Charles Wordsworth (cricketer)

Charles Wordsworth
Personal information
Full name
Charles William Wordsworth
Born(1877-09-09)9 September 1877
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England
Died10 June 1960(1960-06-10) (aged 82)
Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1907/08New South Wales
1908/09–1909/10Otago
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 5
Runs scored 72
Batting average 8.00
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 19
Balls bowled 906
Wickets 16
Bowling average 25.43
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 3/24
Catches/stumpings 1/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 25 February 2024

Charles William Wordsworth (9 September 1877 – 10 June 1960) was an English-born cricketer and cricket coach who played in Australia and New Zealand during the early 20th century. He played first-class cricket for New South Wales and Otago between the 1907–08 and 1909–10 seasons.[1]

Wordsworth was born at Rotherham in England in 1877. He worked as a baker.[2] Primarily a bowler, he made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in a match against Queensland in April 1908, taking four wickets in the match.[3][4] He played First Grade cricket in Sydney and was described as a "fast-medium to fast right-hand bowler and a left-hand batsman" who was "a fair performer" in Grade Cricket,[5] and had taken seven and eight wickets in two matches during the 1907–08 season.[3] A retrospective view of his career described Wordsworth as "a fast bowler, but an erratic one".[6]

In November 1908 he and another Australian, Francis Ayles, were appointed as coaches by the Otago Cricket Association in New Zealand. Ayles was primarily a batting coach while Wordsworth, who the Otago Daily Times described as having "a reputation as a fast bowler",[a][7] coached bowling and acted as a net bowler for practice sessions. The two men primarily coached young players and school cricketers, although they also worked with more established players.[8]

As well as coaching, Wordsworth played club cricket for Albion Cricket Club in Dunedin[9] and appeared in all three of Otago's first-class matches during his first season in New Zealand. He played in the side's only Plunket Shield match of the season, bowling "exceedingly well"[8] and taking five wickets in the match,[4] including dismissing Auckland's opening batsman first ball with "a very fast delivery ... which caught the top of the middle stump".[10] He played against Wanganui―the Otago Cricket Association again praising his consistency bowling in its end of season report―[b][8] and Southland and in first-class matches against Hawke's Bay and Canterbury.[4] He was the side's second leading wicket-taker of the 1908–09 season, taking 25 wickets; he also scored a half-century.[c][8]

Despite his performances as a player, the Association was unhappy about the way that young players had responded to coaching[8] and had some doubts about Wordsworth's health and fitness due to rheumatism which affected his ability to bowl.[11] He was reappointed in September 1909 for the following season, although Ayles was not.[6][12][13][14] The appointment was criticised by the cricket correspondent of the Otago Witness who suggested that although Wordsworth was a reasonable net bowler, that his abilities as a coach were limited, and that the Association could not afford to pay for just a "ground bowler".[15] In October the Association responded by announcing that Wordsworth had, indeed, been appointed as a ground bowler,[16] although he would take some coaching duties alongside Australian Test cricketer Charlie Macartney who had been persuaded too spend the 1909–10 season in Dunedin by the Association.[17] Wordsworth played in Otago's first first-class match of the season, a December fixture against Canterbury, without taking a wicket. He did not appear in the side's two Plunket Shield matches later in the season.[d][4]

The season was Wordsworth's last in New Zealand, his performance as a coach judged to be, again, unsuccessful by the Otago Witness,[18] although he played well in club cricket for Albion who he captained during the season.[19][20] The following season he applied for a position as coach with the Wellington Cricket Association but was unsuccessful.[21] After returning to Australia, he continued to play and coach cricket. By 1921 he was serving as a net bowler for the Australian I Zingari club at Rushcutters Bay near Sydney, although by this time he was reported as bowling slower than he had due to a knee injury.[22]

Wordsworth died at Redfern in Sydney in 1960. He was aged 82.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Charles Wordsworth". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 142. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2 (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)
  3. ^ a b Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2854, 25 November 1908, p. 60. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  4. ^ a b c d Charles Wordsworth, CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 July 2023. (subscription required)
  5. ^ The World of Sport, Taranaki Herald, volume LIV, issue 13814, 21 November 1908, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  6. ^ a b Coaching in Otago, Evening Star, issue 21864, 30 October 1934, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  7. ^ The City Council and the public, Otago Daily Times, issue 14365, 7 November 1908, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  8. ^ a b c d e Otago Cricket Association Annual Report, Otago Daily Times, issue 14616, 31 August 1909, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  9. ^ Cricket: Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2896, 15 September 1909, p. 62. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  10. ^ The Plunket Shield, Evening Star, issue 13145, 29 December 1908, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  11. ^ General gossip, NZ Truth, issue 229, 13 November 1909, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  12. ^ Wordsworth reappointed coach, Evening Star, issue 14178, 1 October 1909, p. 1. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  13. ^ Otago Cricket Association, Otago Daily Times, issue 14643, 1 October 1909, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  14. ^ Cricket, NZ Truth, issue 224, 9 October 1909, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  15. ^ Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, volume 6, issue 2899, 6 October 1909, p. 60. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  16. ^ Cricket, Auckland Star, volume XL, issue 253, 23 October 1909, p. 14. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  17. ^ Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2902, 27 October 1909, p. 59. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  18. ^ Cricket: Notes by Long Slip, Otago Witness, issue 2923, 23 March 1910, p. 60. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  19. ^ Presentation to C. Wordsworth, Evening Star, issue 14312, 10 March 1910, p. 7. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  20. ^ Albion Cricket Club, Evening Star, issue 14457, 29 August 1910, p. 1. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  21. ^ Cricket, Otago Witness, issue 2945, 24 August 1910, p. 58. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)
  22. ^ English team's tour, Otago Daily Times, issue 18151, 24 January 1921, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 July 2023.)


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