Bill Carson (sportsman)

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Bill Carson
MC
Birth nameWilliam Nicol Carson
Date of birth(1916-07-16)16 July 1916
Place of birthGisborne, New Zealand
Date of death8 October 1944(1944-10-08) (aged 28)
Place of deathAt sea between Egypt and Bari, Italy
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight90 kg (200 lb)
SchoolGisborne Boys' High School
Occupation(s)Warehouseman
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1936–39 Auckland 16 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1938 New Zealand 0 (0)
Cricket information
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
RoleAll-rounder
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1936/37–1939/40Auckland
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 31
Runs scored 1,535
Batting average 34.88
100s/50s 4/3
Top score 290
Balls bowled 1,533
Wickets 35
Bowling average 21.48
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 4/20
Catches/stumpings 27/–

William Nicol Carson MC (16 July 1916 – 8 October 1944) was a New Zealand sportsman who represented his country at both cricket and rugby union.

Early life and family[edit]

Born in Gisborne on 16 July 1916,[2] Carson was the son of Mabel Alice Carson (née Scoullar) and her husband Alexander John Carson, the Gisborne harbourmaster.[3][4] He was educated at Gisborne Boys' High School from 1929 to 1933, where he played in the school's 1st XV rugby team in 1933, as well as in the 1st XI cricket team.[1][4] Carson married Marie Patricia Jeffries at St Luke's Church, in the Auckland suburb of Remuera, on 13 August 1940.[5] The couple were to have no children.[4]

Cricket[edit]

Carson, an aggressive left-handed batsman and useful fast-medium bowler, started his first-class cricketing career with large scores for Auckland in the Plunket Shield in the 1936/37 season. In his second match, just his second innings of first-class cricket, Carson scored 290 against Otago at Carisbrook, part of a 445 run partnership with Paul Whitelaw. The pair set a world record for the third wicket in first-class cricket.[6][7] Carson's score of 290 is still the highest maiden hundred scored by a New Zealander.[8] In his next match, against Wellington at Eden Park, Carson made 194, giving him an aggregate of 496 runs and an average of 165.33 after three innings.[9] His record aggregate total across his first three innings in first-class cricket stood until February 2022, when Sakibul Gani made 540 runs in his first three innings during the 2021–22 Ranji Trophy.[10]

His performances with Auckland earned him a call up to the national side for their tour of England in 1937. Although he played 24 matches, all but four of them first-class fixtures, Carson wasn't able to break into the Test side which took on the England side. He had started the tour well, with 85 runs against Surrey and 86 versus Northamptonshire but he failed to contribute substantial scores in most matches.[6] Carson finished the tour with 627 runs at 19.00.[11]

Rugby union[edit]

When Carson returned to New Zealand he focused on rugby, playing provincially with Auckland and for the North Island representative team as a flanker. As with his cricket career, he represented his country at rugby without appearing at Test level. He made his All Blacks debut on 20 July 1938 for a game against the Combined Western Districts. Carson then joined the New Zealand camp for a tour of Australia and played matches against Newcastle and the ACT.[1]

World War II[edit]

Carson embarked on war duty in 1940 and went on to participate in the Crete, North African and Italian campaigns. While serving in Italy with the 5th Field Regiment of the NZ Artillery, as a major, Carson was severely wounded in battle. He was evacuated but died from jaundice aboard ship whilst being taken from Bari in Southern Italy to Egypt.[4][6] He was buried at the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo.[3]

A distinguished soldier, Carson was awarded the Military Cross in June 1943, and was mentioned in dispatches.[12][13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Knight, Lindsay. "Bill Carson". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  2. ^ Bill Carson, CricInfo. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Casualty Details: Carson, William Nicol". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d McConnell, Lynn. "Carson, William Nicol". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Noted sportsman married". Auckland Star. 14 August 1940. p. 12. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Carson, Major WN M.C., Deaths in the War 1944, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1945. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Otago v Auckland 1936/37". CricketArchive.
  8. ^ Frindall, Bill (1998). The Wisden Book of Cricket Records (Fourth ed.). London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 0747222037.
  9. ^ "Auckland v Wellington 1936/37". CricketArchive.
  10. ^ "What are the best figures by a captain in ODIs and T20Is?". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  11. ^ "First-class Batting and Fielding for New Zealanders in British Isles 1937". CricketArchive.
  12. ^ "William Nicol Carson". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  13. ^ "No. 36057". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1943. p. 2760.

Further reading[edit]

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