Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers (born 20 August 1940) is a former Test

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 (Australian test cap 230). He was the second Indian-born cricketer to have played a Test match for Australia and the first of

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

descent.

Family

The son of William Alfred Durning Sellers (1907-2005), and Irene Ethel Sellers (1915-2005), née Fremantle, Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers was born at Bulsar, now Valsad, in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 20 August 1940. Sellers is married to Ann and has three sons. His brother Basil Sellers is a businessman and philanthropist.

Education

Having migrated with his family to Australia in early 1948, and from the connexion with Cecil Charles Shinkfield (1891-1973), then the headmaster of King's College, Adelaide, established aboard RMS ''Strathaird'' during their voyage to Australia the two brothers attended King's College.

Cricket

A tall leg-spinner, and affectionately known as "Sahib" in cricket circles, he toured England with Bobby Simpson’s touring team in the summer of 1964 but did not play any of the test matches. He played one Test match for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, in October 1964, in which he was bowled for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

, took one catch and bowled five overs for 17 runs without taking a wicket. His playing career was severely restricted when cysts developed under a tendon attached to his spinning finger; although he did return to the South Australian Cricket team as a batsman, where he made his highest score 87, caught Ian Brayshaw, bowled Tony Lock in his last innings, in the January 1967 match in Perth against Western Australia.

Cricket administrator

He retired after the 1966–67 season. However Sellers has had a long career serving the

South Australian Cricket Association The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the South Australian men's and women's teams based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the ...

(SACA) in both selection and administrative roles, was on the board of the Les Favell Foundation and was made a Life Member of the SACA. He was also a long serving President at the Woodville West Torrens Football Club in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

2013 Australia Day Honours

He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in the 2013 Australia Day Honours, for "service to the sport of cricket, particularly as an administrator."

Notes

References

Dhole, Pradip (2016), "Rex Sellers: First-Anglo Indian to play for Australia", Cricket Country, 16 September 2016.

Skene, Patrick. (2016), "The Forgotten Story of ... Rex Sellers, the Indian-Australian leg-spinner, ''The Guardian'', Tuesday, 12 January 2016.

D400, SA1964/1238: Certificate of Registration as an Australian Citizen No.C(1)21780: Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers, ''National Archives of Australia''.

External links

* 1940 births People from Valsad district Anglo-Indian people Indian emigrants to Australia Australian people of Anglo-Indian descent Australian sportspeople of Indian descent Australian cricketers Australia Test cricketers Australian cricket administrators Kensington cricketers Living people People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia South Australia cricketers 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-cricket-bio-stub