Reggie Duff

Reggie Duff
Personal information
Full name
Reginald Alexander Duff
Born(1878-08-17)17 August 1878
Sydney, New South Wales
Died13 December 1911(1911-12-13) (aged 33)
St Leonards, New South Wales
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 81)1 January 1902 v England
Last Test14 August 1905 v England
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 22 121
Runs scored 1317 6589
Batting average 35.59 35.04
100s/50s 2/6 10/33
Top score 146 271
Balls bowled 180 917
Wickets 4 14
Bowling average 21.25 34.14
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 2/43 2/17
Catches/stumpings 14/0 73/0
Source: Cricinfo

Reginald Alexander Duff (17 August 1878 – 13 December 1911) was an Australian cricketer who played in 22 Tests between 1902 and 1905.

Duff made his Test debut along with Warwick Armstrong,[1] against England at Melbourne in 1901–02 and scored 104 after being held back until No. 10 in the second innings due to a bad pitch. This innings was the first instance of a Test No. 10 scoring a hundred on debut and one of only four centuries from that low in the order by anyone.[2] He was a specialist batsman and opened in the second innings of the next Test. He also scored a century in his last Test match, becoming the first batsman to score a century on Test debut as well as a century in his final Test.[3]

Abul Hasan of Bangladesh became the second man to score a Test century at debut at No. 10 in 2012.

Duff's career was plagued by alcoholism, and he lost his life at the age of 33 in 1911. His former colleagues from his home state of New South Wales paid for his funeral.[4]

Ric Sissons wrote a biography of Duff in 2015, Reggie, five years of fame, Reg Duff’s story. He was discussed briefly by Mike Atherton and Mark Butcher during the 2022 test at Trent Bridge, due to the absence of ducks during his Test Career.

  1. ^ Haigh, Gideon (2001). The Big Ship: Warwick Armstrong and the making of modern cricket. Melbourne: Text. p. 43. ISBN 1-877008-84-2.
  2. ^ "Sydney's forgotten hero". Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  3. ^ "A century of centuries on debut". wisdenindia. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  4. ^ Reggie Duff. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2018-05-05.