William Burns (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
William Beaumont Burns was an English
cricketer
who played more than 200 first-class
matches in the early 20th century, the great bulk of them for Worcestershire
, for whom he filled in as captain on a number of occasions when the usual incumbents were not available. Burns' obituary in Wisden
described him as a "dashing, hard-hitting batsman" but added that his bowling — which he scarcely pursued until the middle of his career — had to be considered suspect: "the fairness of his delivery was often questioned — and not without good reason".
Born in Rugeley
, Staffordshire
, Burns played for that county
in the Minor Counties Championship while aged just 16, but his debut came in May 1903 when he represented Worcestershire against Oxford University
at The Parks, making 3 and 35. He also played that season against Cambridge University
and the Philadelphians
, but could not appear in the County Championship
because he had not yet qualified.
In 1904 Burns became a near-regular, appearing 19 times, and he finished with 834 runs at 26.00
, including an innings of 165 in 180 minutes against Oxford University.
The following season was not as impressive, but he returned to form with a vengeance in 1906, hitting 1,206 first-class runs at 43.07, with another innings of 165 against Oxford among his three centuries. That winter he visited New Zealand
with MCC
: he did relatively little with the bat, only twice passing 50 in 11 innings, but he did take his maiden wicket when he dismissed Wellington's Harold Monaghan.
Burns had a mediocre 1907 season, but in all the following four summers he passed 1,000 first-class runs, in 1908 hitting three centuries as he had done two years earlier. In 1909, in a rich vein of form which saw him score over 500 runs in five matches, he made his career-best score of 196 against Warwickshire
. He and Ted Arnold
shared a fifth-wicket stand of 393, which as of 2007 remains a Worcestershire record for this wicket. The innings-and-233-run victory margin remained Worcestershire's widest until 2002.
This period also saw Burns develop his bowling. In 1908 he sent down 633 deliveries, almost twice the number he had bowled in his first-class career up to that point, and claimed 16 wickets at 28.50
including a haul of 6-110 against Hampshire
. In the following three seasons he bowled around 2,000 deliveries each summer, claiming a total of 145 first-class wickets, and recording career-best figures of 7-58 for the Gentlemen against the Players
at The Oval
in July 1910. This was the first of three appearances he made in such matches, but in the others he made little impression.
Burns suffered another dip in his form in 1912, scoring only 599 runs and taking only six wickets in his 22 matches, but he recovered his form, with the ball especially, the next season and ended with 42 first-class wickets at 30.81, as well as 866 runs at 27.06. He made his last hundred, 102 not out
against Gloucestershire
, in June, while he claimed six wickets in an innings twice: once against Hampshire in July, and once in his very last first-class game, Worcestershire's innings victory over Somerset
in late August. He took one final wicket in the second innings of that game: that of Len Braund
.
According to David Frith
's book The Fast Men, Burns was an exceptionally quick bowler — Frank Chester
, who played against him before the war, named him the fastest bowler, ahead even of Harold Larwood
, that he ever saw —, but he was handicapped by suspicions that he threw
.
He then emigrated to Canada
. In the First World War, he joined the Worcestershire Regiment
of the British Army
and served as a Second Lieutenant
in France
. He was killed in action at Contalmaison
during the Battle of the Somme.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who played more than 200 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...
matches in the early 20th century, the great bulk of them for Worcestershire
Worcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
, for whom he filled in as captain on a number of occasions when the usual incumbents were not available. Burns' obituary in Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
described him as a "dashing, hard-hitting batsman" but added that his bowling — which he scarcely pursued until the middle of his career — had to be considered suspect: "the fairness of his delivery was often questioned — and not without good reason".
Born in Rugeley
Rugeley
Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, Burns played for that county
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 the Minor Counties Championship while aged just 16, but his debut came in May 1903 when he represented Worcestershire against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
at The Parks, making 3 and 35. He also played that season against Cambridge University
Cambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
and the Philadelphians
Philadelphian cricket team
The Philadelphian cricket team was a team that represented Philadelphia in first-class cricket between 1878 and 1913. Even with the United States having played the first ever international cricket match against Canada in 1844, the sport began a slow decline in the country. This decline was...
, but could not appear in the County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
because he had not yet qualified.
In 1904 Burns became a near-regular, appearing 19 times, and he finished with 834 runs at 26.00
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, including an innings of 165 in 180 minutes against Oxford University.
The following season was not as impressive, but he returned to form with a vengeance in 1906, hitting 1,206 first-class runs at 43.07, with another innings of 165 against Oxford among his three centuries. That winter he visited New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
with MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
: he did relatively little with the bat, only twice passing 50 in 11 innings, but he did take his maiden wicket when he dismissed Wellington's Harold Monaghan.
Burns had a mediocre 1907 season, but in all the following four summers he passed 1,000 first-class runs, in 1908 hitting three centuries as he had done two years earlier. In 1909, in a rich vein of form which saw him score over 500 runs in five matches, he made his career-best score of 196 against Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
. He and Ted Arnold
Ted Arnold
Edward George Arnold was an English cricketer who played in ten Test Matches from 1903 to 1907, and most of his 343 first-class matches for Worcestershire between 1899 and 1913...
shared a fifth-wicket stand of 393, which as of 2007 remains a Worcestershire record for this wicket. The innings-and-233-run victory margin remained Worcestershire's widest until 2002.
This period also saw Burns develop his bowling. In 1908 he sent down 633 deliveries, almost twice the number he had bowled in his first-class career up to that point, and claimed 16 wickets at 28.50
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...
including a haul of 6-110 against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
. In the following three seasons he bowled around 2,000 deliveries each summer, claiming a total of 145 first-class wickets, and recording career-best figures of 7-58 for the Gentlemen against the Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
in July 1910. This was the first of three appearances he made in such matches, but in the others he made little impression.
Burns suffered another dip in his form in 1912, scoring only 599 runs and taking only six wickets in his 22 matches, but he recovered his form, with the ball especially, the next season and ended with 42 first-class wickets at 30.81, as well as 866 runs at 27.06. He made his last hundred, 102 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...
against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
, in June, while he claimed six wickets in an innings twice: once against Hampshire in July, and once in his very last first-class game, Worcestershire's innings victory over Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
in late August. He took one final wicket in the second innings of that game: that of Len Braund
Len Braund
Leonard Charles Braund, born October 18, 1875, at Clewer, Berkshire, and died December 23, 1955, Putney Common, London, was a cricketer who played for Surrey, Somerset and England....
.
According to David Frith
David Frith
David Edward John Frith is a leading cricket writer and historian. Cricinfo describes him as "an author, historian, and founding editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly".-Life and career:...
's book The Fast Men, Burns was an exceptionally quick bowler — Frank Chester
Frank Chester (umpire)
Frank Chester was an English first-class cricketer and notable international cricket umpire.Chester was an all-rounder, a left-handed middle-order batsman and a slow left-arm bowler, who played 55 first-class matches for county side Worcestershire as a teenager from 1912 to 1914...
, who played against him before the war, named him the fastest bowler, ahead even of Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood
Harold Larwood was an English cricket player, an extremely accurate fast bowler best known for his key role as the implementer of fast leg theory in the infamous "bodyline" Ashes Test series of 1932–33....
, that he ever saw —, but he was handicapped by suspicions that he threw
Throwing (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, throwing, commonly referred to as chucking, is an illegal bowling action which occurs when a bowler straightens their arm when delivering the ball. The Laws of Cricket specify that a bowler's arm must be fully extended and rotated about the shoulder to impart velocity to...
.
He then emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In the First World War, he joined the Worcestershire Regiment
Worcestershire Regiment
The Worcestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 29th Regiment of Foot and the 36th Regiment of Foot....
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and served as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was killed in action at Contalmaison
Contalmaison
Contalmaison is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Contalmaison is situated on the D147 and D20 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens.-History:...
during the Battle of the Somme.
External links
- Statistical summary from 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...