Johan Wilhelm Zulch (2 January 1886 – 19 May 1924) was a South African international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who played 16

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

between 1910 and 1921. Zulch was born in

Lydenburg Lydenburg, officially known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. ...

, Transvaal. His cricket career was interrupted by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, but he still managed 985 Test runs at an average of 32.83, with two Test centuries — both against Australia on his first overseas tour in 1910–11. His 105 came in the only Test South Africa won on that tour. Zulch batted for three hours, and a hundred from Tip Snooke then boosted South Africa to 482; and, despite 214 from Australian batsman

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 ...

, and a relative failure from Zulch with 14 in the second innings, South Africa went on to win by 38 runs. In the 2nd Test (1921) against Australia at

Old Wanderers Old Wanderers was a cricket ground in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ground hosted 22 Test matches from 1895 to 1939, before being rebuilt as Johannesburg's Park Station in 1946. It has since been replaced by the New Wanderers Stadium. Histo ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, Australian fast bowler Ted McDonald dismissed Zulch by breaking his bat so that fragments flew back to dislodge a bail, and the Zulch was given out, "

hit wicket Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in play ...

".The MCC have clarified this situation though, and in fact nowadays a batsman should not be given out if a splinter, or part of his bat, breaks the wicket, as it must be his whole bat that breaks the wicket. He died in 1924, in

Umkomaas Umkomaas, a small coastal village on the subtropical south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was formed when a harbour was built in 1861 to export sugar. The village rests beside the mouth of the navigable uMkhomazi River, also known as the M ...

, Natal, following a nervous breakdown.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zulch, Billy 1886 births 1924 deaths People from Lydenburg Afrikaner people South Africa Test cricketers South African cricketers Gauteng cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers