Sid Hird
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sydney Frederick Hird | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 January 1910 Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 December 1980 (aged 70) Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1931/32–1932/33 | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1939 | Lancashire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1945/46–1948/49 | Eastern Province | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1950/51 | Border | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Cricinfo, 23 April 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sydney Frederick Hird (7 January 1910 – 20 December 1980) was an Australian cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1931 to 1951, for New South Wales, Lancashire County Cricket Club, Eastern Province and Border. He was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain and died in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.
Hird was educated at Rozelle Junior Technical School in Sydney, where his classmates included the future Test cricket players Archie Jackson and Bill Hunt.[1] He appeared in 32 first-class matches as a right-handed batsman who bowled right arm leg spin and off spin. He scored 1,453 runs with a highest score of 130, one of five first-class centuries, and held eight catches. He took 59 wickets with a best analysis of six for 56.[2]
In the 1930s, unable to find employment, Hird moved to England, where he played as the professional for Ramsbottom in the Lancashire League from 1933 to 1939. He moved to South Africa after the Second World War and captained Eastern Province.[3] In the 1946–47 Currie Cup, when Border needed just 42 in their second innings to defeat Eastern Province, Hird and Steytler Thwaits bowled them out for 34, Hird taking 5 for 16 (match figures of 34–14–39–9).[4][5]
Hird was later a successful coach in Eastern Province and Orange Free State.[3]
Hird's first marriage ended in divorce in England in 1937.[6] He married again in Grahamstown, South Africa, in 1948, where he worked as a hotelier.[7] He died in Bloemfontein in 1980, aged 70.[8]
References
- ^ "Syd Hird". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ Sid Hird at CricketArchive
- ^ a b Wisden 1982, p. 1202.
- ^ "Eastern Province defend 42 against Border, Currie Cup 1946-47, courtesy Sydney Hird". Cricket Country. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ "Border v Eastern Province 1946-47". Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ "'Home Wrecked by English Climate'". The Herald: 1. 1 July 1937.
- ^ "Albert. Marriage Certificates 1948". Family Search. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ "Orange Free State. Probate Estate Case Files 1981". Family Search. Retrieved 31 July 2025.