Robert Wilkie (cricketer)

Robert Alexander Wilkie (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1966) was a Scottish-born sportsman. He played one first-class cricket match in New Zealand for Otago during the 1899–1900 season and later represented Otago at lawn tennis.Robert Wilkie
CricInfo. Retrieved 28 May 2016.Robert Wilkie
CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 May 2016.

Wilkie was born at New Cumnock in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1878,McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 139. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
Available online
at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.) the son of John Lamb Wilkie and his wife Annie (''née'' Reid). His father worked as a coachman before the family emigrated to New Zealand in 1883 onboard the SS ''Trevelyan'', settling at Dunedin in Otago.Annie Wilkie
New Zealand History. Retrieved 21 February 2024. His father established a flour mill at Mosgiel near Dunedin in Otago and whilst his brothers John and David later joined the business which operated as Wilkie & Co., Robert Wilkie qualified as an accountant and worked for shipping companies.

Along with his brother John, Wilkie played for Dunedin Cricket Club. He was the first player to score a century for the team, and served on the club's committee.

In January 1899 he played for an Otago XI against the New Zealand team which was to tour Australia, and during the 1899–1900 season "performed creditably" in his only first-class match, a fixture between Otago and Wellington, making scores of 11 and 19 in a heavy Otago loss. Later in the season he played alongside his brother in an Otago XI against Southland, and in March 1900 played again for an Otago XI against a touring Melbourne Cricket Club side. Playing against Canterbury and Hawke's Bay he later "gave a brilliant display of batting".Cricket, '' Evening Star'', issue 11685, 18 February 1902, p. 3.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 21 February 2024.)

Considered "well known" as a cricket, and "one of Otago's promising young bats", Wilkie left Dunedin in February 1902 to work in Sydney in Australia for the first time. He played cricket for Sydney Cricket Club, including at First Grade level by 1904, before returning to Dunedin in 1908. An injury that he had sustained to his shoulder whilst in Australia meant that he was unable to play cricket, although he remained associated with the Dunedin club and acted as its auditor.

Rather than cricket, Wilkie took up lawn tennis and, with his wife, was a "prominent" member of the Kaituna club.Personal, '' Evening Star'', issue 18297, 9 June 1923, p. 7.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 21 February 2024.) He won the Otago doubles title twice, played competitively for Otago,Lawn Tennis, ''Otago Daily Times'', issue 18689, 19 October 1922, p. 5.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 21 February 2024.) and was considered a possibility for the New Zealand Davis Cup team in 1920 against Great Britain. He served on the committee and was the vice-president of the Otago Lawn Tennis Association and was involved in the organisation of the sport in the province until he was again transferred to Sydney in 1923. He continued to play tennis in Sydney.Lawn Tennis, ''Otago Daily Times'', issue 19019, 15 November 1923, p. 4.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 21 February 2024.)

Wilkie died at Bexley in Sydney in 1966. He was aged 87. Either his mother Annie or his sister, Annie Will, were a signatory of the 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition whilst the family lived in Lees Street in Dunedin.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkie, Robert
1878 births
1966 deaths
New Zealand cricketers
Otago cricketers
Sportspeople from East Ayrshire
Scottish cricketers
Scottish emigrants to New Zealand
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
People from New Cumnock