George Watson (1855 – 23 November 1884) 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 ...
for
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.
...
from 1881 to 1884. In his first match he scored the first
century
A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
first-class cricket.
Early life and career
Watson was born in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, the third son of the Rev. Thomas Watson, who was senior chaplain in the
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
. His younger brother,
Francis Watson (born on
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
in 1860), also played first-class cricket, appearing in a single New Zealand domestic match for a
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
team.
After moving to
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, George Watson began representing Canterbury in non-first-class matches in 1877, and toured
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
with the Canterbury team in 1878-79. However, he was not selected for Canterbury's annual first-class match against
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
until 1880-81.
The first century
The match between Canterbury and Otago at
Hagley Park in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
in February 1881 was the 19th first-class match between the two, in a series that had begun with New Zealand's first first-class match in 1863-64. It was the 30th first-class match in New Zealand. Matches had been low-scoring affairs. The first fifty was not scored until the sixth match, in 1868-69 (72 by
Arthur Cotterill of Canterbury), and the highest score was 88 in 1874-75 by
Charles Corfe
Charles John Corfe (1843 – 20 June 1921) was the inaugural Anglican Bishop in Korea from 1889 to 1904.
Biography
Corfe was one of the four "Bible Clerks" educated as an undergraduate at All Souls College, Oxford. After graduating he had ...
of Canterbury.
Opening the innings, Watson drove the first ball of the match for four. He "laid on to the loose ones without mercy", and after reaching his century with "a long drive for 4" he went "merrily on his way" reported the Christchurch paper ''
The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', "and if we do not chronicle all his important hits, it is because their number was so great, and even newspaper reports have their limit". He was eventually caught at point for 175 when the score was 300. While the Otago fielding was good, ''The Star'' commented, "it would not be going too far to say that their bowling was probably the weakest that has yet been seen in an Interprovincial match". An obituarist recalled: "I remember no innings which contained more good hits and fewer bad ones, than this of Mr Watson. The bowlers failed to get near his wicket at all." He said of Watson's batting in general: "Perhaps the best feature of Mr Watson's batting was its straightness ... His favourite hit was the drive: woe betide the bowler who, deceived by his patient treatment of length balls, presumed to over-pitch!" Watson's score of 175 stood as the highest total by a player on debut in first-class cricket in New Zealand until October 2017, when
Brad Schmulian
Bradley Dean Schmulian (born 3 August 1990) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for Central Districts cricket team, Central Districts.
Early life
He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and moved to New Zealand at the age of nine. Schmulian wa ...
made 203 runs in the first innings for
Central Districts
The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...
in the
2017–18 Plunket Shield season
The 2017–18 Plunket Shield was the 89th season of the Plunket Shield, the domestic first-class cricket competition in New Zealand. The competition started on 23 October 2017 and finished on 5 April 2018. Canterbury were the defending champions ...
.
Canterbury totalled 381, setting a record for the highest total in New Zealand first-class cricket, and dismissed Otago for 77 (
William Frith 8 for 18) and 72 (
Charlie Frith 7 for 25) to win by an innings and 232 runs, a record victory margin in New Zealand first-class cricket at the time. After the match Watson was presented with a bat in honour of his innings.
Later cricket career
Watson scored 36 and 52 (top score in the match) when Canterbury beat
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 ...
by 27 runs in 1882-83. In his last first-class match he again made the highest score, 82, when Canterbury beat
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
by one wicket in 1883-84. He had been captain and secretary of the Midland Canterbury Cricket Club in Christchurch for two seasons when he died.
Personal life
Watson was a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
graduate of
Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to:
* Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S.
* Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia
* Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada
* Canterbury College, Kent, England
* Canterbury College, Oxford, England ...
and a master at
Christ's College, Christchurch
Christ's College, Canterbury is an independent Anglican secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Founded in 1850 by Reverend Henry Jacobs in Lyttelton as a school for early settlers, ...
. He married Sarah Smith in 1879, and they had two sons.
He died at home in Christchurch at the age of 29 after an attack of
peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...
.
Sarah never remarried, raised their sons alone, and died in June 1944.
References
External links
*
George Watson at CricketArchive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, George
1855 births
1884 deaths
New Zealand cricketers
Canterbury cricketers
University of New Zealand alumni
New Zealand schoolteachers
Cricketers from Mumbai
Deaths from peritonitis