William Oswald Whitridge (14 August 1853 – 12 February 1919) was an Australian

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

. Whitridge was also an administrator with 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).

Biography

Whitridge was born on 14 August 1853 in

Kensington, South Australia Kensington is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters council area. Unlike the rest of the city, Kensington's streets are laid out diagonally. Second Creek runs through and under part of the suburb, wh ...

, the elder son of W. W. R. Whitridge (ca.1824–1861) and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth (ca.1821–1910). He was educated at

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Univ ...

, where he was a keen cricketer, playing with distinction against rival school St Peter's College. Whitridge was on the staff of the '' South Australian Register'' for 42 years, much of this time as head of the publishing department. His father and younger brother Fletcher were also with the ''Register''. Whitridge joined a cricket team that had claimed a part of Victoria Square for a practice pitch. When the Government set aside a portion of the parklands for a cricket ground, he was, at age 18, a major impetus behind formation of an association in May 1871 to organise district and interstate matches. He was known as a fine bowler: in the seasons 1877–78 and 1878–79 he had bowling averages of 5.24 and 4.09 respectively. In one match against Victoria he took 8 wickets for 10 runs, though there were occasional rumblings about his action verging on a "

throw Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensil ...

". He represented South Australia on the

Australian Cricket Board Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

in the 1890s along with

John Creswell John Andrew Jackson Creswell (November 18, 1828December 23, 1891) was an American politician and abolitionist from Maryland, who served as United States Representative, United States Senator, and as Postmaster General of the United States app ...

and Mostyn Evan. He umpired 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) ...

between Australia and

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 ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

on 24 March to 28 March 1892, standing with George Downs, who was also umpiring his only Test. England won easily by an innings and 230 runs – the largest Test victory margin to that date.

Family

He married Marie Eleanora Korber (ca.1858 – 26 September 1924) on 20 October 1880; they had two daughters and three sons. He died on 12 February 1919 at his home, "Ringmer", in Wyatt Road, Burnside, previously the home of explorer Edwin S. Berry.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitridge, William Cricketers from South Australia Australian Test cricket umpires 1853 births 1919 deaths

Biography

Family

See also

References

External links