William Douglas (cricketer, born 1848)

New Zealand cricketer

William Douglas

Personal information

Born| (1848-06-06)6 June 1848
Longford, Van Diemen's Land
Died| 7 September 1887(1887-09-07) (aged 39)
Gore, Southland, New Zealand
Relations| Adye Douglas (uncle)
Domestic team information
Years| Team
1878/79| Otago
Only FC| 10 February 1879 Otago v Canterbury

Source: CricketArchive, 8 May 2016

William Douglas (6 June 1848 - 7 September 1887) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played one first-class match for Otago during the 1878–79 season.[1]

Douglas was born at Longford in what was at that point still Van Diemen's Land in 1848 and was educated at Horton College on the island.[2] His father, Roddam Douglas, was born in England at Fareham in Hampshire in 1817 and his uncle, Adye Douglas was Premier of the Colony of Tasmania.[3][4] Douglas is known to have played cricket in Tasmania towards the end of the 1860s,[1] and both his father and brother, Onslow Douglas, also played cricket in the colony.[3][5]

A leading member of Albion Cricket Club in Dunedin,[6] and later captain of Gore Cricket Club,[7] Douglas played for Otago against a touring Australian side in January 1878 and made his only first-class appearance during the following season in a provincial representative match against Canterbury―the only match played in New Zealand during the season which is considered to hold first-class status. He was out first ball in both of his innings, recording a king pair.[1]

Douglas had moved to New Zealand during the 1870s, initially working for the government Railway Department. He was the agent and later manager for the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company at Gore in the Southland Region of New Zealand from 1882. He died there in 1887 from syncope aged 39, leaving a wife and a daughter.[4][8][9]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "William Douglas". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
2. ^ McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 44. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2
3. ^ a b Roddam Douglas, CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 June 2023. (subscription required)
4. ^ a b Social and General, Otago Daily Times, issue 7994, 5 October 1887, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 27 June 2023.)
5. ^ Onslow Douglas, CricketArchive. Retrieved 27 June 2023. (subscription required)
6. ^ Editorial, Evening Star, issue 7311, 8 September 1887, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 27 June 2023.)
7. ^ Gore Cricket Club, Mataura Ensign, volume 10, issue 706, 23 September 1887, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 27 June 2023.)
8. ^ The late Mr William Douglas, Mataura Ensign, volume 10, issue 702, 9 September 1887, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 27 June 2023.)
9. ^ Lamentable occurrence, Southland Times, issue 9617, 8 September 1887, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 27 June 2023.)