William Murray-Wood (30 June 1917 – 21 December 1968) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

cricket 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 ...

er who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Kent between 1936 and 1953. He was Kent's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1952 and 1953, leaving in controversial circumstances.

Live and career

Murray-Wood was born at

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, Kent. He was educated at Mill Hill School in London, and at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

. Murray-Wood was primarily a batsman, and scored 106 not out on his first-class debut for Oxford in 1936 against Gloucestershire.Obituaries in 1968 - Murray-Wood, William
'' Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', 1969. Retrieved 2016-02-28. He also bowled leg-spin, with best figures of 6 for 29 for Oxford against The Army in 1937. He was an excellent fieldsman. He made his Kent debut in 1936 and played occasionally until he was appointed captain of the Kent side in 1952. He made his highest first-class score in the match against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1952, scoring 107 and adding 233 in three hours with Dicky Mayes to save Kent from defeat. His county career came to an abrupt end in 1953, when the Kent committee announced during Canterbury Cricket Week in August that he was being replaced as captain by Doug Wright. At the annual meeting the following February it was made clear that the county's amateur players had told the club they would not continue under Murray-Wood's leadership.Derek Carlaw
''Kent County Cricketers: Part Two, 1919–1939''
ACS, Nottingham, n.d., pp. 127–30. Murray-Wood spent most of his life as a fruit farmer. During World War II he served with the Special Operations Executive, training men and women to parachute into occupied territory and work with patriot forces. He died in Guy's Hospital in London in December 1968, aged 51."Obituaries", '' The Cricketer'', Spring Annual 1969, p. 95.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray-Wood, Bill 1917 births 1968 deaths Kent cricketers Kent cricket captains Oxford University cricketers Military personnel from Kent Sportspeople from Dartford British Special Operations Executive personnel English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People educated at Mill Hill School Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricketers