Bill Brown (cricketer)

Bill Brown (cricketer)

William Alfred Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer. He played 22 Test matches between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. His partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history. He died of a heart attack at the age of 87.

About Bill Brown (cricketer) in brief

Summary Bill Brown (cricketer)William Alfred Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer. He played 22 Test matches between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history. After the interruption of World War II, Brown was a member of the team dubbed “The Invincibles”, who toured England in 1948 without defeat under the leadership of Don Bradman. In retirement, Brown briefly served as a Test selector and sold cars and, later, sports goods. In 2000, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to cricket. At the time of his death in 2008,  he was Australia’s oldest Test cricketers. Brown was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, and grew up in Marrickville in inner Sydney. He made his first-class debut for New South Wales in the 1932–33 season and forced his way into the national side during the 1934 tour of England. He was one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Brown died in Brisbane in 2008. He is buried at the University of Queensland, where he was a first-team all-rounder and first-choice wicket-keeper for the Queensland cricket team. He died of a heart attack at the age of 87. He had been diagnosed with a heart condition in the early 1980s. He also suffered from a rare form of cancer called alzheimer, which caused him to lose his hair and his eyesight.

His funeral was held at St Vincent’s Anglican Church in Sydney, where his family had lived since the 1920s. Brown is survived by his wife and two children. He has a son and a daughter. Brown played cricket for Queensland until the end of the 1949–50 season. He retired from the game after the 1950–51 season, when he was forced to retire due to a back injury. He continued to play cricket for Sydney’s Sydney Cricket Club until he retired in 1968. Brown also played for Sydney University and Sydney University. He won two state titles and two Sheffield Shield titles during his cricketing career. Brown captained Queensland in 1945–46 and captained an Australian eleven in a match that was retrospectively awarded Test status. In his final season, he played in the Sheffield Shield final against Queensland. Brown retired from cricket in 1968 and later became a selector for the Australian Cricket Association. His last match was the final match of the 1969–70 season against Victoria. He passed away in Sydney on November 18, 2008. Brown’s last match for Queensland was the opening match against Queensland in the 1973–74 Sheffield Shield match against South Australia. His final match was against Victoria in the 1974–75 Sheffield Shield season. Brown won his first state title with a victory over South Australia in the 1975–76 season. His career was cut short by injury in the 1977–78 season.