Hilton William Raymond Cartwright (born 14 February 1992) is a Zimbabwean born Australian international
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 plays for
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and the
Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
. He is a right-handed
all-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...
. Cartwright made his
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
debut for the
Australian national team in January 2017, having earlier played for
Australia A and the
National Performance Squad. In January 2017 he won the
Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year
Awarded during the Australian Cricket Awards, the Allan Border Medal is considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in Australian men's cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian men's captain Allan Bor ...
prize awarded by
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia (CA) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Cricket'. It is incorporated as an Australian Public Company ...
.
Early life
Zimbabwe
Cartwright was born in
Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
,
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
. He spent his early life in
Marondera
Marondera, originally known as Marandellas, is a capital city of Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe, located about east of Harare.
History
It was first known as Marandella's Kraal, corrupted from Marondera, chief of the ruling VaRozvi people who li ...
, but at the age of 11 emigrated to Australia with his family after their tobacco farm was occupied.
"I don’t remember a huge amount of the bad side of Zimbabwe," said Cartwright. "I remember living on a farm. Our cousins, were down the road. It was only in the last year or so when we had to move out of our farm home and live with my mum’s side of the family in Harare was when my perspective started to change."
Move to Perth
His family settled in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, where he attended
Wesley College.
After his arrival to Perth, Cartwright impressed locals with his cricket skills. Cartwright was picked for the under-13 South Perth Cricket Club district team where he had early success, averaging 34 in his first season. After three more successful seasons, he made his grade-cricket debut in third grade, scoring an unbeaten 50*.
Cartwright represented Western Australia at the 2008–09 Australian Under-17 Championships, and subsequently progressed to the state's under-23 side in the
Futures League
The Second XI (currently known as the Toyota Second XI under naming rights) is a men's cricket league competed for primarily by Australian state and territory first-class cricket reserve teams. The competition is administered by Cricket Australi ...
, debuting in February 2012.
Cartwright said, "When I was younger, I saw myself as a batting all-rounder, and then I started taking a few wickets and people started saying, ‘'Oh you're a bowling all-rounder'’ because I was out of form with my batting. So it was quite hard to try to keep the idea of myself as a batting all-rounder in my own mind."
At
grade cricket
Grade cricket (also known as premier cricket) is the name of the senior inter-club or district cricket competitions in each of the Australian states and territories. The term may refer to:
*Victorian Premier Cricket
* NSW Premier Cricket
* Queens ...
level, he plays for the South Perth Cricket Club. Cartwright also holds
British citizenship
The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...
, and spent the
2010 English season playing for Sidmouth in the
Devon Cricket League
The Tolchards Devon Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Devon, England, and the League Headquarters is in Little Torrington, Devon. The league was founded in 1972, and since 2000 it has been a designat ...
.
"I used to think 'I’m always going to play for Zimbabwe', but since moving to Australia I’ve actually never thought about playing for the English," said Cartwright.
Domestic career
2012–13
After good form in a Futures League match against the
Queensland Academy of Sport
The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...
, recording a
half-century and a
five-wicket haul
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter.
Takin ...
, Cartwright was selected to debut for Western Australia's team for the
2012–13 Ryobi One-Day Cup
The 2012–13 Australian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament, Ryobi One Day Cup was the 43rd season of official List A cricket, List A domestic cricket in Australia. The competition had the same format as the 2011–12 Ryobi One-Day Cup, pr ...
against
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
, held on 7 November 2012. In the match, Cartwright scored four runs from seven deliveries coming in at number seven in the
batting order, and took a single wicket in Victoria's innings bowling
medium pace
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 ...
, Western Australia's only wicket of the match.
In December 2012, Cartwright was named in the Perth Scorchers' squad for the
2012–13 Big Bash League season
The 2012–13 Big Bash League season or BBL, 02 was the second season of the Big Bash League, the top-class Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. The tournament began on 7 December 2012, with the final held on 19 January 2013.
Defending c ...
, replacing the injured
Pat Cummins
Patrick James Cummins (born 8 May 1993) is an Australian international cricketer who captains the Australia men's national cricket team in Test and One Day International cricket. Cummins is widely regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers t ...
. He debuted for the Scorchers in the second match of the competition, against the
Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...
, and top-scored with 17 runs from Perth's innings of 69, the lowest completed score recorded in the tournament. Cartwright made his
first-class debut for Western Australia in January 2013, against
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in 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 ...
. He scored 0 and 29 and took 0–19 off two overs.
His second first class game was unusual – he replaced
Adam Voges
Adam Charles Voges (, born 4 October 1979) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the Australian national team at Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I) level, and also captained Weste ...
during a game on day 4, when Voges was called up for international duty. Cartwright took 0–22.
Cartwright's next first class game was in 2013–14. Against Victoria he took 2–14 and 0–19 and scored 5 and 0.
2015–16 season
In October 2015 Cartwright was picked in the Cricket Australia XI to play New Zealand. He won man of the match in a Matador Cup game scoring 99 for the Cricket Australia XI against Queensland. He also scored 66 against South Australia.
He was selected in the Australian National Performance Squad. He made 81 against Australia A and 65 against India A.
That summer in the Sheffield Shield Cartwright scored 59 in a game against NSW; scored 44 and took 4 wickets against Queensland; scored 139 and took 2 wickets against South Australia; and scored 92 against Queensland.
Cartwright was picked to play for Australia A against a touring India A side in 2016. He scored 117 and took a wicket, winning the man of the match.
2016–17 season
Cartwright began the 2016–17 Sheffield Shield competition strongly, scoring 80 against South Australia, 59 against NSW and 84 and 41 (and one wicket) against Qld.
In April 2022, he was bought by the
Oval Invincibles
Oval Invincibles is a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in South London. The team represents the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Surrey and Kent in the newly founded The Hundred (cricket), The Hundred competition, which t ...
for the
2022 season of
The Hundred in England.
International career
In November 2016, Cartwright was added to Australia's
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(ODI) squad ahead of their three-match series
against New Zealand, despite the fact his domestic one day performances for WA had been relatively underwhelming. ""Hilton bowls useful aggressive medium-pace and is a very good striker of the ball," said Trevor Hohns. "He is an exciting young prospect for Australian cricket and we have been watching him at the pathway level for some time now."
In December 2016 he was added to Australia's
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
squad ahead of the
Boxing day
Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...
match
against Pakistan.
Trevor Hohns, chairman of selectors, said, "We wanted a batting allrounder, someone to bowl seam-up and capable of batting in the top six as well, and after considering several names we came to the conclusion that Hilton fits that bill. We have seen plenty of him, he has performed well this season and we believe that if called upon he will do an excellent job."
On 3 January 2017 Cartwright was presented his
baggy green
The baggy green is a cricket cap of dark myrtle green colour, which has been worn by Australian Test cricketers since around the turn of the twentieth century. The cap was not originally baggy as evidenced by photographs of early players. Th ...
cap by former Australian cricketer
Tom Moody
Thomas Masson Moody (born 2 October 1965) is a former Australian international cricketer and current Director of Cricket of Sri Lanka Cricket. He ended his long tenure with the Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad in August 2022 and ...
to make his debut in third Test match against Pakistan, replacing
Nic Maddinson
Nicolas James Maddinson (born 21 December 1991) is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman who has represented Australia in both Test matches and Twenty20 Internationals. Domestically he plays for New South Wales and the Sy ...
. Cartwright averaged over 44.50 with the bat and had taken 15 wickets from 16 games at 44. Captain Steve Smith said Cartwright's bowling had "improved a lot over the last year or so. I remember facing him a little while ago and I think since then he's probably gained 10ks and got a lot more consistent with his areas. I think he's improved a lot. I guess it depends how much we'll use him, how the game goes. But he's certainly improved over the last year."
In the test Cartwright scored 37 off 97 balls (including a four off his first ball) and took 0–15 off four overs. Australia won the game. According to one report "Cartwright's balls were sluggish, and not just after he was struck a low blow at short leg. He delivered only four overs in this Test and barely broke the 125 km/h barrier. It is hard to imagine him worrying batsmen at that pace. Marsh and Shane Watson at their quickest have both operated above 140 km/h."
Cartwright was overlooked for Australia's squad to tour India in favour of
Shaun Marsh
Shaun Edward Marsh (born 9 July 1983) is an Australian cricketer who previously played for the Western Australia cricket team in Australian domestic cricket and has represented Australian national cricket team, Australia in all three formats. Ni ...
and
Mitchell Marsh
Mitchell Ross Marsh (born 20 October 1991) is an Australian international cricketer who represents Australia in all three formats. Marsh is the current Australian T20I captain, and has served as vice captain in all formats. Marsh currently plays ...
. However, in January 2017 he was voted the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.
He finished the rest of the season strongly at domestic level. He made 94 and 27 against Tasmania, winning the man of the match. He scored 101 against Victoria and a man of the match winning 70 and 170 not out against New South Wales.
Cartwright was offered a Cricket Australia contract for 2017–18.
2017 Tour of Bangladesh
Cartwright was picked on the 2017 tour of Bangladesh, replacing
Shaun Marsh
Shaun Edward Marsh (born 9 July 1983) is an Australian cricketer who previously played for the Western Australia cricket team in Australian domestic cricket and has represented Australian national cricket team, Australia in all three formats. Ni ...
. Head selector
Trevor Hohns
Trevor Victor Hohns (born 23 January 1954) is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer who played in seven Test matches as a spin bowler, and was later Australia's chairman of selectors.
Earlier in his career when Hohns was a relatively o ...
said, "Hilton averages nearly 60
2.07runs in first-class cricket and was the second highest run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season with 861 runs. He is a quality player who we believe has a big future for Australia and we are very keen to see him carry on his good form in the sub-continent."
He did not play in the first test but was picked in the second test in place of
Usman Khawaja
Usman Tariq Khawaja (; born 18 December 1986) is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in Test cricket and Queensland cricket team, Queensland. Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for N ...
. Australia had decided to play three spinners – Ashton Agar, Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon – and it was felt that Cartwright's bowling would give Steve Smith an extra pace option.
Cartwright was only used for five overs in Bangladesh's first innings, taking 0–16. He scored 18 in Australia's first innings.
2017 India tour
Cartwright was named in the Australian one day squad to tour India in 2017.
He made a duck playing as opener in a tour game against the Indian Board XI.
He made his
One Day International
One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...
(ODI) debut for Australia
against India on 17 September 2017. He scored 1, while opening with David Warner.
In the second ODI he scored 1. Cartwright was dropped for the rest of the series.
2017–18 summer
Cartwright was part of the West Australian side that won the JLT One Day Competition in 2017. Against Tasmania he took 1–13; against Queensland 0–29; South Australia he took 0–26 and scored 5; he made 34 against the Cricket Australia XI; and he made 15 not out in the final.
He had a poor 2017-18 Sheffield Shield, although he ended the seasons strong with a man of the match performance against SA, scoring 83 and 111 not out.
In the BBL, his highlight was a man of the match 58 off 53 balls against the Stars.
2018: Playing for Middlesex
Cartwright signed to play for the English county Middlesex over the 2018 summer. Middlesex signed in him in part due to conversations with former Middlesex teammates
Adam Voges
Adam Charles Voges (, born 4 October 1979) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the Australian national team at Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I) level, and also captained Weste ...
and
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer (born 21 November 1970) is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australia men's national team, having been appointed to the role in May 2018 and leaving in February 2022 and became ...
.
Highlights of Cartwright's season include 4–33 against Glamorgan. However, after five first class games he had scored 78 runs at an average of 9.75.
2025: Playing for Hampshire
In July 2025, Cartwright signed for
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Hamp ...
to play in the final six matches of the group stages of that season's
T20 Blast
The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is t ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Hilton
1992 births
Australian cricketers
Australia Test cricketers
Australia One Day International cricketers
Australian people of English descent
Cricket Australia XI cricketers
Living people
Middlesex cricketers
People educated at Wesley College, Perth
Perth Scorchers cricketers
Cricketers from Harare
Western Australia cricketers
White Zimbabwean sportspeople
Zimbabwean emigrants to Australia
Zimbabwean people of English descent
Melbourne Stars cricketers
Oval Invincibles cricketers
Derbyshire cricketers
Australian expatriate cricketers in England
21st-century Australian sportsmen