Bill O'Reilly (cricket)
At the time of his death, Bill O'Reilly (1905–1992) was widely recognised as cricket's greatest ever spin bowler. That assessment has subsequently been challenged by the careers of Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne but, even so, O'Reilly's legacy as one of the sport's greatest players remains intact.[1][2]
William Joseph O'Reilly was born on 20 December 1905 at White Cliffs in New South Wales. He began his first-class career in the 1927–28 Australian season, playing for New South Wales. He was a right arm specialist leg break and googly bowler and a left-handed tail-end batsman.
O'Reilly made his Test debut for Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 29 January 1932, when he was selected for the fourth Test of that season's series against the visiting South Africans. He bowled in partnership with the veteran Clarrie Grimmett and provided him with solid support. Grimmett was Australia's matchwinner, taking fourteen wickets. O'Reilly took 2/74 and 2/81 as Australia won by 10 wickets. He also scored a useful 23 in his only innings. In the fifth and final Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which Australia won by an innings and 72 runs, O'Reilly did not bowl in the first innings as Australia used only their pace and seam bowlers. In the second innings, he took an impressive 3/19 in just nine overs. The match was one of the lowest-scoring Tests on record – South Africa were all out twice for 36 and 45; Australia (without Don Bradman who had been injured while fielding) scored 153.
O'Reilly had done enough to merit selection for all five Tests of the notorious "Bodyline" series in the 1932–33 season. He took 27 wickets in the five matches, an outstanding achievement without, as Wisden commented, "anyone noticing much, given what else was happening".[2]
Broadcasting and journalism
O'Reilly had been a schoolteacher before his cricket career took off and, after he retired from playing, he became a highly respected commentator and journalist on the sport.
References
- ↑ Bill O'Reilly – Cricketer of the Year. Wisden Cricketer's Almanack. John Wisden & Co. Ltd (1935).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bill O'Reilly – Obituary. Wisden Cricketer's Almanack. John Wisden & Co. Ltd (1993).