Charles Wordsworth (cricketer)

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Charles Wordsworth
Personal information
Full name
Charles William Wordsworth
Born(1877-09-09)9 September 1877
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England
Died10 June 1960(1960-06-10) (aged 82)
Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1907/08New South Wales
1908/09–1909/10Otago
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 5
Runs scored 72
Batting average 8.00
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 19
Balls bowled 906
Wickets 16
Bowling average 25.43
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 3/24
Catches/stumpings 1/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 25 February 2024

Charles William Wordsworth (9 September 1877 – 10 June 1960) was an English-born cricketer and cricket coach who played in Australia and New Zealand during the early 20th century. He played first-class cricket for New South Wales and Otago between the 1907–08 and 1909–10 seasons.[1]

Wordsworth was born at Rotherham in England in 1877. He worked as a baker.[2] Primarily a bowler, he made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in a match against Queensland in April 1908, taking four wickets in the match.[3][4] He played First Grade cricket in Sydney and was described as a "fast-medium to fast right-hand bowler and a left-hand batsman" who was "a fair performer" in Grade Cricket,[5] and had taken seven and eight wickets in two matches during the 1907–08 season.[3] A retrospective view of his career described Wordsworth as "a fast bowler, but an erratic one".[6]

In November 1908 he and another Australian, Francis Ayles, were appointed as coaches by the Otago Cricket Association in New Zealand. Ayles was primarily a batting coach while Wordsworth, who the Otago Daily Times described as having "a reputation as a fast bowler",[a][7] coached bowling and acted as a net bowler for practice sessions. The two men primarily coached young players and school cricketers, although they also worked with more established players.[8]

As well as coaching, Wordsworth played club cricket for Albion Cricket Club in Dunedin[9] and appeared in all three of Otago's first-class matches during his first season in New Zealand. He played in the side's only Plunket Shield match of the season, bowling "exceedingly well"[8] and taking five wickets in the match,[4] including dismissing Auckland's opening batsman first ball with "a very fast delivery ... which caught the top of the middle stump".[10] He played against Wanganui―the Otago Cricket Association again praising his consistency bowling in its end of season report―[b][8] and Southland and in first-class matches against Hawke's Bay and Canterbury.[4] He was the side's second leading wicket-taker of the 1908–09 season, taking 25 wickets; he also scored a half-century.[c][8]

Despite his performances as a player, the Association was unhappy about the way that young players had responded to coaching[8] and had some doubts about Wordsworth's health and fitness due to rheumatism which affected his ability to bowl.[11] He was reappointed in September 1909 for the following season, although Ayles was not.[6][12][13][14] The appointment was criticised by the cricket correspondent of the Otago Witness who suggested that although Wordsworth was a reasonable net bowler, that his abilities as a coach were limited, and that the Association could not afford to pay for just a "ground bowler".[15] In October the Association responded by announcing that Wordsworth had, indeed, been appointed as a ground bowler,[16] although he would take some coaching duties alongside Australian Test cricketer Charlie Macartney who had been persuaded too spend the 1909–10 season in Dunedin by the Association.[17] Wordsworth played in Otago's first first-class match of the season, a December fixture against Canterbury, without taking a wicket. He did not appear in the side's two Plunket Shield matches later in the season.[d][4]

The season was Wordsworth's last in New Zealand, his performance as a coach judged to be, again, unsuccessful by the Otago Witness,[18] although he played well in club cricket for Albion who he captained during the season.[19][20] The following season he applied for a position as coach with the Wellington Cricket Association but was unsuccessful.[21] After returning to Australia, he continued to play and coach cricket. By 1921 he was serving as a net bowler for the Australian I Zingari club at Rushcutters Bay near Sydney, although by this time he was reported as bowling slower than he had due to a knee injury.[22]

Wordsworth died at Redfern in Sydney in 1960. He was aged 82.[1]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Several press sources describe Wordsworth as a fast bowler. Both CricInfo and CricketArchive list him as a medium pace bowler.
  2. ^ This match is not considered first-class and CricketArchive has no reference to it in its database scorecards.
  3. ^ Wordsworth half-century was not scored in a first-class fixture.
  4. ^ Macartney, who played 35 Test matches for Australia and was one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1922, played in all three matches in his only season in New Zealand.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Charles Wordsworth". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 142. 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.)
  3. ^ a b Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2854, 25 November 1908, p. 60. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  4. ^ a b c d Charles Wordsworth, CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 July 2023. (subscription required)
  5. ^ The World of Sport, Taranaki Herald, volume LIV, issue 13814, 21 November 1908, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  6. ^ a b Coaching in Otago, Evening Star, issue 21864, 30 October 1934, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  7. ^ The City Council and the public, Otago Daily Times, issue 14365, 7 November 1908, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  8. ^ a b c d e Otago Cricket Association Annual Report, Otago Daily Times, issue 14616, 31 August 1909, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  9. ^ Cricket: Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2896, 15 September 1909, p. 62. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  10. ^ The Plunket Shield, Evening Star, issue 13145, 29 December 1908, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  11. ^ General gossip, NZ Truth, issue 229, 13 November 1909, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  12. ^ Wordsworth reappointed coach, Evening Star, issue 14178, 1 October 1909, p. 1. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  13. ^ Otago Cricket Association, Otago Daily Times, issue 14643, 1 October 1909, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  14. ^ Cricket, NZ Truth, issue 224, 9 October 1909, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  15. ^ Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, volume 6, issue 2899, 6 October 1909, p. 60. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  16. ^ Cricket, Auckland Star, volume XL, issue 253, 23 October 1909, p. 14. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  17. ^ Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2902, 27 October 1909, p. 59. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  18. ^ Crcket: Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2923, 23 March 1910, p. 60. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  19. ^ Presentation to C. Wordsworth, Evening Star, issue 14312, 10 March 1910, p. 7. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  20. ^ Albion Cricket Club, Evening Star, issue 14457, 29 August 1910, p. 1. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  21. ^ Cricket, Otago Witness, issue 2945, 24 August 1910, p. 58. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  22. ^ English team's tour, Otago Daily Times, issue 18151, 24 January 1921, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)

External links[edit]

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