John William McLaren (22 December 1886 – 17 November 1921) 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 in one

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) ...

in 1912. McLaren was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

to William and Elizabeth McLaren. A fast bowler, he played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

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 ...

from 1906 to 1915. In 1907–08 he took five wickets against the touring English team, although Queensland lost by an innings. Three years later he took 5 for 55 and 3 for 75 against the touring

South Africans South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA. These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora. History The first modern inh ...

. McLaren became the first

-born player to play

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

for Australia when he was selected for the Fifth Test of the 1911–12 Ashes series. He toured England with the Australian team in 1912, but did not play in any of the Tests. After the

First World War 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 ...

, McLaren served as selector and manager for Queensland teams.''The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket'', Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, p. 355. McLaren was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

in his early thirties, and died of the condition at his home in Brisbane in November 1921, aged 34, leaving a widow and a young son. He is buried in Brisbane's

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...

.McLaren John William
– Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren, John 1886 births 1921 deaths Australia Test cricketers Australian cricketers Australian cricket administrators Burials at Toowong Cemetery Cricketers from Brisbane Queensland cricketers Deaths from diabetes in Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen