Raymond Bernard Strauss (4 November 1927 – 28 July 2013) was an Australian sportsman who played both

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 ...

and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

at high levels. From

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Strauss attended

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

and later the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, playing for the university's hockey club. Twice named captain of the all-Australian universities side, he was captain of the side on several occasions, including when the team shared the 1952 Syme Cup with the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. Strauss represented Western Australia on various occasions from 1949 to 1955, and made his Test debut for the Australian national team in August 1954, against

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 ...

(with cricket teammate Ian Dick captaining the side), though it is unclear if he played further matches for the national side. At both club and state levels, he had largely played as a defender, usually as a fullback, and was known for his "interceptions and long clearances". Playing first for East Perth and then University at WACA district level, Strauss had played cricket matches for state colts teams as early as the 1950–51 season, but did not make his first-class debut for the state's senior team until the end of the 1952–53 season, playing for the state against the touring

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and South African national teams. Opening the bowling with

Harry Price Harry Price (17 January 1881 – 29 March 1948) was a British psychic researcher and author, who gained public prominence for his investigations into psychical phenomena and exposing fraudulent spiritualist mediums. He is best known for ...

against the South Africans, he took 7/75 in the side's second innings, although Western Australia still lost the match by 175 runs. A regular in the side throughout the remainder of the 1950s, Strauss took 25 wickets in a season on three separate occasions (1956–57, 1958–59, and 1959–60), often partnering with

Des Hoare Desmond Edward Hoare (born 19 October 1934) is a former Australian cricketer who played in one Test match in 1961. He also played Australian rules football for East Fremantle in the West Australian National Football League (WANFL). Life and c ...

and

Ron Gaunt Ronald Arthur Gaunt (26 February 1934 – 31 March 2012) was an Australian cricketer who played in three Test matches between 1958 and 1964. He was chiefly a fast bowler, who took 266 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 26.85, playi ...

.Former WA bowler Ray Strauss dies
– ESPNcricinfo. Published 28 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013. His best bowling figures came during the 1956–57 season in the opening

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 ...

match against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, when he took 7/59 from 18 eight-ball overs. He finished that season with 33 wickets at an average of 22.48, the most of any fast bowler and second only to

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 ...

Lindsay Kline Lindsay Francis Kline (29 September 1934 – 2 October 2015) was an Australian cricketer. He played in 13 Test matches for Australia and 88 first-class matches between 1955/56 and 1961/62. He was a left-arm spin bowler, bowling left-arm un ...

(37 wickets) overall. Having played his last matches for Western Australia during the 1959–60 season, Strauss spent both the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and 1961 English seasons as the professional player for the

East Lancashire Cricket Club East Lancashire Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Alexandra Meadows in Blackburn. For the 2015 season its captain was Mark Bolton and its professional was Juan de Villiers. The club has been ...

in the Lancashire League, playing 52 league and seven cup matches over the two seasons. East Lancashire made the final of the Worsley Cup (the league's knockout competition) in both seasons, winning in 1961. Strauss took five-wicket hauls in both years, as well as scoring a half-century in the 1960 loss. However, his performance in that match was largely overshadowed by that of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

's professional, Indian Test player

Dattu Phadkar Dattatraya Gajanan "Dattu" Phadkar (12 December 1925 – 17 March 1985) was an all-rounder who represented Indian cricket team, India in Test cricket. Phadkar was an attacking middle order batsman, a medium pace bowler who could swing the ball ...

, who took 8/54 and scored 68

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

. In league matches, Strauss took the most wickets for the club in both seasons, as well as leading the club's runs aggregates in the 1960 season. His 104 wickets during that season was only bettered by

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

international

Roy Gilchrist Roy Gilchrist (28 June 1934 – 18 July 2001) was a West Indian cricketer who played 13 Tests for the West Indies in the 1950s. He was born in Saint Thomas, Jamaica and died of Parkinson's disease in St Catherine, Jamaica at the age of 67. Gi ...

.Bowling in Lancashire League 1960 (ordered by wickets)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 July 2013. He finished his first-class career with 139 wickets from 37 matches. Strauss died in Perth in July 2013, aged 85.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Ray 1927 births 2013 deaths Australian cricketers Australian male field hockey players Cricketers from Perth, Western Australia Field hockey players from Perth, Western Australia People educated at Perth Modern School University of Western Australia alumni Western Australia cricketers Sportsmen from Western Australia