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Douglas Ovenstone

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Douglas Ovenstone
Personal information
Full name
Douglas MacPherson Ovenstone
Born(1921-07-31)31 July 1921
Sea Point, Cape Province, South Africa
Died6 November 2011(2011-11-06) (aged 90)
Llandudno, Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicketkeeper
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1946/47–1947/48Western Province
First-class debut13 March 1943 First South African Division v The Rest
Last First-class3 January 1948 Western Province v Transvaal
Career statistics
Competition FC
Matches 20
Runs scored 437
Batting average 14.56
100s/50s –/1
Top score 52
Balls bowled
Wickets
Bowling average
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling
Catches/stumpings 40/15
Source: CricketArchive, 4 March 2012

Douglas MacPherson Ovenstone (31 July 1921 – 6 November 2011) was a South African cricketer who played first-class cricket between 1942–43 and 1947–48.[1] He was born at Sea Point, Cape Town, Cape Province and died at Llandudno, Cape Town.

Ovenstone was a right-handed batsman who mainly batted in the lower order but was occasionally used as an opener, and a wicketkeeper. He played in a single wartime first-class match, having served in the South African forces in the Second World War and been wounded at El Alamein.[2]

He played regularly for Western Province in 1946-47 and in the match against Transvaal he hit 52 while opening the batting; this was to be his only first-class score of more than 50.[3] On the strength of that and four catches in the Transvaal second innings, he was picked for the 1947 South African tour of England. With Johnny Lindsay and George Fullerton also in the touring side, Ovenstone's opportunities were limited. Lindsay was chosen for the first three Test matches and though his poor batting meant that he then lost his Test place, Ovenstone was not available, as he was sidelined for two months after breaking a finger in a county game immediately after the second Test; by the time he was fit again, the tour was almost over and Fullerton had taken over as the Test wicketkeeper.[4]

Ovenstone returned to first-class cricket with Western Province in the 1947–48 season, but then retired to a career in business. He ran a farm in the Western Cape that housed exotic animals and had interests in a family fisheries business.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Douglas Ovenstone". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Douglas Ovenstone dies aged 90". www.espncricinfo.com. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Scorecard: Western Province v Transvaal". www.cricketarchive.com. 1 January 1947. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  4. ^ "South Africans in England, 1947". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1948 ed.). Wisden. p. 186.