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

cricket 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 ...

er. A right-arm

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

, 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 compete ...

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

Early and personal life

O'Rourke was born at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

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

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

between the 1989–90 and 1991–92 seasons and his uncle, Matthew O'Rourke, played a single senior match for

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

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 The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

Early career

In December 2019, O'Rourke was named in New Zealand's squad for the

2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament that was held in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February 2020. It was the thirteenth edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be ...

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

matches for a New Zealand XI against the touring Pakistan Shaheens.

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 List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...

debut for Canterbury on 3 January 2022, playing against

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

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 cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...

in List A cricket, against Otago in the 2023–24 Ford Trophy. His bowling figures 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 One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(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. In January 2025, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the

2025 ICC Champions Trophy The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy was the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. It was hosted by Pakistan Cricket Board from 19 February to 9 March 2025 and featured 15 matches held across three venues in Pakistan and one in the United Arab E ...

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 Alex 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 ...

, 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, Will 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