Dr. Herbert Vivian Hordern (10 February 1883 – 17 June 1938), also known as Ranji Hordern, was an 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 seven

Test matches 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) ...

between 1911 and 1912. He was the first major leg-spin and googly bowler to play for Australia. His nickname, "Ranji", came from his dark complexion, and is a reference to the famous Indian England test cricketer K S Ranjitsinhji. Hordern was a member of the

Hordern family The Hordern family is an Australian retailing dynasty. Outline The Hordern family first came to prominence in Sydney as merchants and retailers with the establishment of Anthony Hordern & Sons, and then gained notability in rural pursuits, stoc ...

, well known as retailers in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Career

Hordern was born in

North Sydney, New South Wales North Sydney is a suburb and major commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governme ...

and made his debut in

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 ...

by taking 8 for 81 for

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 ...

—and 11 wickets in the match—against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in December 1905. He then moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to pursue his studies. While a student of

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, he toured England in 1908 and Jamaica in 1908-09 with the

Philadelphian cricket team The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, t ...

. He played 17 first class matches for Philadelphians, and it was during his time in America that he perfected his googly. Hordern returned to Australia in 1910. Owing to the foresight of

Warren Bardsley Warren "Curly" Bardsley (6 December 1882 – 20 January 1954) was an Australian Test cricketer. An opening batsman, Bardsley played 41 Tests between 1909 and 1926 and over 200 first-class games for New South Wales. He was Wisden's Cricketer of ...

, he found his way back into the state side immediately. After picking up 43 wickets in six matches in the 1910–11 season, he convinced the Australian selectors to follow Bardsley's lead. Chosen for the Fourth Test of the 1910–11 series against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, he took fourteen wickets at an average of 21.07 in his two Tests in this series, including 5 in the second innings on debut, and 32 wickets at 24.37 against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the following season. In the England series, he had match figures of 12 for 135 in the first Test at

, assisting Australia to their only win of the series. In the final game, also at Sydney, he took 10 for 161. By this time, he was being called the best bowler of his type in the world. Hordern's priority in life was his medical career. This, along with the controversy surrounding the selection of the team to tour England in 1912, restricted his career. He participated in only 35

first-class matches 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 ...

between 1905 and 1913. He died at age 55 in

Darlinghurst, New South Wales Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. I ...

Publications

*''Googlies: Coals from a Test-Cricketer's Fireplace'' (Angus & Robertson: Sydney, 1932).

Notes

References

*
Wisden obituary
*The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, Cashman et al. (ed), Oxford University Press (1996),

Career

Publications

Notes

References

Further reading