Brian Redmond Devereaux O'Connor (5 July 1913 – 17 December 1963) was an Australian

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 ...

er who played

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

cricket for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Biography

O'Connor, a right-arm

fast-medium Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. T ...

opening bowler and lower order batsman, made four of his five first-class matches in the 1934/35 Sheffield Shield season. He struggled on his debut, against South Australia at the

Brisbane Cricket Ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

, going wicket-less in the first innings and conceding 80 runs off just 13 overs. In the second innings he dismissed opener

Vic Richardson Victor York Richardson (7 September 189430 October 1969) was a leading Australian sportsman of the 1920s and 1930s, captaining the Australia cricket team and the South Australia Australian rules football team, representing Australia in basebal ...

and then helped Queensland win the match by scoring 11 not out from nine in the batting order, securing a narrow three wicket victory. His next appearance was at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

against Victoria and he was more successful with the ball, claiming 2/72, with the wickets of Leo O'Brien and

Len Darling Leonard Stuart Darling (14 August 1909 – 24 June 1992) was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Test cricket, Test matches from 1933 to 1937. Darling once told a story of fielding on the boundary at the Sydney Cricket Ground and position ...

. The Queenslanders were outplayed on this occasions and were unable to score enough runs to make the Victorians bat a second time. He again played against South Australia for his third Shield match, this time at Adelaide Oval. In statistically his worst bowling effort, he finished with 0/120 off only 17 overs in South Australia's first innings, as each of their top four batsmen scored centuries. Chasing a small total, the home side won by eight wickets, with O'Connor picking up the wicket of Frank Collins. In his last Sheffield Shield appearance, O'Connor was part of the Queensland team which played New South Wales at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

. His only contribution was the wicket of Ted white, caught and bowled. The following summer, O'Connor was called into the team to play the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

in Brisbane. He opening the bowling with Eddie Gilbert in the MCC's only innings and took 1/54, with Joe Hardstaff his wicket. After being run-out for 13 in his first innings, O'Connor posted his highest score in the second, making 20 before he was sent back to the pavilion. Although he never again played for Queensland, O'Connor continued to compete at

grade level Educational stages are subdivisions of formal learning, typically covering early childhood education, primary education, secondary education and tertiary education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) rec ...

for Eastern Suburbs and topped the bowling averages in 1939/40. He was the only son of Leo O'Connor, a Queensland cricket captain who also led his state in

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

interstate matches. Like his father, O'Connor was a Queensland representative in both sports. He played for

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

in the Queensland Australian National Football League. They were not his only sports, he also played

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 ...

with the

GPS Rugby Club GPS Rugby Club, colloquially known as GPS, is an Australian rugby union club based at Ashgrove in Brisbane that plays in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. GPS also participates in the Brisbane Grades and Colts competitions, and in the ...

. During the war, O'Connor served as a pilot with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. He flew a Hampden torpedo bomber with the 455 Squadron, where he was a

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

.''Army News (Darwin)'',
Brian O'Connor Home
, 17 March 1944. p. 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Brian 1913 births Australian cricketers Queensland cricketers Australian rules footballers from Queensland Australian rugby union players Australian World War II pilots Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II 1963 deaths Cricketers from Brisbane Royal Australian Air Force officers GPS Rugby players