Brian Gessner
Encyclopedia
Brian Dennis Gessner is a former South African cricket
er. Gessner was a left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm fast-medium
. He was born in Durban
, Natal Province
.
Gessner made his first-class
debut for Natal B against Border
in the 1970/71 Currie Cup. He appeared in first-class cricket for Natal representative teams from 1971 to 1977, making 32 first-class matches appearances, the last of which came for Natal B against Border in the 1976/77 Currie Cup. He made 19 appearances for Natal B, taking 65 wickets at an average
of 19.56, with 3 five wicket hauls. His best innings bowling figures of 6/67 came against Northern Transvaal in the 1976/77 Currie Cup. The remainder of his 13 first-class appearances came for Natal, with Gessner taking 36 wickets at an average of 22.30. He took just the one five wicket haul for the Natal first team, which came against Rhodesia in the 1972/73 Currie Cup, with Gessner taking 5/58.
It was for Natal that he made his List A debut against Transvaal
in the 1972/73 Gillette Cup. Gessner made 3 further List A appearances for Natal, the last of which came against Western Province
in the 1975/76 Gillette Cup. In his 4 List A appearances for Natal, he took 7 wickets at an average of 20.14, with best figures of 2/24. Had South Africa not been expelled from international cricket by the International Cricket Conference
, Gessner may well have had an international career.
He later played for Staffordshire
in English county cricket
, making his debut for the county in the 1978 Minor Counties Championship against Shropshire
. He played Minor counties cricket in 1978 and 1979, making 11 appearances. He made a single List A appearance for the county in the 1978 Gillette Cup
against Sussex
. In this match, he took the wicket of Pakistan Test
cricketer Imran Khan
for the cost of 51 runs from 12 overs
. With the bat, he ended Staffordshire's innings not out
on 9, with Sussex winning by the narrow margin of 2 runs.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. Gessner was a left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm fast-medium
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
. He was born in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, Natal Province
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
.
Gessner made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for Natal B against Border
Border cricket team
Border cricket team is the team representing the Border province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa. The team began playing in March 1898....
in the 1970/71 Currie Cup. He appeared in first-class cricket for Natal representative teams from 1971 to 1977, making 32 first-class matches appearances, the last of which came for Natal B against Border in the 1976/77 Currie Cup. He made 19 appearances for Natal B, taking 65 wickets at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 19.56, with 3 five wicket hauls. His best innings bowling figures of 6/67 came against Northern Transvaal in the 1976/77 Currie Cup. The remainder of his 13 first-class appearances came for Natal, with Gessner taking 36 wickets at an average of 22.30. He took just the one five wicket haul for the Natal first team, which came against Rhodesia in the 1972/73 Currie Cup, with Gessner taking 5/58.
It was for Natal that he made his List A debut against Transvaal
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
in the 1972/73 Gillette Cup. Gessner made 3 further List A appearances for Natal, the last of which came against Western Province
Western Province cricket team
Western Province cricket team is the team representing Western Cape province in domestic first-class cricket in South Africa. The team began playing in January 1890 and its main venue has always been Newlands in Cape Town.-Honours:...
in the 1975/76 Gillette Cup. In his 4 List A appearances for Natal, he took 7 wickets at an average of 20.14, with best figures of 2/24. Had South Africa not been expelled from international cricket by the International Cricket Conference
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
, Gessner may well have had an international career.
He later played for Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
in English county cricket
County cricket
County cricket is the highest level of domestic cricket in England and Wales. For the 2010 season, see 2010 English cricket season.-First-class counties:...
, making his debut for the county in the 1978 Minor Counties Championship against Shropshire
Shropshire County Cricket Club
Shropshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Shropshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
. He played Minor counties cricket in 1978 and 1979, making 11 appearances. He made a single List A appearance for the county in the 1978 Gillette Cup
1978 Gillette Cup
The 1978 Gillette Cup was the sixteenth Gillette Cup, an English limited overs county cricket tournament. It was held between 5 July and 2 September 1978...
against Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
. In this match, he took the wicket of Pakistan Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
cricketer Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
for the cost of 51 runs from 12 overs
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
. With the bat, he ended Staffordshire's innings not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
on 9, with Sussex winning by the narrow margin of 2 runs.
External links
- Brian Gessner at ESPNcricinfo
- Brian Gessner at CricketArchiveCricketArchiveCricketArchive is a website that aims to provide a comprehensive archive of records relating to the sport of cricket. It claims to be the most comprehensive cricket database on the internet, including scorecards for all matches of first-class cricket , List A cricket , Women's Test cricket and...