William Wills Robinson (17 June 1847 – 14 September 1929) was an English-born New Zealand cricketer. He played 12 first-class matches for Auckland between 1873 and 1885.[1]
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | William Wills Robinson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 June 1847 Birmingham, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 14 September 1929 (aged 82) Wellingborough, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Captain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1873-74 to 1884-85 | Auckland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 December 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robinson was educated at Epsom College in England before moving to New Zealand, where he lived from about 1868 to 1889.[2] A tall man with a curly black beard, he was a slow left-arm bowler, "a free bat and a great fighter", and an outstanding captain.[3] He captained Auckland in all 12 of his matches. Leading them on their southern tour in late 1873, when they played their first first-class matches, he took 20 wickets at an average of 7.30, and they won all three matches.[4] He had a sporting goods store in Auckland before returning to England in 1889.[5][6]
Robinson was also one of the pioneers of rugby football in New Zealand, helping to establish the game in Auckland soon after his arrival in New Zealand in about 1868. In 1905, after he returned to England to live in Wellingborough, he wrote a series of articles on the early history of rugby in New Zealand for The Pall Mall Gazette.[7] He coached the boys at Wellingborough School for more than 30 years.[8]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "William Robinson". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ "The Cricket Match". Auckland Star: 2. 1 February 1882.
- ^ "Our cricketers: Ups and downs of the game in New Zealand". Auckland Star: 14. 2 May 1927. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Cricket in New Zealand in 1873/74". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Personal". Evening Star: 9. 2 January 1930.
- ^ "[Untitled]". New Zealand Herald: 4. 12 February 1889.
- ^ "Rugby Reminiscences: The Infancy of New Zealand Football". Auckland Star: 12. 9 December 1905.
- ^ "Out of the Past: One of Auckland's Captains". Auckland Star: 5. 2 October 1925.