William Roberts (Lancashire cricketer)

William (Bill) Braithwaite Roberts (27 September 1914 – 23 August 1951) played first-class cricket for Lancashire as a lower-order batsman and left-arm spin bowler between 1939 and 1949.^[1] He has been described as "a slim blue-eyed type with a mop of wavy brown hair and the habitual expression of a schoolboy having just run away from ringing some grown-up's front doorbell."^[2] He was educated at Kirkham Grammar School and joined the County Club after leaving school^[3], debuting in July 1939 taking 13 wickets in 6 games before the outbreak of war.^[4]

He signed up at the beginning of the war joining an infantry regiment. While serving in the Army, Roberts showed good form in the cricket matches he was able to take part in, and he was chosen to play for England in three of the Victory Tests in 1945 taking 5 wickets an average of 26.8, also taking 6/21 against a West Indian XI at Lord's that year.^[5] He had a sardonic sense of humour, describing Plum Warner as "just a grandiloquent juggler who threw people in and out of the side at will."^[2] He had four successful seasons for Lancashire from 1946 to 1949, taking 382 wickets at an average of 20.89 with his accurate spin which included an effective arm ball, delivered quickly than his stock deliveries. His obituary in the Guardian said that "he was one of the most loveable characters that ever walked a cricket field. He may have played cricket partly to earn money, but he played cricket mainly because he loved it."^[3]

He became famous when he dismissed Australian batsman Don Bradman in 1948. He took 6 for 73 off 42 overs in the Australians' first innings, then on the last day he held out against the bowling of Ray Lindwall to give Lancashire a draw.^[6] His best first-class figures were 8 for 50 (match figures of 51.5–23–83–11) for Lancashire against Oxford University in 1949.^[7] He headed the bowling averages in 1948 and 1949, but the younger left-arm spinners Malcolm Hilton and Bob Berry replaced him in the county team and he spent the 1950 season in the second team and playing club cricket for Manchester, also substituting as Littleborough's professional and taking 10 wickets at 11.1^[8]. He received a testimonial of £2623 at the end of the 1950 season.^[9] Granted his release by Lancashire he signed for West Bromwich Dartmouth CC in the Birmingham League, for the 1951 and 1952 seasons, but was only able to play two games before the recurrence of an illness that had necessitated an internal operation some months before. His record in those games meant he topped the League averages with 10 wickets at 7.60 in the only two games^[10] but suffered a relapse and died suddenly whilst on holiday in Bangor in August of that year, aged 36.^[5]

• William Roberts at ESPNcricinfo
• William Roberts at CricketArchive (subscription required)