Arthur Coningham (/koʊnɪŋhæm/ 14 July 1863 – 13 June 1939) was an Australian cricketer who played in one Ashes Test match at Melbourne in 1894 in which he took a wicket with his very first ball.[1] He took 2 for 17 in England's first innings but failed to add to that tally in the second.
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| Full name | Arthur Coningham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 July 1863 Emerald Hill, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 June 1939 (aged 76) Gladesville, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Left-arm fast-medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Only Test (cap 69) | 29 December 1894 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 10 September 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography edit
Coningham was born at Emerald Hill, Victoria in 1863. He was renowned as something of a joker. In an effort to stay warm while fielding in a tour match in 1893 at a frigid Blackpool he gathered straw and twigs and started a fire on the outfield.
He found life difficult after he retired from the game, serving time in jail for fraud, and he died in an asylum.[2] Coningham was involved in a famous scandal in 1899 when he sued his wife for divorce on the basis of her adultery with a Catholic priest, Fr Denis O'Haran, personal secretary to Cardinal Moran.[3] The jury found against Coningham and the couple emigrated to New Zealand; in 1912, his wife divorced him for adultery.[3]
His son was the World War I air ace and World War II commander Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham. Coningham died in 1939 and was buried in the Rookwood Cemetery.[4][5]
References edit
- ^ Cricinfo
- ^ Roebuck, Peter (2 September 2011). "New flingers and old selectors, take a bow". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ a b Nairn, Bede (1981). "Arthur Coningham (1863–1939)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 8. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Archived from the original on 19 June 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 655. New South Wales, Australia. 15 June 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 16 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Obituaries in 1939". Wisden. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2019.