William Peter O'Rourke (born 6 August 2001) is a New Zealand

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. A right-arm fast medium bowler, he plays for the

Canterbury cricket team Canterbury is a first-class cricket team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is one of six teams that compete in senior New Zealand Cricket competitions and has been the second most successful domestic team in New Zealand history. They compet ...

in domestic cricket. He made his international debut for New Zealand in December 2023, having previously played for the national under-19 side.

Personal life

O'Rourke was born at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

in London in 2001. His father, Paddy O'Rourke, played as a fast bowler for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

between the 1989–90 and 1991–92 seasons and his uncle,

Matthew O'Rourke Matthew O'Rourke (born 25 February 1967) is a New Zealand former cricketer. He played one first-class match for Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. Th ...

, played a single senior match for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

in 1991–92. The family had moved to England before O'Rourke's birth and, when he was around five years old, moved back to New Zealand, settling in

. He played cricket from a young age and made appearances for Auckland age-group sides from the 2017–18 season until 2019–20 before moving to the South Island to study at the University of Canterbury.

Early career

In December 2019, O'Rourke was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. After impressing for his club side Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club, he was called into the Canterbury 'A' team during the 2020–21 season, taking 10 wickets for the side during the National Provincial A Tournament. In January 2021, he played two

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

matches for a New Zealand XI against the touring

Pakistan Shaheens The Pakistan A cricket team, or Pakistan Shaheens, is a national cricket team representing Pakistan. It is the second-tier of international Pakistan cricket, below the full Pakistan national cricket team. Matches played by Pakistan A are not cons ...

Domestic career

After the end of the 2020–21 season, O'Rourke was awarded a first domestic contract by Canterbury Cricket. He made his List A debut for Canterbury on 3 January 2022, playing against Otago in the 2021–22 Ford Trophy, before going on to make his Twenty20 debut on 7 January against

and his first-class debut on 20 March against

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 ...

. The following season, he was the joint-highest wicket-taker for Canterbury in the 2022–23 Super Smash with 12 wickets from ten matches, with the team reaching the final of the competition. He was the team's leading wicket-taker in the 2022–23 Ford Trophy with 13 wickets from nine matches, including figures of 3 for 47 against Otago, helping Canterbury to qualify for the final. On 2 February 2024, he took his maiden five-wicket haul in List A cricket, against Otago in the 2023–24 Ford Trophy. His

bowling figures In cricket, a bowling analysis (sometimes shortened to just analysis, especially in the phrase innings analysis, and also referred to as bowling figures) usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, h ...

of 6 for 20 were also the second best figures by a Canterbury player in List A cricket.

International career

In March 2023, O'Rourke was named in the New Zealand A squad for their first-class series against Australia A and in December 2023 he was called-up to the New Zealand squad for the first time ahead of a One Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh. He made his ODI debut during the series, becoming the first England-born cricketer to play for New Zealand since Roger Twose in the 1990s. The following month, O'Rourke was called into New Zealand's

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

squad for their series against South Africa. He made his Test debut on 13 February 2024 in the second match of the series, taking a five-wicket haul in South Africa's second innings and finishing the match with figures of nine wickets for 93 runs (9/93), recording the best match-bowling figures by a New Zealander on Test debut.

Playing style

O'Rourke is known for his ability to generate extra bounce from his tall frame. A fast bowler who can reach delivery speeds of , his bowling style has been compared to that of

Kyle Jamieson Kyle Jamieson (born 30 December 1994) is a New Zealand cricketer. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in February 2020 against India. In May 2020, New Zealand Cricket awarded him with a central contract, ahead of the ...

, another tall New Zealand fast bowler; O'Rourke has spent time working alongside Jamieson to develop his approach to bowling.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ORourke, William 2001 births Living people New Zealand cricketers Canterbury cricketers Cricketers from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames People from Kingston upon Thames New Zealand people of English descent University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut