Francis Joseph Aloysius O'Keeffe (11 May 1896 – 26 March 1924) was an Australian first-class

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

who played for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. He was born in Waverley,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. O'Keeffe played

Sydney Grade Cricket NSW Premier Cricket, formerly and still commonly known as Sydney Grade Cricket is a cricket competition played in Sydney, Australia, and is highest level club cricket competition in the state of New South Wales The competition began in 1893 when ...

for Waverley as a teenager before enlisting in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

and serving for four years in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war he was selected for a few matches for New South Wales, but was unable to establish himself in the team, and moved to Victoria in 1921. He came to fame in the 1921-22 season when he made 87 and 79 for Victoria against New South Wales, 180 against South Australia and 177 and 144 for The Rest against

Warwick Armstrong Warwick Windridge Armstrong (22 May 1879 – 13 July 1947) was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winn ...

's touring team, newly returned from their Ashes triumph in England. A good off-break bowler in addition to his powerful batting, O'Keeffe was engaged by the

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club in the Lancashire League and planned to qualify for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He led the League's batting averages in 1923. He fell ill with

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

and died in a

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hospital in March 1924. In a mere nine first-class games he scored 926 runs at 71.23 and took 12 wickets at 19.16 with a best of 5 for 45. He was credited in Melbourne for inventing the practice of fielders walking in as the bowler ran in to bowl. Previously run-saving fielders had tended to stay static.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeeffe, Frank 1896 births 1924 deaths Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney New South Wales cricketers Victoria cricketers Deaths from peritonitis Military personnel from New South Wales Australian military personnel of World War I Australian expatriate cricketers in England 20th-century Australian sportsmen

See also

References

External links