareer statisticsCompetition FCMatches 119Runs scored 865Batting average 10 67100s 50s 0 1Top score 51Balls bowled 27 286Wickets 392Bowling average 21 165 wickets in innings 2510 wickets in match 3Best bowling 8 50Catches stumpings 53 0Source Cricinfo 8 August 2018While 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 editWilliam Roberts at ESPNcricinfo William Roberts at CricketArchive subscription required Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Roberts Lancashire cricketer amp oldid 1156703426, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
