William Vorrath

New Zealand cricketer

William Vorrath

Personal information

Full name|

William Nelson Vorrath

Born| (1904-10-21)21 October 1904
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Died| 7 June 1934(1934-06-07) (aged 29)
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Batting| Left-handed
Role| Batsman
Domestic team information
Years| Team
1927/28–1929/30| Otago
Career statistics
| Competition | First-class

|

Matches | 6
Runs scored | 172
Batting average | 19.11
100s/50s | 1/0
Top score | 103*
Catches/stumpings | 3/–

Source: CricketArchive, 5 March 2017

William Nelson Vorrath (21 October 1904 - 7 June 1934) was a New Zealand sportsman. Vorrath played six first-class cricket matches for Otago between the 1927–28 and 1929–30 seasons[1] and represented Otago at rugby league.

Vorrath was born at Dunedin in 1904[2] into a sporting family. His father had played cricket in Australia, one of his brothers was a jockey and another represented the Otago Rugby Football Union, whilst his sister played lawn tennis.[3] William played club cricket for the Albion Cricket Club in Dunedin, captaining the club for four seasons.[3]

Five of Vorrath's six first-class appearances were made during the 1927–28 season when he played in all of Otago's representative matches.[4] He made his debut against Canterbury in December 1927, opening the batting and making scores of 11 and five. A series of low scores resulted in him dropping down the batting order and it was not until the side's final Plunket Shield match of the season that Vorrath made a significant score, making 103 not out batting at number eight against Wellington towards the end of January,[5][6] an innings which was called "memorable" in an obituary.[3] This was his only first-class century.[5]

After playing against the touring Australians towards the end of the season,[4] Vorrath made only one further appearance for Otago, opening the batting again in a December 1929 match against Auckland.[5] As well as cricket, Vorrath was a notable rugby player. He played rugby union for the Union club in Dunedin before switching codes to play rugby league. He represented Otago and South Island in the code.[4][7] He played in trials matches for the New Zealand national team and narrowly missed out on selection for the 1926–27 tour of Great Britain.[3] Illness forced his retirement from the sport.[3]

Professionally Vorrath was a plasterer[2] and worked at the Waitaki Hydro Works in 1933, playing some cricket for North Otago before returning to Dunedin.[3][8] He died at Dunedin Hospital after a week spent as an in-patient.[7] He was aged 29.[1][4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "William Vorrath". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
2. ^ a b McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010. 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 c d e f Mr William Vorrath, Southland Times, issue 22345, 9 June 1934, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 8 February 2024.)
4. ^ a b c d Vorrath, Mr W, Obituaries in 1934, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1935. (Available online at CricInfo. Retrieved 8 February 2024.)
5. ^ a b c William Vorrath, CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 February 2024. (subscription required)
6. ^ "Otago v Wellington 1927-28". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
7. ^ a b "Mr. W. Vorrath". Press. LXX (21187): 19. 11 June 1934. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
8. ^ Obituary: Mr W Vorrath, Otago Daily Times, issue 22284, 9 June 1934, p. 11. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 8 February 2024.)

## External links

[edit]

* William Vorrath at ESPNcricinfo