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Huntsman Williams

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Huntsman Williams
Personal information
Full name
Benjamin Huntsman Williams
Born(1944-06-10)10 June 1944
Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia
Died3 August 1978(1978-08-03) (aged 34)
near Turk Mine, Matabeleland, Rhodesia
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1963/64Orange Free State
1966/67–1969/70Rhodesia
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 9
Runs scored 143
Batting average 9.53
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 30
Balls bowled 948
Wickets 14
Bowling average 36.14
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 4/56
Catches/stumpings 4/–
Source: CricketArchive, 15 November 2022

Benjamin Huntsman Williams (10 June 1944 – 3 August 1978) was a Rhodesian first-class cricketer.

Williams, a left-arm fast-medium bowler, was a good enough player in his youth to have represented Rhodesian Nuffield, South African Schools and Rhodesia Country Districts by his 18th birthday.[1]

He made his first-class debut in the 1963/64 Currie Cup season, playing for Orange Free State against North Eastern Transvaal. Despite opening the bowling in each innings, he failed to take a wicket.[2]

In 1966 he appeared for Matabeleland against the touring Australian team, in a non first-class fixture. He took four first innings wickets, Bob Simpson, Bob Cowper, Ian Redpath and Keith Stackpole.[3] This earned him a call up to the Rhodesian side to take on the same opponent and he made two further first-class appearances in the 1966/67 Currie Cup competition. He didn't play again for Rhodesia until the 1969/70 Currie Cup, when he took part in four matches.[4]

When not playing cricket, Williams worked as a farmer, in Inyati. On 3 August 1978, while on duty as a police reserve, he was fatally wounded in the arm by a rocket-propelled grenade fired at his vehicle by Bush War guerrillas during an ambush. He died of wounds later that day.[5][6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Miscellaneous Matches Played By Huntsman Williams (5)". CricketArchive.
  2. ^ "Orange Free State v North Eastern Transvaal". CricketArchive.
  3. ^ "Matabeleland v Australians". CricketArchive.
  4. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Huntsman Williams (9)". CricketArchive.
  5. ^ "Obituaries in 1978". Wisden. 5 December 2005.
  6. ^ "Benjamin Huntsman Williams: The cricketer killed by a Bush War rocket". cricketcountry.com. May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2020.