William James Whitty (15 August 1886 – 30 January 1974) was an Australian
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er who played 14
Test matches between 1909 and 1912.
Early career
Born in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Whitty had only played junior cricket before he was noticed by Test
batsman
In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
Victor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...
, who recommended him for coaching and gave him the opportunity to bowl to the
New South Wales state team. In 1907, at the age of 21, Whitty made his
first-class debut for New South Wales against
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
at the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...
, taking 3
wicket
In the sport of cricket, the term wicket has several meanings:
* It is either of the two sets of three Stump (cricket), stumps and two Bail (cricket), bails at each end of the Cricket pitch, pitch. The Fielding (cricket), fielding team's playe ...
s. This was the only first-class match Whitty played for his home state, as he was recruited to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
by
Clem Hill
Clement Hill (18 March 18775 September 1945) was an Australian cricketer who played 49 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1896 and 1912. He captained the Australian team in ten Tests, winning five and losing five. A prolific run ...
to play for
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
in 1908. Whitty played 5 first-class games in the 1908–09 Australian season, including one match for a "Rest of Australia" team against the Australian XI, where he took 3 wickets. Over the entire season, Whitty took 11 wickets with an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
of 49.00, which was enough to earn him selection into the
Australian team to tour
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1909.
Test career
Whitty played in the first Test of the series, recording figures of 0/43 and 0/18 as
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
posted a dominant 10 wicket victory. Whitty was replaced for the second Test, which Australia won, along with the third, in retaining
the Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...
. Despite his struggle to hold on to his Test position, Whitty took 77 wickets on the tour, at the impressive average of 20.42. On his return home to Australia, he continued to play for South Australia in 1909–10, helping them to win the
Sheffield Shield
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...
for the second time in their history. In the final match of the season against New South Wales, Whitty took 5/43 as his former team was dismissed for just 92 in their first innings.
Whitty's six-foot tall frame allowed him to
swing the new ball considerably, and he also bowled reasonably quick
left-arm orthodox deliveries with the older ball. He was seen as the ideal partner for
fast bowler
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...
Tibby Cotter, and the pair opened the bowling at home against
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in 1910–11. This series has been described as Whitty's "greatest Test success", as he played all 5 Tests to take 37 wickets at the outstanding average of 17.08. Whitty took 8 wickets in the first Test, followed by 3 in the first innings of the second Test in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. In the second innings, with South Africa requiring 170 runs for victory, Whitty produced one of the "most sensational" bowling spells by an Australian in the period, taking 6/17 in 16
overs as South Africa were bowled out for 80. Whitty's good form continued throughout the series, including a further 8 wickets in the third Test, and 5/79 for South Australia against the tourists. In the fourth Test, Whitty produced his best Test performance with the bat, making 39
not out
In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress.
Occurrence
At least one batter is not out at ...
in an 82-run
partnership
A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...
with
Vernon Ransford
Vernon Seymour Ransford OBE (20 March 1885 – 19 March 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 20 Test matches between 1907 and 1912.
Ransford was a smooth and stylish left-handed batsman who could score with ease all round the wicke ...
, which remained a record for the 10th wicket in Tests between the two nations until it was broken by
Mike Hussey and
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath (; born 9 February 1970) is an Australian former international cricketer whose career spanned 14 years. He was a fast-medium pace bowler and is considered one of cricket's greatest bowlers and a leading contributor to Aus ...
in
2005–06.
Whitty was again selected in the Australian team for the first two Tests against England during their 1911–12 tour of Australia, but managed just 3 wickets at 61.67, and was left out of the team for the remainder of the five-Test series. Despite this performance, and partly due to a "boardroom brawl" which saw Australia leave behind many of its best players, Whitty was selected to tour England for the
1912 Triangular Test series, which also featured South Africa. The squad has often been described as "one of the worst teams Australia ever sent overseas", 10 of the 15 players having never travelled to England before. Whitty took 25 wickets in the 6 Test matches, including 7 wickets against England at
The Oval
The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
, and 5/55 against South Africa at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
. He finished the tour with 109 wickets at 18.08, second only in averages to
Charles Macartney.
South Australia took their 3rd Sheffield Shield in 1912–13, with Whitty taking figures of 5/65 in Melbourne and 5/92 (and a
run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, in which the fielding team put down the wicket of a batter who is outside their ground, usually because they are trying to score a run.
Run out is governed by Law 38 of the laws of cricket. If ...
) in Sydney. He was selected in the Australian team scheduled to tour South Africa in 1914–15, but the tour was cancelled due to
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, effectively ending Whitty's Test career.
During his Test career, Whitty also toured
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
. In the United States, at the end of the 1912 England tour, Australia incredibly lost to a
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
n team, with Whitty being one of only two players to score over 20 in Australia's first innings, before being
bowled
In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, it is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batter.
Second, it is a method of dismissing a batter, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. ...
on the fourth
delivery
Delivery may refer to:
Biology and medicine
*Childbirth
*Drug delivery
*Gene delivery
Business and law
*Delivery (commerce), of goods, e.g.:
**Pizza delivery
** Milk delivery
** Food delivery
** Online grocer
*Deed ("delivery" in contract law), a ...
of the final over, with Australia needing 3
runs for victory.
After World War I
Whitty continued to play domestically after the War ended, and was still good enough to regularly take 5-wicket hauls in first-class cricket up to the age of 38. Whitty played his final first-class game as New South Wales wrapped up the 1925–26 Sheffield Shield. A feature of Whitty's first-class career was his remarkable success bowling to his hero Trumper, with Whitty dismissing him seven times in ten innings – Trumper remaining not out in the other three.
At lower levels, Whitty played for East Torrens in Adelaide from 1908 to 1915, consistently taking over 50 wickets a season, and leading district bowling averages for four consecutive years from 1911. He played for
Glenelg from 1920 to 1927, and continued playing in the
Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...
region until 1937. He was also an enthusiastic
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
er, and at one stage played off
scratch. From 1938 Whitty lived on his property at
Tantanoola, where he died aged 87, the longest surviving of Australia's pre-WWI Test cricketers.
Footnotes
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Bill Whitty espncricinfo.com
# ''200 Years of Australian Cricket'' 1997, p. 153
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# Pollard 1982, p. 381
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# ''200 Seasons of Australian Cricket'' 1997, p. 161
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitty, Bill
1886 births
1974 deaths
Australia Test cricketers
New South Wales cricketers
South Australia cricketers
Australian cricketers
H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers
Cricketers from Sydney
20th-century Australian sportsmen