Walter Thomas Walmsley (16 March 1916 – 25 February 1978) was a

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 str ...

er who played

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 officia ...

for three Australian state teams and for

Northern Districts The Northern Districts men's cricket team are one of six New Zealand first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. They are based in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand (excluding Auckland). They compete in the ...

in New Zealand between 1945–46 and 1959-60. A batsman who could bat at any position in the order and a leg-break and googly bowler, Wal Walmsley made his first-class debut 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 ...

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 , establishe ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

in 1945-46. He moved to Launceston, Tasmania, to coach, where he captained North (of Tasmania) against South in January 1948, taking 10 wickets in the match and scoring 63 in the second innings. He played in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

's three first-class games that followed shortly afterwards, scoring 180 not out and taking three wickets against the Indian touring team at Launceston. He was appointed coach of the

Queensland Cricket Association Queensland Cricket, formerly known as the Queensland Cricket Association, is the governing body of Cricket in Queensland, Australia. Formed in 1876, it is directly responsible for the Queensland Bulls, Queensland Fire, Allan Border Field and Qu ...

in 1948-49, but did not play for Queensland until the 1954-55 season, after which he became a regular in the side. In his first

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, at the age of 38, he took 5 for 84 and 3 for 90 to help Queensland to victory over

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 ...

. In 1956-57 he took 3 for 52 and 5 for 124 against New South Wales. His batting by this stage was generally less effective than his bowling (in 28 matches for Queensland he scored 577 runs at 21.37 and took 102 wickets at 30.12) but he scored 106 not out batting at number 10 against New South Wales in 1957-58, sharing a ninth-wicket partnership of 120 with

Ray Reynolds George Raymond Reynolds (born 24 August 1936, Bundaberg, Queensland) is a former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Queensland from 1955 to 1964. Life and career Ray Reynolds was educated at Brisbane Church of England Grammar School ...

and an unbroken tenth-wicket partnership of 105 with John Freeman. He also took six wickets in the match. In 1958-59 he took 6 for 56 to help Queensland to an innings victory over South Australia. Before the season ended, he moved to New Zealand to take up a position with

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, playing his first first-class match in New Zealand, for a combined Northern Districts and

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

team against the touring MCC, almost immediately. He played three matches for Northern Districts in 1959-60 at the age of 43, taking 12 wickets at 26.58, then retired. He remained in New Zealand with his large family, and died suddenly in Hamilton at 61.''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' 1979, p. 1088.

References

External links

Walter Walmsley at Cricinfo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walmsley, Wal 1916 births 1978 deaths Australian cricketers New South Wales cricketers Queensland cricketers Tasmania cricketers Northern Districts cricketers Australian cricket coaches

See also

References

External links