Ernest Henry Lovell "Bill" Bernau (6 April 1896 – 7 January 1966) was a New Zealand

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 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 ...

from 1914–15 to 1927–28, and accompanied the

New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...

on their tour of England in 1927.

Life and career

Bill Bernau attended

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

, where he was taught by the cricketer Hugh Butterworth. A left-arm medium-pace bowler and left-handed batsman, in the annual match against

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

in December 1913 he made 52 then took 7 for 29 and 5 for 13 to give Wanganui Collegiate victory by an innings. In a senior club match in Wanganui in November 1914 he took 9 for 7, dismissing eight of his victims

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

, five of them for

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

. He took 12 wickets in a

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat t ...

match (not first-class) for Wanganui against South Taranaki in December 1914, and made his first-class debut in January 1915 for

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, scoring 31 and 8 and taking 4/88 in an innings defeat. He did not play at that level again until he appeared for Minor Associations against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

in March 1921. This was another innings defeat, and Bernau was personally unsuccessful, taking the single wicket of

Alan Kippax Alan Falconer Kippax (25 May 1897 – 5 September 1972) was a cricketer for New South Wales (NSW) and Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era between the two World Wars, Kippax overcame a late sta ...

. Bernau finally tasted victory at first-class level when he played for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

against

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

in December 1922. Wellington ran out easy victors, thanks in no small part to Bernau, who scored 117 (his only century, including 20 fours) in the first innings, and took five wickets in the match. In 1927, after several years playing minor cricket for Wanganui, Bernau was selected to tour England with the national side when the controversy over the eligibility for selection of

Ted Badcock Frederick Theodore Badcock (9 August 1897 – 19 September 1982) was a New Zealand first-class and Test cricketer. Perhaps the best all-rounder in New Zealand in the inter-war period, he played seven Test matches for New Zealand between 1930 a ...

led to his withdrawal. Bernau took his place despite playing no first-class cricket that summer. He played in 16 first-class matches on the tour, and recorded his career-best bowling performance when he took 6/35 against

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

. Bernau's final first-class matches were back home in 1927–28, when he played twice for New Zealand against The Rest, and finally for Wellington against Canterbury in the Plunket Shield. He served with the New Zealand forces in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. Later he worked as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

.Bill Francis, ''Tom Lowry: Leader in a Thousand'', Trio, Wellington, 2010, p. 88.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernau, Ernest 1896 births 1966 deaths People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School New Zealand cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Hawke's Bay cricketers Wellington cricketers Cricketers from Napier, New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War I

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links