Gother Clarke

Gother Clarke
Personal information
Full name
Gother Robert Carlisle Clarke
Born(1875-04-27)27 April 1875
Sydney, Australia
Died12 October 1917(1917-10-12) (aged 42)
Polygon Wood, Passchendaele salient, Belgium
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg-spin
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1899-1900 to 1901-02New South Wales
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 7
Runs scored 140
Batting average 12.72
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 25
Balls bowled 1726
Wickets 28
Bowling average 31.21
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match 1
Best bowling 6/133
Catches/stumpings 13/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 11 January 2021

Gother Clarke (27 April 1875 – 12 October 1917) was an Australian cricketer and medical doctor.[1][2]

Life and career

Clarke was born in Sydney, the grandson of the geologist William Branwhite Clarke.[2] He attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School and the University of Sydney, where he studied Medicine.[2] In a match for the university cricket team against Melbourne University in 1898 he took 7 for 72 and 6 for 89 and scored 100.[3]

He played seven first-class matches as a leg-spin bowler and lower-order batsman for New South Wales between 1899 and 1902.[4] His best performance was against the touring English team in 1901-02, when he took 4 for 98 and 6 for 133 in New South Wales' 53-run victory.[5] He was also prominent in tennis and bowls, once winning the New South Wales bowls pairs title.[2]

Clarke served as a major in the medical corps of the 34th Australian Infantry Battalion during World War I.[6] He was killed in action in the First Battle of Passchendaele.[7] After he left his medical station to treat a casualty in the field, Clarke and several others were killed by a shell.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gother Clarke". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "For the Empire: Mrs Langer Owen and Major Gother Clarke". Sydney Mail: 19. 12 December 1917.
  3. ^ "Remembering Gother Clarke". Sydney University Cricket. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Gother Clarke". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  5. ^ "New South Wales v AC MacLaren's XI 1901-02". Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Major Gother Robert Carlisle Clarke". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Clarke, Gother". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Major Gother Robert Carlisle Clarke" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 11 January 2021.