Basil Arthur Helfrich (30 March 1919 – 6 March 1938) was a South African

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

who showed great promise as a teenager but died at the age of 18. He was one of four brothers who 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

in South Africa.

Life and career

Basil Helfrich lived in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, where he made his first-class debut in March 1935 a few days before his 16th birthday, playing for Griqualand West in a victory over Western Province. Also in the Griqualand West team were John Waddington, who had made his debut earlier in the season a few days younger than Helfrich and would play for Griqualand West for another 24 years; Tony Harris, 18 years old, who would play

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; and Helfrich's elder brother Dudley, who had made his debut five seasons earlier at the age of 17. As he was still at school, he played only home matches in his first two seasons. In 1935–36 he top-scored with 66 in the match against

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

, and then top-scored in both innings of the match against the touring Australians, making 64 and 59 when none of his team-mates were able to reach 25. In the second innings he was so severe on the bowling of Bill O'Reilly that O'Reilly was taken out of the attack. The Australian batsman Jack Fingleton thought Helfrich "was bound to become an international", as did the South African sports journalist

Louis Duffus Louis George Duffus (13 May 1904 in Melbourne, Australia – 24 July 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa) was a South African cricketer who became the country's most respected writer on the game. Life and career Duffus was educated in Johannesbur ...

."Obituary: B. Helfrich", ''

The Cricketer ''The Cricketer'' is a monthly English cricket magazine providing writing and photography from international, county and club cricket. The magazine was founded in 1921 by Sir Pelham Warner, an ex-England captain turned cricket writer. Warner e ...

'', 30 April 1938, p. 28. He played the full seasons of 1936–37 and 1937–38. In 1936–37 he made his only century, 109 against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, and appeared for a strong South African team in a first-class match against City of Johannesburg. His batting form fell away in 1937–38. During the season, just after scoring 120 not out in 80 minutes in a club match in Kimberley, he was struck down with

enteric fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

, and died a few weeks later, just short of his 19th birthday. Griqualand West's match against North-Eastern Transvaal was abandoned after the second day's play when news came of his death. Besides his batting he was a brilliant fieldsman and useful slow bowler. He also excelled at

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and swimming.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Helfrich, Basil 1919 births 1938 deaths South African cricketers Griqualand West cricketers Cricketers from Kimberley, Northern Cape