Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers (born 20 August 1940) is a former Test

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 (Australian test cap 230). He was the second Indian-born cricketer to have played a Test match for Australia.

Family

The son of William Alfred Durning Sellers (1907-2005), and Irene Ethel Sellers (1915-2005), née Fremantle, Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers was born at Bulsar, now

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. The city of Valsad ...

, in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 20 August 1940. Sellers is married to Ann and has three sons. His brother

Basil Sellers Basil Sellers AM, (born 1935), grew up in the Railway Colonies in India, where he was introduced to badminton, tennis and cricket. He migrated with his family to Australia in 1948 and was educated at King's College, Adelaide. Career Basil Se ...

is a businessman and philanthropist.

Education

Having migrated with his family to Australia in early 1948, and from the connexion with Cecil Charles Shinkfield (1891-1973), then the headmaster of King's College, Adelaide, established aboard RMS ''Strathaird'' during their voyage to Australia the two brothers attended King's College.

Cricket

A tall

leg-spinner Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the ...

, and affectionately known as "Sahib" in cricket circles, he played one

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, in October 1964, in which he was bowled for a

duck 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 ...

, took one catch and bowled five overs for 17 runs without taking a wicket. His playing career was severely restricted when cysts developed under a tendon attached to his spinning finger; although he did return to the South Australian Cricket team as a batsman, where he made his highest score 87, caught

Ian Brayshaw Ian James Brayshaw (born 14 January 1942) is a former Australian sportsman. He played both Australian rules football and cricket. Both his sons, Mark Brayshaw and James Brayshaw, were noted athletes in their respective sports, and three of his ...

, bowled

Tony Lock Graham Anthony Richard Lock (5 July 1929 – 30 March 1995) was an English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. He played in forty nine Tests for England taking 174 wickets at 25.58 each. Lock took 2,844 first-class wicket ...

in his last innings, in the January 1967 match in Perth against Western Australia.

Cricket administrator

He retired after the 1966–67 season. However Sellers has had a long career serving the

South Australian Cricket Association The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cri ...

(SACA) in both selection and administrative roles, was on the board of the Les Favell foundation and was made a life member of the SACA. He was also a long serving president at the Woodville West Torrens Football Club in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

2013 Australia Day Honours

He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

2013 Australia Day Honours The 2013 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2013 by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce. The Australia Day Honours, the first major honours list for a calendar year, are announced on Australia Day (26 January) every ye ...

, for "service to the sport of cricket, particularly as an administrator."

Notes

References

Dhole, Pradip (2016), "Rex Sellers: First-Anglo Indian to play for Australia", Cricket Country, 16 September 2016.

Skene, Patrick. (2016), "The Forgotten Story of ... Rex Sellers, the Indian-Australian leg-spinner, ''The Guardian'', Tuesday, 12 January 2016.

D400, SA1964/1238: Certificate of Registration as an Australian Citizen No.C(1)21780: Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers, ''National Archives of Australia''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sellers, Rex 1940 births People from Valsad district Anglo-Indian people Indian emigrants to Australia Australian people of Anglo-Indian descent Australian sportspeople of Indian descent Australian cricketers Australia Test cricketers Australian cricket administrators Kensington cricketers Living people People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia South Australia cricketers