Wallscourt Kelly

Wallscourt Kelly
Personal information
Full name
Wallscourt Steen Kelly
Born16 June 1895
Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia
Died10 June 1952(1952-06-10) (aged 56)
Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia
BattingUnknown
BowlingUnknown
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1924/25–1927/28Europeans
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 4
Runs scored 74
Batting average 9.25
100s/50s –/–
Top score 32
Balls bowled 432
Wickets 24
Bowling average 13.58
5 wickets in innings 1
10 wickets in match –
Best bowling 6/57
Catches/stumpings –/–
Source: Cricinfo, 17 November 2022

Lieutenant Colonel Wallscourt Steen Kelly (16 June 1895 — 10 June 1952) was an Australian first-class cricketer and British Indian Army officer.

The son of Alex Kelly, he was born in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick in June 1895.[1] Kelly was educated at both Melbourne Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School.[2] Kelly served in the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, seeing action on the Western Front as a lieutenant.[2] He was wounded at the Polygon Wood during the Third Battle of Ypres in September 1917,[3] before being appointed to the British Indian Army in March 1918 as a second lieutenant on probation,[4] with his appointment being confirmed in March 1919.[5] By November 1920, he was serving with the 41st Dogras with the rank of temporary captain,[6] a rank to which he was appointed to permanently in September 1922.[7]

While serving in British India, Kelly played first-class cricket on four occasions for the Europeans cricket team in the Lahore Tournament from 1925 to 1928.[8] Playing as a bowler in the Europeans side, he took 24 wickets at an average of 13.58;[9] he took one five wicket haul of 6 for 57 against the Muslims in 1925.[10] In the 1938, he fought in the Waziristan campaign alongside native Indian troops against hostile tribesmen.[11] Following his retirement from the British Indian Army on 22 February 1948[12] he returned to Australia where he died at his residence at Ivanhoe in Melbourne in June 1952.[13]

References

  1. ^ School captains enlist. The Argus. 25 January 1916. p. 7
  2. ^ a b Liber Melburniensis. Melbourne Grammar School. 1965. p. 135.
  3. ^ The Great War. Townsville Daily Bulletin. 8 April 1918. p. 4
  4. ^ "No. 31131". The London Gazette. 17 January 1919. p. 915.
  5. ^ "No. 31837". The London Gazette. 26 March 1920. p. 3679.
  6. ^ "No. 32325". The London Gazette. 17 May 1921. p. 3935.
  7. ^ "No. 32854". The London Gazette. 17 August 1923. p. 5632.
  8. ^ "First-Class Matches played by Wallscourt Kelly". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  9. ^ "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Wallscourt Kelly". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Europeans v Muslims, Lahore Tournament 1924/25". CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  11. ^ Fighting on Indian Frontier. The Argus. 22 February 1938. p. 11
  12. ^ London Gazette 5th March 1948, page 1628
  13. ^ Deaths. The Argus. 12 June 1952. p. 11