Gordon Frederick Rorke (born 27 June 1938) is a former Australian

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 in four

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in 1959. Rorke made his Test debut in January 1959 in the Fourth Test of

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

series against

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. It was an impressive debut, taking 3/23 off 18.1 eight-ball overs in the first innings (including the wickets of

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...

for 84,

Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney (16 June 1927 – 3 November 2015) was an English first-class cricketer, representing his country in 79 Test matches and scoring over 4,800 runs. In a career lasting from 1948 to 1972, he became the 15th player to score ...

and Willie Watson) and 2/70 from 34 overs in the second innings. Rorke claimed three wickets in the Fifth Test at

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a fortnight later, and was selected to tour

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and

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the following year. A six-foot five-inch (or 1.96 m) "Blond Giant", Rorke was the fastest Australian bowler and accused of throwing by the English press, but this paled beside his excessive dragging. With his seven-foot stride, if dragging his rear foot a yard over the crease he could be only eighteen yards from the batsman when he finally delivered the ball. At times he seemed impossible to score from.Frith, p. 437.

Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman, (6 February 1931 – 1 July 2006) was an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England cricket team. He had professional status and later became an author and broadcaster. Acknowled ...

was no balled for dragging his foot a couple of inches over the crease and wrote "It was really annoying as this umpire seemed to allow Gordon Rorke to bowl with both his feet over the front line!". One picture showed him with his rear foot past the bowling crease before he had even begun to drag.

joked "I was frightened that he might tread on my toes".Tyson, p.59. Rorke did not play

in the opening three Tests of the 1959–60 tour, but was selected when

Ray Lindwall Raymond Russell Lindwall (3 October 1921 – 23 June 1996) was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league f ...

withdrew from the opening Test against

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Rorke played little role in the following Test at

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

, bowling only two overs before being forced to retire ill. His situation became so grave he was flown back to Australia for medical treatment. Following this illness, Rorke struggled in first-class cricket, eventually losing his place in the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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squad in 1964. Since the end of his playing career he has had three knee replacements. He and his wife have four children and 11 grandchildren.

References

Sources

* Brown, A. (1988) ''The Pictorial History of Cricket'', Bison Books: London. * Frith, D. (1987) ''Pageant of Cricket'', The MacMillan Company of Australia: South Melbourne. . * Trueman, F. (2005) ''As It Was'', Pan Books: London. . * Tyson, F. (1982) ''The Cricketer Who Laughed'', Stanley Paul: London. . * Willis, B. & Murphy, P. (1986) ''Starting with Grace'', Stanley Paul: London.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rorke, Gordon 1938 births Living people Australia Test cricketers New South Wales cricketers Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney