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Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
William Joseph "Bill" O'Reilly (20 December 1905 6 October 1992), often known as Tiger O'Reilly, was an Australian cricket
er, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.
O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers
to ever play cricket. He delivered the ball
from a two-fingered grip at close to medium pace with great accuracy, and could produce leg break
s, googlies
, and top spinners
, with no discernible change in his action.
A tall man for a spinner (around 188 cm, 6 ft 2 in), he whirled his arms to an unusual extent and had a low point of delivery that meant it was very difficult for the batsman to read the flight of the ball out of his hand. When O'Reilly died, Sir Donald Bradman
said that he was the greatest bowler he had ever faced or watched. In 1935, Wisden
wrote of him: "O'Reilly was one of the best examples in modern cricket of what could be described as a 'hostile' bowler." In 1939, Wisden reflected on Bill O'Reilly's successful 1938
Ashes
tour of England: "He is emphatically one of the greatest bowlers of all time."
As a batsman, O'Reilly was a competent left-hander, usually batting well down the order. O'Reilly's citation as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1935 said: "He had no pretensions to grace of style or any particular merit, but he could hit tremendously hard and was always a menace to tired bowlers."
As well as his skill, O'Reilly was also known for his competitiveness, and bowled with the aggression of a paceman. In a short biographical essay on O'Reilly for the Barclays World of Cricket book, his contemporary, the England cricketer Ian Peebles
, wrote that "any scoring-stroke was greeted by a testy demand for the immediate return of the ball rather than a congratulatory word. Full well did he deserve his sobriquet
of 'Tiger'."
descent, O'Reilly's paternal grandfather Peter emigrated from Ulster
in 1865. Arriving in Sydney
, he had been a policeman for four years in Ireland and continued in this line of work in New South Wales
. After a period, he was sent to Deniliquin
in the Riverina
, where he settled and married another Irish immigrant from County Clare
. O'Reilly's father, Ernest, was a schoolteacher and moved around the areas surrounding the Murray River
to study and teach. O'Reilly's mother Mina was of mixed Irish and Welsh
descent, of a third generation family from Adelaide
. O'Reilly was born in the opal
mining town of White Cliffs, New South Wales
. Ernest had been appointed to open the first school in the town, and had helped to build the school and its furniture himself. Bill was the fourth child in the family, with two elder brothers and a sister.
O'Reilly's cricket skills were largely self-taught; his family moved from town to town whenever his father was posted to a different school, he had little opportunity to attend coaching. He learned to play with his brothers, playing with a "gum-wood
bat and a piece of banksia
root chiselled down to make a ball." He learned to bowl because his older brothers dominated the batting rights. His bowling action was far from the classic leg spin
bowler's run-up and delivery, indeed, according to Wisden, "he was asked to make up the numbers in a Sydney junior match and, with a method that at first made everyone giggle, whipped out the opposition".
In January 1908, a month after Bill had turned two, the family moved to Murringo
, after Ernest was appointed the headmaster. O'Reilly said in his autobiography Tiger that the move played no vital part in his cricket education. The area had much more vegetation than the desolate White Cliffs, and an Irish Australian majority. O’Reilly later described the period as the happiest of his life.McHarg, p. 29. There the children played tennis on a court on their property and took up cricket. During this time, O'Reilly's mother gave birth to another son and two more daughters. In 1917, at the age of twelve, the family moved to the town of Wingello
. Ernest made the decision because there were no high schools near Murringo and his older children were about to finish primary school. Nevertheless, there was no high school in Wingello where Ernest had been appointed headmaster, so O'Reilly had to catch a train to Goulburn
—50 km away—to study at the local public secondary school, where his elder brother Tom had been awarded a scholarship. Wingello was a cricket town and "everyone was a cricket crank" according to O'Reilly. It was here that he developed a passion for the game. O'Reilly played in the town's team and also won the regional tennis championships. O'Reilly bowled with an action reminiscent of the windmill that his family erected in the town. However, school life was difficult, especially in the winter, as the Southern Tablelands were harsh and cold. The O’Reilly children had to leave Wingello at 7.45 am by rail and caught a slow goods train that delivered them home at 7 pm; these vehicles did not provide protection against the weather, and the boys did not participate in any school sport as the only train home left after the end of classes.
In the early 1920s, O'Reilly's eldest brother Jack moved to Sydney. One afternoon, Jack watched spin bowler Arthur Mailey
in the North Sydney practice nets and managed to describe the famous bowler's 'Bosie
' action in a letter to Bill. O'Reilly claims to have perfected the action of changing the spin from anticlockwise to clockwise without any discernible hand movement within a couple of days. O'Reilly said that "The bosie became my most prized possession. I practised day in, day out". During his time at St Patrick’s, O’Reilly developed his ruthless and parsimonious attitude towards bowling.
Ernest decided that the train journeys and frozen limbs were too much for his son, so he sent Bill to St Patrick's College, Goulburn
as a boarder in 1921, where he quickly showed his athletic flair by becoming a member of the school's rugby league
, tennis
, athletics and cricket teams. He held a state record for the hop, step and jump
. At the same time, he also represented the town team. After three years at the Irish Catholic school, funded by a scholarship, O’Reilly completed his Leaving Certificate.McHarg, p. 32.
competition behind Nick Winter
, who went on to win gold in the event at the 1924 Summer Olympics
with a world record of 50 ft. O'Reilly also placed second in a high jumping competition, clearing six feet. Corish was also a cricket administrator and invited O’Reilly to play in a David Jones
Second XI. Not knowing anything of his new recruit’s abilities, Corish did not allow O’Reilly to bowl until he explicitly complained of only being allowed to field. O’Reilly promptly finished off the opposition’s innings by removing the middle and lower order. After an encounter with journalist Johnny Moyes, who wrote glowingly about O'Reilly's skills.
While training as a teacher, O’Reilly joined the Sydney University Regiment
, a unit of the Militia Forces
(Army Reserve). He did not enjoy his time in the military, and along with most of his peers, regarded the commanding officer
as inept. O'Reilly was a non-conformist who did not enjoy taking orders, and was unimpressed with the firearm drills, because the recruits were armed only with wooden sticks. However, he signed up for a second year to raise money for his education. Fed up with military routines he considered to be pointless, O'Reilly volunteered to be a kitchen hand.
During a vacation, O'Reilly caught the train from Sydney back to Wingello, which stopped at Bowral mid-journey. There, Wingello were playing the host town in a cricket match, and O'Reilly was persuaded to interrupt his journey to help his teammates. This match marked his first meeting with Bowral's 17-year-old Don Bradman, later to become his Test captain. O'Reilly himself later described thus:
The wicket ended a period of suffering for O’Reilly at the hands of Bradman, who had hit many fours and sixes from him. Bradman’s counter-attack came after he had been dropped twice from O’Reilly’s bowling before reaching 30 by Wingello’s captain Selby Jeffery. On the first occasion, the ball hit Jeffery in the chest while he was lighting his pipe; soon after the skipper failed to see the ball "in a dense cloud of bluish smoke" as he puffed on his tobacco. The match was the start of a long on-field relationship between the pair, who were to regard one another as the best in the world in their fields. O’Reilly recalled that Bradman "knew what the game was all about".
O’Reilly did not enjoy his time at the overcrowded Sydney Teachers College (STC), decrying the lack of practical training and the predominance of pedagogical theory. Regarding it as a waste of time, he happily accepted an offer of work experience from Major Cook-Russell, the head of physical education at STC, to help at Naremburn College instead of attending lectures. This angered Professor Alexander Mackie, the head of STC, whom both Cook-Russell and O’Reilly regarded as incompetent.McHarg, p. 36.
O'Reilly's initial posting after abandoning his training was to a government school in Erskineville
, a inner-city suburb in Sydney. At the time, the suburb was slum-like and impoverished, with many unruly students. Many of the pupils were barely clothed and tested O’Reilly’s ability to discipline. He said that he learned more in three months there under Principal Jeremiah Walsh than he would have in ten years at STC.McHarg, p. 37. Major Cook-Russell then started a military cadet program in New South Wales schools; O’Reilly started such a program at Erskineville and his students won the statewide competition "in a canter". O’Reilly’s time at Erskineville also marked the start of work-sport conflicts that hampered his cricket career. He joined North Sydney Cricket Club
in 1926–27 and was selected at short notice to play in an invitational match under retired Australian captain Monty Noble
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. As the education department required a week’s notice for leave requests, O’Reilly declined, but was then ordered by the Chief Inspector of Schools to play after turning up at school on the morning of the match. Having taken six wickets, the match was then washed out, and O’Reilly then had his pay deducted, much to his chagrin.
. At state training, O’Reilly’s new teammate and Test leg spinner Arthur Mailey
advised him to adopt a more conventional grip, but the 19th century Test bowler Charles Turner
, known as "Terror Turner" and famous for his unorthodox ways, told O’Reilly to back his self-styled technique. O'Reilly decided to listen to Turner.McHarg, p. 41.
After taking a total of 3/88 in a Second XI match against Victoria
, O’Reilly made his first-class debut in the 1927–28 season, playing in three matches and taking seven wickets. In his first match, against New Zealand, O’Reilly took 2/37 and 1/53. He then played in what would be his only Sheffield Shield match for several years, going wicketless against Queensland
, before returning figures of 4/35 against Tasmania
.
, an outback town in the south-west of the state, and he was unable to play first-class cricket. Over the next three years he moved around the country, including postings to Rylstone
and Kandos
.
Teaching duties may have cost O’Reilly an early entry into Test cricket
, as many young players were introduced in the 1928–29 home series against England following a large number of retirements of older players.
In the meantime, O’Reilly taught English to primary school children in Griffith, as well as singing—most of the pieces were Irish.McHarg, p. 42. At Rylstone he taught book-keeping and business, and he was promoted to the high school at Kandos. During this time he supplemented his income by travelling from town to town, playing in one-off cricket matches at the expense of the host’s club. He worked on his bosie during the period and regularly dismissed outclassed opposition batsmen. O’Reilly regarded his cricketing isolation as highly beneficial as he regarded coaches to be ill-advised and detrimental to development.McHarg, pp. 44–45.
, where he taught English, history, geography and business. O’Reilly resumed playing for North Sydney, confident that with an improved bosie, he was much more potent than before his rural teaching stint. As he only arrived back in Sydney in the second half of the 1930–31 season, O’Reilly was not considered for first-class selection, but he took 29 wickets at 14.72 for North Sydney.McHarg, p. 50.
In the 1931–32 season he emerged as the successor to Mailey in the New South Wales side. Within half a dozen games, he was one of several young players introduced to the Australian cricket team
for the Fourth Test
in a badly one-sided series
against South Africa
. However, matters could have been rather different. O’Reilly had broken into the team for New South Wales’ away matches against South Australia
and Victoria while the Test players were on international duty. He totaled only 2/81 in the first match and was then informed that he would be dropped after the second fixture. O’Reilly responded by bowling with a more attacking strategy, taking 5/22 and 2/112. At the end of the match, New South Wales’ stand-in captain, the leg spinning all rounder Reginald Bettington, declared O’Reilly "the greatest bowler in the world",McHarg, pp. 51–53. and although few agreed with this claim, Bettington made himself unavailable for selection so that O’Reilly would not be dropped. The reprieved leg spinner took a total of 8/204 in his next two matches, and while the figures were not overwhelming, they were enough to ensure a Test berth; with an unassailable 3–0 lead, the selectors wanted to blood new players.McHarg, pp. 53–54.
O'Reilly took four wickets on his debut at the Adelaide Oval
, two in each innings, supporting the senior leg-spinner, Clarrie Grimmett
, who took 14 wickets in the match and with Bradman scoring 299 not out
, Australia won the match. O'Reilly retained his place when the selectors kept the winning side for the final match of the Test series at the MCG
. On a pitch made treacherous by rain
, he did not bowl at all when South Africa were bowled out for just 36 in the first innings, and came on only towards the end of the second innings, when he took three wickets as the touring side subsided to 45 all out. He ended his first Test series with seven wickets at 24.85. In Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1931–32 season, O'Reilly took 25 wickets at an average
of 21 runs per wicket, highlighted by his maiden ten-wicket haul, 5/68 and 5/59 in a home match against South Australia after the Tests were over as New South Wales took out the title.
The following year he was more successful, taking 31 wickets at just 14 runs each. New South Wales won the competition in both seasons.
O'Reilly became a regular member of the Australian Test side in the 1932–33 season and he played in all five Tests against England
in the infamous Bodyline
series. The Australian selectors perceived that O’Reilly would be their key bowler, and as he had never played against the English, omitted him from the early tour matches so that the tourists would not be able to decode his variations. As a result, he missed the Australian XI match against the Englishmen in Melbourne. In two Shield matches ahead of the Tests, he took 14 wickets, including a total of 9/66 in an innings win over Queensland. Although the national selectors had hidden him from the Englishmen, New South Wales declined to do so, and he played for his state a week ahead of the Tests. The hosts were bombarded with short-pitched bowling and heavily beaten by an innings; O’Reilly took 4/86 as the visitors amassed 530, dismissing leading English batsman Wally Hammond
in the first of many battles between the pair.
The Tests started at the SCG and O’Reilly was the team's leading wicket-taker for the series with 27 wickets. O'Reilly not only took most wickets but he also bowled by some distance the most over
s on either side, and he achieved a bowling economy of less than two runs from each of his 383 eight-ball overs
. In the first match, he took 3/117 from 67 overs as England amassed 530 and took a ten-wicket victory. While his figures suggested that he bowled poorly—none of his wickets were those of batsmen—he beat the batsmen repeatedly.McHarg, pp. 68–69. Between Tests, O’Reilly took 11 wickets in two Shield matches.McHarg, pp. 69–70.
In the Second Test in Melbourne, O’Reilly opened the bowling as Australia opted to use only one pace bowler on a turning pitch.McHarg, p. 69. After Australia had made only 228, O’Reilly trapped Bob Wyatt
leg before wicket
(lbw) before bowling both the Nawab of Pataudi
and Maurice Leyland
to leave England at 4/98. He later took two tail-end wickets to end with 5/63 and secure Australia a first innings lead. Defending a target of 251, O’Reilly bowled the leading English opener Herbert Sutcliffe
for 33 with a textbook perfect leg break that pitched on leg stump and clipped the top of the off stump. According to English team manager Plum Warner
, Sutcliffe had never been defeated so comprehensively. O’Reilly also removed Hammond on the way to ending with 5/66 and securing a 111-run win. The ten-wicket haul was O’Reilly’s first at Test level and the start of his strong career record over the English.McHarg, p. 69. However, Australia were not to taste further success. The controversial "fast leg theory
" bowling used by England under newly appointed captain
Douglas Jardine
brought the touring team victories in the last three matches: Australia were handicapped not only by the tactics, but also by a lack of quality fast bowlers
; O'Reilly also opened the bowling in both the Third and Fourth Tests in Adelaide
and Brisbane
respectively due to the selection of only one paceman. He was hindered by a decline in the form of Grimmett, who was dropped after the Third Test.McHarg, pp. 73–78. O’Reilly took 2/83 and 4/79 in Adelaide, collecting the wicket of Sutcliffe for single figures in the first innings of a match overshadowed by near-riots after captain Bill Woodfull
was struck in the heart.McHarg, pp. 72–73. Australia were crushed by 338 runs, and lost the series in Brisbane. After O’Reilly had taken 4/101—including Sutcliffe and Jardine—in the first innings to keep Australia’s first innings deficit to 16, the hosts collapsed to be 175 all out. O’Reilly took one wicket in the second innings of a six-wicket loss. The final Test in Sydney took a similar course; O’Reilly took 4/111 in the first innings including Sutcliffe and Jardine again, as the tourists took a 14-run lead before completing an eight-wicket win after another Australian collapse. O’Reilly was wicketless in the second innings and bowled 72 overs in total in the match. Reflecting on the performance of O’Reilly in the series, R Mason said “here we saw the first flexing of that most menacing genius”.McHarg, pp. 75–76.
In the 1933–34 season, with no Test series in Australia, O'Reilly finished top of the Sheffield Shield bowling averages, taking 33 wickets at an average of 18.30, but he had an inconsistent run. He started the season with 6/58 and 7/53 in an innings win over Queensland. After managing only three wickets across two consecutive testimonial matches, O’Reilly went wicketless against South Australia. He was angered by the subsequent comments in newspapers that he had already passed his zenith, and returned to form against Victoria at the MCG. After claiming 3/92 in the first innings, he took 9/50 in the second innings. The nine wickets included six Test players, including leading batsmen Woodfull and Bill Ponsford
. Given his heavy workload in the previous season, it was decided to keep O’Reilly fresh for the subsequent tour of England, so he played in only two of the last three matches, with a reduced bowling load, taking eight wickets. During the season, Bradman moved to North Sydney from St George Cricket Club
to captain the team, and it was the only summer in which O'Reilly played alongside Bradman at grade level. The following year, O'Reilly moved to St George, which was near Kogarah, as they were obliged to play for a team in their area of residence.
O’Reilly was selected for the tour of England in 1934, where he and Grimmett were the bowling stars as Australia regained the Ashes
. They began by taking 19 of the 20 England wickets to fall in a comfortable victory in the First Test at Trent Bridge
. O'Reilly's match figures were 11 wickets for 129 runs, and taking seven for 54 in his second innings was to produce his best Test figures.
England then won the Second Test at Lord's
, aided by the weather and Australia’s inability to force the issue by avoiding the follow on. The hosts batted first and made 440, O’Reilly removing Walters. In reply, Australia were 2/192 when rain struck on the second evening and the sun turned the pitch into a sticky wicket
the next day. When O’Reilly came in at 8/273, only 17 runs were needed to avoid the follow on, but he misjudged the flight of a Hedley Verity
delivery and was bowled, thinking the ball to be fuller than it was and missing a lofted drive. Australia fell six runs short and were forced to bat again when the pitch was at its worst. They were bowled out again on the same afternoon as Verity took 14 wickets in a day. O’Reilly always regretted his dismissal, as he believed that if he had helped to avoid the follow on, he would have taken "six wickets without removing his waistcoat" and that Australia could have then chased the target in better conditions on the fourth day.
O'Reilly shook English confidence in the Third Test, played on a placid surface at Old Trafford, by taking three wickets in four balls. Cyril Walters
, who up to that point had been untroubled, failed to pick the bosie and thus inside edged the ball to short leg. Bob Wyatt
came in and was clean bowled for a golden duck
, bringing Hammond in to face the hat-trick ball. The new batsman inside edged the ball past the stumps and through the legs of wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield
, but the next delivery clean bowled him. This left England at 3/72, and O’Reilly removed Sutcliffe soon after, but the batsmen settled down and the next wicket did not come until Hendren fell just before the end of the first day’s play. England were 5/355 and O’Reilly had taken each wicket.McHarg, pp. 101–102. The next day, the hosts ended on 9/627, despite a relentless 59 overs from O’Reilly, who ended with 7/189 and was the only bowler to challenge the batsmen. The high-scoring match never looked likely to produce a result, except when Australia were in danger of being forced to follow on. They were 55 runs away from the follow on mark of 478 at the end of the third day with two wickets in hand, and O’Reilly was on one. The next day Arthur Chipperfield
fell with 24 runs still needed and O’Reilly and Wall saw them to 491 before the latter fell. O’Reilly ended with 30 not out after an innings in which he was lucky not to be caught off an edge multiple times.McHarg, pp. 102–103.
A further draw at Headingley, with England saved by rain after a Bradman triple century, set up a match to decide the series at The Oval
. As the series was still alive, the match was timeless, rather than the customary five-day contest. After Australia made 701, O’Reilly took 2/93 to help dismiss the hosts for 321. The visitors then made 327 to set a target of 708 for victory. O’Reilly claimed 2/58, including Hammond, while Grimmett, with a total of eight wickets, proved the decisive bowler as Australia regained The Ashes with victory by 562 runs,McHarg, p. 105. which, more than 70 years on, is still the second largest margin of victory in terms of runs in any Test match.
O'Reilly was the leading Australian bowler of the tour, taking 28 Test wickets at an average of less than 25, while Grimmett took 25 wickets at just under 27 runs apiece. Australia's other Test bowlers took only 18 wickets between them. On the tour as a whole, O'Reilly headed the tourists' averages, with 109 wickets at 17.04, which meant that he also topped the averages for the whole English cricket season. In the matches against the English counties, he took 11 wickets in each of the games against Leicestershire
and Glamorgan
, and in the match against Somerset
, after Hans Ebeling
took the first wicket, he took the remaining nine for 38 runs, and that proved to be the best innings figures of his career. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1935 for his deeds on tour.
The tour ended with two non-first-class matches in Scotland
against the hosts, and O’Reilly top-scored in a match for Australia for the only time, in the first of the two games. Having been allowed to open the innings after complaining about his lack of opportunities, he top-scored with 47 ahead of McCabe’s 16. He found the tour to be a happy and healing experience after the acrimony of the Bodyline series.
O'Reilly played little state cricket for New South Wales in 1934–35; at the time, his first child was born and he took time off to ponder his future employment. He played in only one Shield match, against arch-rivals Victoria, and in the testimonial match for the retiring Woodfull and Ponsford. He took a total of eight wickets at 31.37 in these matches.
O’Reilly played no Shield cricket the following season, when he was selected for the Australian tour to South Africa. Although Bradman had been vice-captain under Woodfull in 1934, he did not travel to South Africa on grounds of ill health, but played a full domestic season despite this. The team was captained by Victor Richardson, and O’Reilly publicly described it as the happiest tour he had been on—he was one of several players who did not get along with Bradman.
The tour was another triumph for the leg-spin attack of O'Reilly and Grimmett, but O'Reilly was slightly overshadowed by his team-mate in the Tests. With 44 wickets, Grimmett set a new record for the number of wickets by an Australian in a Test series, and he raised his Test career total to 216 wickets, beating the then world record of 189 by Englishman Sydney Barnes
. O'Reilly took 27 Test wickets at an average of just over 17 runs each: the other bowlers in the Australian team took 27 wickets between them. On the tour as a whole, O'Reilly came out ahead of Grimmett, with 95 wickets against Grimmett's 92, and an average of 13.56 against 14.80. O'Reilly also revealed hitherto undiscovered batting talents, making an undefeated 56 in the Fourth Test in Johannesburg
, and putting on 69 for the last wicket with Ernie McCormick
. It was the only time in his first-class cricket
career that he passed 50. During the tour, O’Reilly developed his leg trap; the opening batsmen Jack Fingleton
and Bill Brown
were used in these positions.
With Bradman's appointment as captain of the Australian team after the South African tour, Clarrie Grimmett
was dropped, leaving O'Reilly as the hub of the Australian bowling attack for the MCC
Ashes tour in 1936–37.
O'Reilly was strongly aggrieved by the removal of his long-time bowling partner, and maintained that it was an "unpardonable" error that heavily weakened Australia's bowling attack. However, he remained vague about why he thought Grimmett had been removed, even though suspicion dogged Bradman. Grimmett continued to dominate the wicket-taking on domestic cricket, while his replacements struggled in the international arena.
O'Reilly responded by becoming the leading Australian wicket-taker in the series taking 25, with Bill Voce
taking 26 for England. However, he almost failed to take to the field; O'Reilly and several players had threatened to withdraw after vice-captain Stan McCabe
's wife was forbidden from sitting in the Members' Stand in the First Test. The Australian Board of Control backed down, but it was the start of a tumultuous season.
O'Reilly's wickets were at increased cost—his average increased to 22 runs per wicket—and he took five wickets in an innings only once, in the First Test at the 'Gabba
in Brisbane, which England won convincingly. The circumstances of the series determined O'Reilly's role: after England won the first two Tests, O'Reilly appeared to have been given the job not just of bowling the opposition out, but also of containing them, and he was criticised in Wisden for defensive bowling. Wisden even went as far as to describe it as "leg theory". If the intention was to stifle England batsman Wally Hammond
in particular, then it appears to have worked, but O'Reilly's figures for the series suggest he was consistent but not always penetrative. Morris Sievers
, from fewer matches, outperformed his average; Leslie Fleetwood-Smith, a slow left-arm spinner, got more eye-catching individual figures, including 10 wickets in the victory at Adelaide. Whatever the methods, they were successful: having lost the first two Tests, Australia proceeded to win the final three to retain The Ashes they had regained in England in 1934, and O'Reilly's five for 51 and three for 58 were the best figures in the decisive Fifth Test in Melbourne.
In the 1937–38 season, O'Reilly returned to more regular state cricket, and New South Wales duly won the Sheffield Shield for the first time in five seasons. He took 33 wickets at an average of just over 14 runs each, and against South Australia at Adelaide he repeated his feat against Somerset in 1934, taking the last nine wickets of the first innings at a cost of 41 runs. This time, he followed up with five for 57 in the second innings.
' s 1939 edition noted that "it was nothing short of remarkable that despite the moderate support accorded to him he bowled so consistently well and so effectively." Again, O'Reilly was often used defensively where there was no help from the wicket, but, Wisden added, "when... the wicket gave him the least encouragement he robbed the greatest batsmen of initiative, and was most destructive".
O'Reilly took 3/164 on a batting paradise in the First Test at Trent Bridge
as England scored 8/658 and forced Australia to follow on and hold on for a draw. In the Second Test at Lord's O'Reilly took 4/93 in the first innings and trapped Eddie Paynter
for 99 to end a 222-run partnership with Hammond. In reply to England's 494, Australia were in danger of being forced to follow on; O'Reilly came in and made 42, featuring in a partnership of 85 in only 46 minutes with Bill Brown
that enabled Australia to save the match: having been dropped by Paynter, he hit Hedley Verity
for consecutive sixes to take Australia past the follow-on
mark. Brown recalled "It was a nice day, and a nice wicket. O'Reilly came in, and I told him I'd take the quicks—Wellard
and Farnes
—and Tiger [O'Reilly] took Verity." Australia reached 422 and O'Reilly took 2/53 in the second innings as the match petered into a draw.
In an otherwise high-scoring series, O'Reilly's greatest triumph was in the low-scoring Fourth Test at Headingley, where he exploited a difficult pitch to take five wickets in each innings as Australia secured the victory that enabled them to retain the Ashes. With the series level at 0–0, England captain Hammond elected to bat first; O'Reilly's 5/66 was largely responsible for ending England's innings at 223. He removed Hammond, who had top-scored with 76, Bill Edrich
and Denis Compton
, all bowled in quick succession. England were 1/73 on the third day, an overall lead of 54, when O'Reilly was began a new spell after Bradman had switched his ends. Joe Hardstaff junior
hooked him for four and the next ball was no-balled by the umpire. O'Reilly was reported to have become visibly enraged; he bowled Hardstaff next ball and then removed Hammond for a golden duck. This precipitated an English collapse to 123 all out, and O'Reilly ended with 5/56 and a total of 10/122. O'Reilly effort proved to be crucial as Australia scraped home by five wickets just 30 minutes before black clouds brought heavy rain, which would have made batting treacherous. The victory ensured the retention of the Ashes, and O'Reilly ranked it as his finest performance, alongside his ten wickets in the Second Bodyline Test of 1932–33.
Australia had retained the Ashes, but England struck back at The Oval, where they posted the then-record Test score of 7/903. Early on, O'Reilly trapped Edrich lbw for 12, to secure his 100th Test wicket against England. In a timeless match, Len Hutton
made a world record Test score of 364 in a fastidious and watchful innings of 13 hours, surpassing Bradman's 334. When he was on 333, O'Reilly deliberately bowled two no-balls in an attempt to break Hutton's concentration by tempting him to hit out, but the Englishman blocked them with a straight bat.
O'Reilly eventually removed Hutton and ended with 3/178 off 85 overs. Nevertheless, these compared favourably with Fleetwood-Smith's 1/298 off 87 overs. O'Reilly was the only Australia to take more than a solitary wicket, and rated Hutton's knock as the finest innings played against him. Australia collapsed to lose by an innings and 579 runs, the heaviest defeat in Test history. O'Reilly's lack of success went with The Oval Test in 1934, when he took a total of 4/151.
O'Reilly scaled back his participation in Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1938–39 season, making himself unavailable for most of the campaign to spend time with his newborn son after half a year in England; he played in only two matches, against South Australia and arch-rivals Victoria. He took a ten-wicket haul in the latter match, but his figures of 6/152 and 4/60 were not enough to prevent defeat. Both teams were at full strength and eight of O'Reilly's victims were Test players, including batsman Lindsay Hassett
twice. O'Reilly's only other match was for Bradman's XI against Rigg's XI
in a match to commemorate the centenary of the Melbourne Cricket Club
, in which he took a total of 7/129, to end the season with 19 wickets at 23.16.
He resumed regular service for New South Wales in the next season, taking 55 wickets at 15.12 in seven matches. He took 8/23 and 6/22 to set up an innings win over Queensland and 6/77 and 4/62 in another victory over South Australia. The two matches against Victoria were shared as O'Reilly took 17 wickets. In the second of the matches, in Sydney, Hassett became the only person to score centuries in both innings of match involving O'Reilly. Despite Hassett's feat, New South Wales won the match; O'Reilly took a total of 8/157.
O'Reilly continued his strong run in 1940–41, taking 55 wickets at 12.43 in eight matches. He took nine wickets in three consecutive matches, once for McCabe's XI in a match against Bradman's XI, which his team won by an innings, and in both matches against Victoria, which were split between the two states. First-class cricket was ended after one match in 1941–42; O'Reilly took a total of 9/124 in a loss to Queensland before the attack on Pearl Harbor
signalled the start of the Second World War in the Pacific. In the meantime, O’Reilly continued to play for St George and topped the grade competition’s bowling averages for years from 1941–42 onwards. He averaged between 8 and 9 in all these seasons, and took more than 100 wickets in three consecutive summers, peaking with 147 in 1943–44. O’Reilly had tried to enlist in the military in 1941, but after presenting himself for the medical, was informed that his employer was deemed a “protected undertaking”, so their workers were not allowed to enlist.McHarg, p. 166.
First-class cricket resumed in Australia in 1945–46 after the end of the war, although the Shield competition was not held that season. O'Reilly captained New South Wales at the age of 40, and although the emergence of Ray Lindwall
and Ernie Toshack
in the state side indicated a shift in emphasis away from spin and towards faster bowling, O'Reilly maintained his pre-war standards. He took 33 wickets at 14.36 in six matches and New South Wales were undefeated; they won four matches and drew both fixtures against Victoria. He took at least two wickets in every innings and claimed his innings best of 6/43 against Queensland. O’Reilly also took a match total of 7/94 in an innings win over the Australian Services team
, which had drawn a series against a full-strength England team.
O'Reilly's final first-class cricket came on a four-match tour by an Australian team to New Zealand
in early 1946. O'Reilly was the vice-captain of the team, which was led by Bill Brown
. The main fixture during the tour was a four-day match against a representative New Zealand
side in Wellington
, retrospectively designated as the first Test between the two countries in 1948. The uncertain nature of the tour saw the Australians wear blazers labelled ABC for Australian Board of Control
, rather than the usual coat of arms. New Zealand were outclassed; after winning the toss and electing to bat on a rain-affected pitch, they made 42 in their first innings and 54 in their second to lose by an innings and 103 runs. O'Reilly took 5/14 in the first innings, and 3/19 in the second, dominating with Toshack. It was his last Test and his last first-class game. O'Reilly dominated in the other tour games as well; he took match totals of 9/103 and 8/128 against Auckland and Otago respectively, and ended with 28 wickets at 10.60 for the tour. Having only decided to tour New Zealand after much consideration, O’Reilly retired at the end of the Test, throwing his boots out of the dressing room window.
Despite the mutual admiration between Bradman and O'Reilly for their cricket skills, personal relations between the pair were strained. In Australian society at the time, sectarian tension existed between Catholics
, mostly of Irish
descent, of whom O'Reilly was one, and Protestants, like Bradman. Bradman was a non-drinker and a reserved character, often preferring to read quietly, rather than socialise or drink with his team-mates. Coupled with his on-field dominance, this led to perceptions that Bradman was cocky and distant from his team-mates. In the late 1930s, the Australian Board of Control summoned O'Reilly, Stan McCabe
, Leo O'Brien
and Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
, all Catholics of Irish descent to a meeting to discuss the apparent schism in the team. Jack Fingleton
, a trained journalist, was not invited to the meeting, but after the deaths of both Fingleton and O'Reilly, Bradman penned a letter in which he accused the former of being the ringleader. O'Reilly's eventual departure also raised speculation that a purge had occurred. In 1995, after both Fingleton and O'Reilly had died, Bradman wrote: "With these fellows out of the way, the loyalty of my 1948 side was a big joy and made a big contribution to the outstanding success of that tour"; the Australians went through the 1948 English summer undefeated.
O'Reilly became a journalist, and together with Fingleton, he often criticised Bradman. They were in the press box when Bradman was bowled for a duck in his final Test innings, when they were reported to have become hysterical with laughter. Nevertheless, O'Reilly kept most of his strongest feelings about Bradman to himself and suppressed them from his autobiography; he would say of Bradman that "You don't piss on statues". Before his death, O'Reilly gave a series of interviews to the National Library of Australia
, in which he accused Bradman of purging Grimmett from the team because Grimmett had joked that Bradman had ensured his own dismissal in a match against Victoria, to avoid facing the express pace of Ernie McCormick
.
According to cricket historian Gideon Haigh
, "O'Reilly was a man of embedded prejudices". In retirement, O'Reilly complained to a board member that "You have to play under a Protestant to know what it's like". The Test umpire Col Egar recalled that O'Reilly never talked to him in their decades in cricket until a third party informed the bowler that Egar was a Catholic.
Despite their conflicts, a few years before his death O'Reilly wrote that, compared with Bradman, batsmen like Greg Chappell
and Allan Border
were mere "child's play".
. The couple had two children, a girl followed by a boy.
O'Reilly continued to work as a schoolteacher after he broke into international cricket, but at the end of 1934, after missing more than six months of the year in England, he resigned from his government post, reasoning that his career could not progress if he was going to be overseas so often. However, he had not made any plans for his future employment.McHarg, p. 113. Soon after, O'Reilly received an offer to work as a sportsgoods salesman for the department store David Jones
with sporting leave entitlements. The Premier of New South Wales, Bertram Stevens, tried to coax O'Reilly into staying in the government education system, offering him a post at Sydney Boys High School
if he returned to STC to complete the Bachelor of Arts that he had abandoned a decade before.
In 1935, O'Reilly took up an appointment at Sydney Grammar School
, one of the leading private schools in the state, having been offered 50% paid leave for his cricket commitments. There he taught English, history and business. In 1939 he took a job in the sports store of close friend, teammate and fellow Irish Catholic Stan McCabe
, which was located on George Street
, the city centre's main thoroughfare. O’Reilly was a financial partner in the business, but following the outbreak of World War II, the sales revenue began to suffer and O’Reilly left as the store would not be able to support two stakeholders.
O'Reilly then accepted a position as a manager of the Lion Tile Company at Auburn
, in Sydney's western suburbs. He remained in the position until 1976. O’Reilly was responsible for the financial and accounting affairs of the firm, which expanded to employ more than 200 workers. He was held in high regard and granted full paid leave when he thrice went overseas for six months to cover tours of England as a journalist.McHarg, pp. 180–181. Doc Evatt, a leading Australian Labor Party
politician attempted to recruit O'Reilly into politics, but was unsuccessful.
During the late-1930s, O'Reilly mentored the then-teenaged Arthur Morris
and Ray Lindwall
at St. George. He converted Morris from a left arm unorthodox spinner into an opening batsman, and exhorted Lindwall to become a specialist express paceman. Both had long Test careers and captained their country and are regarded as all-time Australian greats in the fields that O'Reilly chose for them—both were chosen with O'Reilly in the ACB Team of the Century
. The pair credited O'Reilly as being the main influence in their careers, and Lindwall made his Test debut in O'Reilly's last Test in 1946.
In 1956–57, McCabe and O'Reilly were given a testimonial match by the New South Wales Cricket Association
. The match was between Harvey's XI
and Lindwall's XI
and acted as a trial for the non-Test tour of New Zealand. It raised 7,500 pounds, which was split between McCabe and O'Reilly and would have bought two average-sized homes in Sydney at the time.
On retirement as a player, O'Reilly became a cricket columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
, remaining in that position until his health declined in 1988. His first engagement was England’s tour of Australia in 1946–47, and during this season he began a partnership with the Daily Express
of London
, going on to cover several Ashes series for them. O’Reilly’s articles for The Sydney Morning Herald were reproduced in its sister publication, The Age
of Melbourne
. Later, his writing was syndicated to newspapers in India, South Africa and New Zealand. His style was described by Wisden as "muscular, very Australian... flavoured with wit and imagery ('You can smell the gum
-leaves off him', he wrote of one country boy
just starting with Queensland)." Jack McHarg said that "The clarity, wit and pungency of his writing, together with almost infallible judgment, never deserted him", even as his health began to restrict him. He was a highly respected and forthright pundit, who hated one-day cricket
, describing it as "hit and giggle". He condemned the omission of Keith Miller
in 1949–50 and said that to call it "a complete surprise would be a cowardly way of describing a botch". Reacting to the selection of the dour batting all rounder Ken Mackay
, he wrote "words fail...to express adequately my contempt for this howler". In 1952 he had a falling-out with Lindwall after condemning his protégé for bowling five consecutive bouncers
at Everton Weekes
in a Test. In comparison with his illustrious contemporary on-field and on paper, "while Sir Donald
walked the corridors of cricketing power O'Reilly was the rumbustious backbencher
." In 1956, O’Reilly strongly criticised Australian captain Ian Johnson
, a Melburnian, for his leadership during the 1956 Ashes tour
. The Age took exception to this and asked their sister publication to rein in their pundit. O’Reilly refused to shy away from his opinions and was dropped by the Melbourne publication.McHarg, p. 172. In the 1980s, when Bob Simpson
became the first coach of Australia, O’Reilly, himself self-taught, spoke out against the creation of such posts. He was a strong critic of the breakaway World Series Cricket
, the commercialisation of the sport and the erosion of the social norms that were followed during his playing career.McHarg, pp. 174–176.
Aside from his autobiography, O'Reilly wrote two books; Cricket Conquest: The Story of the 1948 Test Tour, published in 1949, and Cricket Task Force, published in 1951. They were accounts of the Invincibles tour of England in 1948 and England's Ashes tour to Australia in 1950–51
.
Upon retiring from The Sydney Morning Herald, O'Reilly wrote in a column
O’Reilly was honoured with several accolades late in his life. In 1980, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire
for his services to cricket as a player and writer. In 1985, the oval in Wingello was renamed in his honour, and in 1988, a grandstand at the SCG was named the Bill O’Reilly Stand.McHarg, p. 187. In the same year, the oval in White Cliffs was renamed, and The Sydney Morning Herald renamed the medal they awarded to the best player in grade cricket in O’Reilly’s honour. During the celebrations for the Australian Bicentenary
, O’Reilly was named among the 200 people, and only 21 living, who had contributed the most to the country since European settlement.McHarg, pp. 187–188.
O'Reilly's later years were troubled with poor health, including the loss of a leg
. In late 1988, he suffered a major heart attack and was hospitalised for two months.McHarg, p. 189. He died in hospital in Sutherland
in 1992, aged 86. O'Reilly lamented the decline of spin during his twilight years, and in the 1980s he was often derided by younger people who felt that his advocacy of spin bowling—which they deemed to be obsolete—was misplaced. He died just months before Shane Warne
revived the art of leg spin on the international stage.
In 1996, O'Reilly was posthumously inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
as one of the ten inaugural members. In 2000, O'Reilly was named in the Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century
, and in 2009 he was named among the 55 inaugural inductees of the International Cricket Council
's Hall of Fame
, being formally inducted in January 2010.
career, O'Reilly took 774 wickets at an average of 16.60. In his 27 Test matches, O'Reilly took 144 wickets at 22.59, 102 of them in his 19 Ashes Tests against England.
's LG Ratings that he was the best bowler in the world for much of his career.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster.
O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
to ever play cricket. He delivered the ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
from a two-fingered grip at close to medium pace with great accuracy, and could produce leg break
Leg break
A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
s, googlies
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
, and top spinners
Topspinner
A top-spinner is a type of delivery bowled by a cricketer bowling either wrist spin or finger spin. In either case, the bowler imparts the ball with top spin by twisting it with his or her fingers prior to delivery...
, with no discernible change in his action.
A tall man for a spinner (around 188 cm, 6 ft 2 in), he whirled his arms to an unusual extent and had a low point of delivery that meant it was very difficult for the batsman to read the flight of the ball out of his hand. When O'Reilly died, Sir Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
said that he was the greatest bowler he had ever faced or watched. In 1935, Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
wrote of him: "O'Reilly was one of the best examples in modern cricket of what could be described as a 'hostile' bowler." In 1939, Wisden reflected on Bill O'Reilly's successful 1938
Australian cricket team in England in 1938
The 1938 Ashes series between Australia and England was drawn. England and Australia won a Test each, with two of the other Tests drawn and the third game of the series, scheduled for Manchester, abandoned without a ball being bowled, only the second instance of this in more than 60 years of Test...
Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
tour of England: "He is emphatically one of the greatest bowlers of all time."
As a batsman, O'Reilly was a competent left-hander, usually batting well down the order. O'Reilly's citation as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1935 said: "He had no pretensions to grace of style or any particular merit, but he could hit tremendously hard and was always a menace to tired bowlers."
As well as his skill, O'Reilly was also known for his competitiveness, and bowled with the aggression of a paceman. In a short biographical essay on O'Reilly for the Barclays World of Cricket book, his contemporary, the England cricketer Ian Peebles
Ian Peebles
Ian Alexander Ross Peebles was a cricketer who played for Oxford University, Middlesex, Scotland and England. After retiring from cricket he became a cricket writer, working as a journalist on The Sunday Times and as the author of many books on cricket.Peebles had one of the strangest...
, wrote that "any scoring-stroke was greeted by a testy demand for the immediate return of the ball rather than a congratulatory word. Full well did he deserve his sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
of 'Tiger'."
Youth and early career
Of IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent, O'Reilly's paternal grandfather Peter emigrated from Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
in 1865. Arriving in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, he had been a policeman for four years in Ireland and continued in this line of work in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. After a period, he was sent to Deniliquin
Deniliquin
Deniliquin, known locally as "Deni", is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales close to the border with Victoria.Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina and Cobb Highway approximately south west of the state capital, Sydney and north of Melbourne...
in the Riverina
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
, where he settled and married another Irish immigrant from County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
. O'Reilly's father, Ernest, was a schoolteacher and moved around the areas surrounding the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
to study and teach. O'Reilly's mother Mina was of mixed Irish and Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
descent, of a third generation family from Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. O'Reilly was born in the opal
Opal
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
mining town of White Cliffs, New South Wales
White Cliffs, New South Wales
White Cliffs is a small town in outback New South Wales in Australia, in Central Darling Shire. White Cliffs is around 255 km northeast of Broken Hill, 93 km north of Wilcannia. At the 2006 census, White Cliffs had a population of 119....
. Ernest had been appointed to open the first school in the town, and had helped to build the school and its furniture himself. Bill was the fourth child in the family, with two elder brothers and a sister.
O'Reilly's cricket skills were largely self-taught; his family moved from town to town whenever his father was posted to a different school, he had little opportunity to attend coaching. He learned to play with his brothers, playing with a "gum-wood
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
bat and a piece of banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
root chiselled down to make a ball." He learned to bowl because his older brothers dominated the batting rights. His bowling action was far from the classic leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
bowler's run-up and delivery, indeed, according to Wisden, "he was asked to make up the numbers in a Sydney junior match and, with a method that at first made everyone giggle, whipped out the opposition".
In January 1908, a month after Bill had turned two, the family moved to Murringo
Murringo, New South Wales
Murringo is a small village in the southwestern slopes of New South Wales, Australia in Young Shire. At the 2006 census, Murringo had a population of 164 people.-External links:*...
, after Ernest was appointed the headmaster. O'Reilly said in his autobiography Tiger that the move played no vital part in his cricket education. The area had much more vegetation than the desolate White Cliffs, and an Irish Australian majority. O’Reilly later described the period as the happiest of his life.McHarg, p. 29. There the children played tennis on a court on their property and took up cricket. During this time, O'Reilly's mother gave birth to another son and two more daughters. In 1917, at the age of twelve, the family moved to the town of Wingello
Wingello, New South Wales
Wingello is a village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is about equidistant between Sydney, the capital of NSW, and Canberra, the nation’s capital. It has a station on CityRail's Southern Highlands line...
. Ernest made the decision because there were no high schools near Murringo and his older children were about to finish primary school. Nevertheless, there was no high school in Wingello where Ernest had been appointed headmaster, so O'Reilly had to catch a train to Goulburn
Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn is a provincial city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Goulburn Mulwaree Council Local Government Area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and above sea-level. On Census night 2006, Goulburn had a population of 20,127 people...
—50 km away—to study at the local public secondary school, where his elder brother Tom had been awarded a scholarship. Wingello was a cricket town and "everyone was a cricket crank" according to O'Reilly. It was here that he developed a passion for the game. O'Reilly played in the town's team and also won the regional tennis championships. O'Reilly bowled with an action reminiscent of the windmill that his family erected in the town. However, school life was difficult, especially in the winter, as the Southern Tablelands were harsh and cold. The O’Reilly children had to leave Wingello at 7.45 am by rail and caught a slow goods train that delivered them home at 7 pm; these vehicles did not provide protection against the weather, and the boys did not participate in any school sport as the only train home left after the end of classes.
In the early 1920s, O'Reilly's eldest brother Jack moved to Sydney. One afternoon, Jack watched spin bowler Arthur Mailey
Arthur Mailey
Arthur Alfred Mailey was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926....
in the North Sydney practice nets and managed to describe the famous bowler's 'Bosie
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
' action in a letter to Bill. O'Reilly claims to have perfected the action of changing the spin from anticlockwise to clockwise without any discernible hand movement within a couple of days. O'Reilly said that "The bosie became my most prized possession. I practised day in, day out". During his time at St Patrick’s, O’Reilly developed his ruthless and parsimonious attitude towards bowling.
Ernest decided that the train journeys and frozen limbs were too much for his son, so he sent Bill to St Patrick's College, Goulburn
St Patrick's College, Goulburn
St Patrick's College, Goulburn was an independent, Roman Catholic, day and boarding school for boys located in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of the earliest schools established by the Christian Brothers in Australia. It is also a school which has a significant Rugby Union...
as a boarder in 1921, where he quickly showed his athletic flair by becoming a member of the school's rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, athletics and cricket teams. He held a state record for the hop, step and jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
. At the same time, he also represented the town team. After three years at the Irish Catholic school, funded by a scholarship, O’Reilly completed his Leaving Certificate.McHarg, p. 32.
Sydney Teachers College
O'Reilly won a scholarship to the Sydney Teachers College at Sydney University, to train as a schoolmaster. However, the financial assistance was only for two years and merely sufficient for O’Reilly’s rent at Glebe Point. When he was in Sydney, O'Reilly received an invitation to join an athletics club based on his performances in Goulburn, but was only able to join after the secretary Dick Corish waived his membership fee.McHarg, p. 34. Jumping 47 feet, he came second in a triple jumpTriple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
competition behind Nick Winter
Nick Winter
Anthony William Winter was an Australian athlete, who was born in Brocklesby, New South Wales...
, who went on to win gold in the event at the 1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
with a world record of 50 ft. O'Reilly also placed second in a high jumping competition, clearing six feet. Corish was also a cricket administrator and invited O’Reilly to play in a David Jones
David Jones Limited
David Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...
Second XI. Not knowing anything of his new recruit’s abilities, Corish did not allow O’Reilly to bowl until he explicitly complained of only being allowed to field. O’Reilly promptly finished off the opposition’s innings by removing the middle and lower order. After an encounter with journalist Johnny Moyes, who wrote glowingly about O'Reilly's skills.
While training as a teacher, O’Reilly joined the Sydney University Regiment
Sydney University Regiment
Sydney University Regiment is an officer training regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. It can trace its lineage back to 1900 when the University Volunteer Rifle Corps was raised as a unit of the colonial New South Wales Defence Force. Over time this unit has undergone a number of name and role...
, a unit of the Militia Forces
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
(Army Reserve). He did not enjoy his time in the military, and along with most of his peers, regarded the commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
as inept. O'Reilly was a non-conformist who did not enjoy taking orders, and was unimpressed with the firearm drills, because the recruits were armed only with wooden sticks. However, he signed up for a second year to raise money for his education. Fed up with military routines he considered to be pointless, O'Reilly volunteered to be a kitchen hand.
During a vacation, O'Reilly caught the train from Sydney back to Wingello, which stopped at Bowral mid-journey. There, Wingello were playing the host town in a cricket match, and O'Reilly was persuaded to interrupt his journey to help his teammates. This match marked his first meeting with Bowral's 17-year-old Don Bradman, later to become his Test captain. O'Reilly himself later described thus:
The wicket ended a period of suffering for O’Reilly at the hands of Bradman, who had hit many fours and sixes from him. Bradman’s counter-attack came after he had been dropped twice from O’Reilly’s bowling before reaching 30 by Wingello’s captain Selby Jeffery. On the first occasion, the ball hit Jeffery in the chest while he was lighting his pipe; soon after the skipper failed to see the ball "in a dense cloud of bluish smoke" as he puffed on his tobacco. The match was the start of a long on-field relationship between the pair, who were to regard one another as the best in the world in their fields. O’Reilly recalled that Bradman "knew what the game was all about".
O’Reilly did not enjoy his time at the overcrowded Sydney Teachers College (STC), decrying the lack of practical training and the predominance of pedagogical theory. Regarding it as a waste of time, he happily accepted an offer of work experience from Major Cook-Russell, the head of physical education at STC, to help at Naremburn College instead of attending lectures. This angered Professor Alexander Mackie, the head of STC, whom both Cook-Russell and O’Reilly regarded as incompetent.McHarg, p. 36.
O'Reilly's initial posting after abandoning his training was to a government school in Erskineville
Erskineville, New South Wales
Erskineville is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Erskineville is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, a inner-city suburb in Sydney. At the time, the suburb was slum-like and impoverished, with many unruly students. Many of the pupils were barely clothed and tested O’Reilly’s ability to discipline. He said that he learned more in three months there under Principal Jeremiah Walsh than he would have in ten years at STC.McHarg, p. 37. Major Cook-Russell then started a military cadet program in New South Wales schools; O’Reilly started such a program at Erskineville and his students won the statewide competition "in a canter". O’Reilly’s time at Erskineville also marked the start of work-sport conflicts that hampered his cricket career. He joined North Sydney Cricket Club
North Sydney Cricket Club
North Sydney District Cricket Club is a cricket club in Sydney, Australia. The Bears as they are known were founded in 1858 playing club's such as Callen Park Mental Hospital, North Sydney joined the Sydney Grade Cricket Competition as an initial member in 1893...
in 1926–27 and was selected at short notice to play in an invitational match under retired Australian captain Monty Noble
Monty Noble
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off-break bowling, capable fieldsman and tactically sound captain, Noble is considered as one of the great Australian...
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. As the education department required a week’s notice for leave requests, O’Reilly declined, but was then ordered by the Chief Inspector of Schools to play after turning up at school on the morning of the match. Having taken six wickets, the match was then washed out, and O’Reilly then had his pay deducted, much to his chagrin.
Debut
O'Reilly was selected for the New South Wales practice squad based on his performance in a single match for North Sydney against Gordon in 1927–28. In this game, he bowled Moyes—a state selector—with a medium paced leg breakLeg break
A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
. At state training, O’Reilly’s new teammate and Test leg spinner Arthur Mailey
Arthur Mailey
Arthur Alfred Mailey was an Australian cricketer who played in 21 Test matches between 1920 and 1926....
advised him to adopt a more conventional grip, but the 19th century Test bowler Charles Turner
Charles Turner (cricketer)
Charles Thomas Biass Turner was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia....
, known as "Terror Turner" and famous for his unorthodox ways, told O’Reilly to back his self-styled technique. O'Reilly decided to listen to Turner.McHarg, p. 41.
After taking a total of 3/88 in a Second XI match against Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
, O’Reilly made his first-class debut in the 1927–28 season, playing in three matches and taking seven wickets. In his first match, against New Zealand, O’Reilly took 2/37 and 1/53. He then played in what would be his only Sheffield Shield match for several years, going wicketless against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
, before returning figures of 4/35 against Tasmania
Tasmanian Tigers
The Tasmanian cricket team, nicknamed the Tigers, represents the Australian state of Tasmania in cricket tournaments. They compete annually in the Australian domestic senior men's cricket season, which currently consists of the first-class Sheffield Shield, the limited overs Ford Ranger Cup, and...
.
Rural teaching post and absence from cricket
In 1928, O'Reilly was transferred by the New South Wales Education Department to Griffith, New South WalesGriffith, New South Wales
Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...
, an outback town in the south-west of the state, and he was unable to play first-class cricket. Over the next three years he moved around the country, including postings to Rylstone
Rylstone, New South Wales
Rylstone is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Central Tablelands region within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way road route...
and Kandos
Kandos, New South Wales
Kandos is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way. At the 2006 census, Kandos had a population of 1,306 people.The main non-agricultural industry is the production of cement...
.
Teaching duties may have cost O’Reilly an early entry into Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, as many young players were introduced in the 1928–29 home series against England following a large number of retirements of older players.
In the meantime, O’Reilly taught English to primary school children in Griffith, as well as singing—most of the pieces were Irish.McHarg, p. 42. At Rylstone he taught book-keeping and business, and he was promoted to the high school at Kandos. During this time he supplemented his income by travelling from town to town, playing in one-off cricket matches at the expense of the host’s club. He worked on his bosie during the period and regularly dismissed outclassed opposition batsmen. O’Reilly regarded his cricketing isolation as highly beneficial as he regarded coaches to be ill-advised and detrimental to development.McHarg, pp. 44–45.
Return to Sydney
In late-1930, O'Reilly was posted to Kogarah Intermediate High School in the southern Sydney suburb of KogarahKogarah, New South Wales
Kogarah is a suburb of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area...
, where he taught English, history, geography and business. O’Reilly resumed playing for North Sydney, confident that with an improved bosie, he was much more potent than before his rural teaching stint. As he only arrived back in Sydney in the second half of the 1930–31 season, O’Reilly was not considered for first-class selection, but he took 29 wickets at 14.72 for North Sydney.McHarg, p. 50.
In the 1931–32 season he emerged as the successor to Mailey in the New South Wales side. Within half a dozen games, he was one of several young players introduced to the Australian cricket team
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
for the Fourth Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in a badly one-sided series
South African cricket team in Australia in 1931-32
The South Africa national cricket team toured Australia in the 1931-32 season and played 5 Test matches against Australia. Australia won the series 5-0.-Series summary:* at Brisbane Cricket Ground – Australia won by an innings and 163 runs...
against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
. However, matters could have been rather different. O’Reilly had broken into the team for New South Wales’ away matches against South Australia
Southern Redbacks
The South Australia cricket team, nicknamed the Southern Redbacks and known as the West End Redbacks due to their sponsorship agreement with local brewers West End, are an Australian first class cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia, and represent the state of South Australia...
and Victoria while the Test players were on international duty. He totaled only 2/81 in the first match and was then informed that he would be dropped after the second fixture. O’Reilly responded by bowling with a more attacking strategy, taking 5/22 and 2/112. At the end of the match, New South Wales’ stand-in captain, the leg spinning all rounder Reginald Bettington, declared O’Reilly "the greatest bowler in the world",McHarg, pp. 51–53. and although few agreed with this claim, Bettington made himself unavailable for selection so that O’Reilly would not be dropped. The reprieved leg spinner took a total of 8/204 in his next two matches, and while the figures were not overwhelming, they were enough to ensure a Test berth; with an unassailable 3–0 lead, the selectors wanted to blood new players.McHarg, pp. 53–54.
O'Reilly took four wickets on his debut at the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
, two in each innings, supporting the senior leg-spinner, Clarrie Grimmett
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett was a cricketer; although born in New Zealand, he played most of his cricket in Australia. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.Grimmett was born in Caversham a suburb of Dunedin,...
, who took 14 wickets in the match and with Bradman scoring 299 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
, Australia won the match. O'Reilly retained his place when the selectors kept the winning side for the final match of the Test series at the MCG
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. On a pitch made treacherous by rain
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
, he did not bowl at all when South Africa were bowled out for just 36 in the first innings, and came on only towards the end of the second innings, when he took three wickets as the touring side subsided to 45 all out. He ended his first Test series with seven wickets at 24.85. In Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1931–32 season, O'Reilly took 25 wickets at an average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 21 runs per wicket, highlighted by his maiden ten-wicket haul, 5/68 and 5/59 in a home match against South Australia after the Tests were over as New South Wales took out the title.
The following year he was more successful, taking 31 wickets at just 14 runs each. New South Wales won the competition in both seasons.
Test regular
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
in the infamous Bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
series. The Australian selectors perceived that O’Reilly would be their key bowler, and as he had never played against the English, omitted him from the early tour matches so that the tourists would not be able to decode his variations. As a result, he missed the Australian XI match against the Englishmen in Melbourne. In two Shield matches ahead of the Tests, he took 14 wickets, including a total of 9/66 in an innings win over Queensland. Although the national selectors had hidden him from the Englishmen, New South Wales declined to do so, and he played for his state a week ahead of the Tests. The hosts were bombarded with short-pitched bowling and heavily beaten by an innings; O’Reilly took 4/86 as the visitors amassed 530, dismissing leading English batsman Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
in the first of many battles between the pair.
The Tests started at the SCG and O’Reilly was the team's leading wicket-taker for the series with 27 wickets. O'Reilly not only took most wickets but he also bowled by some distance the most over
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
s on either side, and he achieved a bowling economy of less than two runs from each of his 383 eight-ball overs
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
. In the first match, he took 3/117 from 67 overs as England amassed 530 and took a ten-wicket victory. While his figures suggested that he bowled poorly—none of his wickets were those of batsmen—he beat the batsmen repeatedly.McHarg, pp. 68–69. Between Tests, O’Reilly took 11 wickets in two Shield matches.McHarg, pp. 69–70.
In the Second Test in Melbourne, O’Reilly opened the bowling as Australia opted to use only one pace bowler on a turning pitch.McHarg, p. 69. After Australia had made only 228, O’Reilly trapped Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
(lbw) before bowling both the Nawab of Pataudi
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi
Iftikhar Ali Khan , sometimes I.A.K. Pataudi was the 8th Nawab of Pataudi and captain of the Indian cricket team. He was one of few cricketers to have played for two countries, having also played for the English Test side...
and Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland
Maurice Leyland , christened 'Morris Leyland', was an English cricketer who played 41 Test matches between 1928 and 1938 and proved himself one of the best left-handers of his generation....
to leave England at 4/98. He later took two tail-end wickets to end with 5/63 and secure Australia a first innings lead. Defending a target of 251, O’Reilly bowled the leading English opener Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe
Herbert Sutcliffe was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the two World Wars...
for 33 with a textbook perfect leg break that pitched on leg stump and clipped the top of the off stump. According to English team manager Plum Warner
Plum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
, Sutcliffe had never been defeated so comprehensively. O’Reilly also removed Hammond on the way to ending with 5/66 and securing a 111-run win. The ten-wicket haul was O’Reilly’s first at Test level and the start of his strong career record over the English.McHarg, p. 69. However, Australia were not to taste further success. The controversial "fast leg theory
Leg theory
Leg theory is a bowling tactic in the sport of cricket. The term leg theory is somewhat archaic and seldom used any more, but the basic tactic still plays a part in modern cricket....
" bowling used by England under newly appointed captain
English national cricket captains
This is a list of all English national cricket captains, comprising all of the men, boys and women who have captained an English national cricket team at official international level. England played in the first Test match in 1877 and have played more Test matches, and had more captains, than any...
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Jardine
Douglas Robert Jardine was an English cricketer and captain of the England cricket team from 1931 to 1933–34.When describing cricket seasons, the convention used is that a single year represents an English cricket season, while two years represent a southern hemisphere cricket season because it...
brought the touring team victories in the last three matches: Australia were handicapped not only by the tactics, but also by a lack of quality fast bowlers
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
; O'Reilly also opened the bowling in both the Third and Fourth Tests in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
respectively due to the selection of only one paceman. He was hindered by a decline in the form of Grimmett, who was dropped after the Third Test.McHarg, pp. 73–78. O’Reilly took 2/83 and 4/79 in Adelaide, collecting the wicket of Sutcliffe for single figures in the first innings of a match overshadowed by near-riots after captain Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
was struck in the heart.McHarg, pp. 72–73. Australia were crushed by 338 runs, and lost the series in Brisbane. After O’Reilly had taken 4/101—including Sutcliffe and Jardine—in the first innings to keep Australia’s first innings deficit to 16, the hosts collapsed to be 175 all out. O’Reilly took one wicket in the second innings of a six-wicket loss. The final Test in Sydney took a similar course; O’Reilly took 4/111 in the first innings including Sutcliffe and Jardine again, as the tourists took a 14-run lead before completing an eight-wicket win after another Australian collapse. O’Reilly was wicketless in the second innings and bowled 72 overs in total in the match. Reflecting on the performance of O’Reilly in the series, R Mason said “here we saw the first flexing of that most menacing genius”.McHarg, pp. 75–76.
In the 1933–34 season, with no Test series in Australia, O'Reilly finished top of the Sheffield Shield bowling averages, taking 33 wickets at an average of 18.30, but he had an inconsistent run. He started the season with 6/58 and 7/53 in an innings win over Queensland. After managing only three wickets across two consecutive testimonial matches, O’Reilly went wicketless against South Australia. He was angered by the subsequent comments in newspapers that he had already passed his zenith, and returned to form against Victoria at the MCG. After claiming 3/92 in the first innings, he took 9/50 in the second innings. The nine wickets included six Test players, including leading batsmen Woodfull and Bill Ponsford
Bill Ponsford
William Harold "Bill" Ponsford MBE was an Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived partnership opening the batting for Victoria and Australia with Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain...
. Given his heavy workload in the previous season, it was decided to keep O’Reilly fresh for the subsequent tour of England, so he played in only two of the last three matches, with a reduced bowling load, taking eight wickets. During the season, Bradman moved to North Sydney from St George Cricket Club
St George Cricket Club
St George Cricket Club is a cricket club based in the St. George area that competes in Sydney Grade Cricket. Many famous Australian Test cricketers have represented the club.- Test players :...
to captain the team, and it was the only summer in which O'Reilly played alongside Bradman at grade level. The following year, O'Reilly moved to St George, which was near Kogarah, as they were obliged to play for a team in their area of residence.
O’Reilly was selected for the tour of England in 1934, where he and Grimmett were the bowling stars as Australia regained the Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. They began by taking 19 of the 20 England wickets to fall in a comfortable victory in the First Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
. O'Reilly's match figures were 11 wickets for 129 runs, and taking seven for 54 in his second innings was to produce his best Test figures.
England then won the Second Test at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, aided by the weather and Australia’s inability to force the issue by avoiding the follow on. The hosts batted first and made 440, O’Reilly removing Walters. In reply, Australia were 2/192 when rain struck on the second evening and the sun turned the pitch into a sticky wicket
Sticky wicket
Sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance; it originates from difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket.-Origins:...
the next day. When O’Reilly came in at 8/273, only 17 runs were needed to avoid the follow on, but he misjudged the flight of a Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37...
delivery and was bowled, thinking the ball to be fuller than it was and missing a lofted drive. Australia fell six runs short and were forced to bat again when the pitch was at its worst. They were bowled out again on the same afternoon as Verity took 14 wickets in a day. O’Reilly always regretted his dismissal, as he believed that if he had helped to avoid the follow on, he would have taken "six wickets without removing his waistcoat" and that Australia could have then chased the target in better conditions on the fourth day.
O'Reilly shook English confidence in the Third Test, played on a placid surface at Old Trafford, by taking three wickets in four balls. Cyril Walters
Cyril Walters
Cyril Frederick Walters was a Welsh cricketer who had most of his success after leaving Glamorgan to do duty as captain-secretary of Worcestershire. In this role he developed his batting to such an extent that for a brief period he became an England regular and even captained them in one match as...
, who up to that point had been untroubled, failed to pick the bosie and thus inside edged the ball to short leg. Bob Wyatt
Bob Wyatt
Robert "Bob" Elliott Storey Wyatt was an English cricket player. He played for Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the English cricket team....
came in and was clean bowled for a golden duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
, bringing Hammond in to face the hat-trick ball. The new batsman inside edged the ball past the stumps and through the legs of wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield
Bert Oldfield
William Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
, but the next delivery clean bowled him. This left England at 3/72, and O’Reilly removed Sutcliffe soon after, but the batsmen settled down and the next wicket did not come until Hendren fell just before the end of the first day’s play. England were 5/355 and O’Reilly had taken each wicket.McHarg, pp. 101–102. The next day, the hosts ended on 9/627, despite a relentless 59 overs from O’Reilly, who ended with 7/189 and was the only bowler to challenge the batsmen. The high-scoring match never looked likely to produce a result, except when Australia were in danger of being forced to follow on. They were 55 runs away from the follow on mark of 478 at the end of the third day with two wickets in hand, and O’Reilly was on one. The next day Arthur Chipperfield
Arthur Chipperfield
Arthur Gordon Chipperfield was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Tests from 1934 to 1938. He is one of only three players to make 99 on his Test match debut....
fell with 24 runs still needed and O’Reilly and Wall saw them to 491 before the latter fell. O’Reilly ended with 30 not out after an innings in which he was lucky not to be caught off an edge multiple times.McHarg, pp. 102–103.
A further draw at Headingley, with England saved by rain after a Bradman triple century, set up a match to decide the series at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
. As the series was still alive, the match was timeless, rather than the customary five-day contest. After Australia made 701, O’Reilly took 2/93 to help dismiss the hosts for 321. The visitors then made 327 to set a target of 708 for victory. O’Reilly claimed 2/58, including Hammond, while Grimmett, with a total of eight wickets, proved the decisive bowler as Australia regained The Ashes with victory by 562 runs,McHarg, p. 105. which, more than 70 years on, is still the second largest margin of victory in terms of runs in any Test match.
O'Reilly was the leading Australian bowler of the tour, taking 28 Test wickets at an average of less than 25, while Grimmett took 25 wickets at just under 27 runs apiece. Australia's other Test bowlers took only 18 wickets between them. On the tour as a whole, O'Reilly headed the tourists' averages, with 109 wickets at 17.04, which meant that he also topped the averages for the whole English cricket season. In the matches against the English counties, he took 11 wickets in each of the games against Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland....
and Glamorgan
Glamorgan County Cricket Club
Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire . Glamorgan CCC is the only Welsh first-class cricket club. Glamorgan CCC have won the English County...
, and in the match against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, after Hans Ebeling
Hans Ebeling
Hans Irvine Ebeling MBE was an Australian cricketer and cricket administrator....
took the first wicket, he took the remaining nine for 38 runs, and that proved to be the best innings figures of his career. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1935 for his deeds on tour.
The tour ended with two non-first-class matches in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
against the hosts, and O’Reilly top-scored in a match for Australia for the only time, in the first of the two games. Having been allowed to open the innings after complaining about his lack of opportunities, he top-scored with 47 ahead of McCabe’s 16. He found the tour to be a happy and healing experience after the acrimony of the Bodyline series.
O’Reilly played no Shield cricket the following season, when he was selected for the Australian tour to South Africa. Although Bradman had been vice-captain under Woodfull in 1934, he did not travel to South Africa on grounds of ill health, but played a full domestic season despite this. The team was captained by Victor Richardson, and O’Reilly publicly described it as the happiest tour he had been on—he was one of several players who did not get along with Bradman.
The tour was another triumph for the leg-spin attack of O'Reilly and Grimmett, but O'Reilly was slightly overshadowed by his team-mate in the Tests. With 44 wickets, Grimmett set a new record for the number of wickets by an Australian in a Test series, and he raised his Test career total to 216 wickets, beating the then world record of 189 by Englishman Sydney Barnes
Sydney Barnes
Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history...
. O'Reilly took 27 Test wickets at an average of just over 17 runs each: the other bowlers in the Australian team took 27 wickets between them. On the tour as a whole, O'Reilly came out ahead of Grimmett, with 95 wickets against Grimmett's 92, and an average of 13.56 against 14.80. O'Reilly also revealed hitherto undiscovered batting talents, making an undefeated 56 in the Fourth Test in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, and putting on 69 for the last wicket with Ernie McCormick
Ernie McCormick
Ernest Leslie McCormick was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1935 to 1938....
. It was the only time in his first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career that he passed 50. During the tour, O’Reilly developed his leg trap; the opening batsmen Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
and Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests 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...
were used in these positions.
Senior bowler
Clarrie Grimmett
Clarence Victor "Clarrie" Grimmett was a cricketer; although born in New Zealand, he played most of his cricket in Australia. He is thought by many to be one of the finest early spin bowlers, and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.Grimmett was born in Caversham a suburb of Dunedin,...
was dropped, leaving O'Reilly as the hub of the Australian bowling attack for the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
Ashes tour in 1936–37.
O'Reilly was strongly aggrieved by the removal of his long-time bowling partner, and maintained that it was an "unpardonable" error that heavily weakened Australia's bowling attack. However, he remained vague about why he thought Grimmett had been removed, even though suspicion dogged Bradman. Grimmett continued to dominate the wicket-taking on domestic cricket, while his replacements struggled in the international arena.
O'Reilly responded by becoming the leading Australian wicket-taker in the series taking 25, with Bill Voce
Bill Voce
Bill Voce was an English cricketer. He played for the Nottinghamshire and England, and was an instrumental part of England's infamous Bodyline tour of Australia in 1932–1933.-Life and career:...
taking 26 for England. However, he almost failed to take to the field; O'Reilly and several players had threatened to withdraw after vice-captain Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
's wife was forbidden from sitting in the Members' Stand in the First Test. The Australian Board of Control backed down, but it was the start of a tumultuous season.
O'Reilly's wickets were at increased cost—his average increased to 22 runs per wicket—and he took five wickets in an innings only once, in the First Test at the 'Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
in Brisbane, which England won convincingly. The circumstances of the series determined O'Reilly's role: after England won the first two Tests, O'Reilly appeared to have been given the job not just of bowling the opposition out, but also of containing them, and he was criticised in Wisden for defensive bowling. Wisden even went as far as to describe it as "leg theory". If the intention was to stifle England batsman Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
in particular, then it appears to have worked, but O'Reilly's figures for the series suggest he was consistent but not always penetrative. Morris Sievers
Morris Sievers
Morris William Sievers was an Australian cricketer who played in three Tests in 1936–37.-First-class career:Sievers began his career in 1930 for the Colts, at 17 years of age...
, from fewer matches, outperformed his average; Leslie Fleetwood-Smith, a slow left-arm spinner, got more eye-catching individual figures, including 10 wickets in the victory at Adelaide. Whatever the methods, they were successful: having lost the first two Tests, Australia proceeded to win the final three to retain The Ashes they had regained in England in 1934, and O'Reilly's five for 51 and three for 58 were the best figures in the decisive Fifth Test in Melbourne.
1938: Final tour of England
O'Reilly's second and final Ashes tour to England as a player in 1938 again saw him as the most effective bowler in the team. His final record of 22 wickets at an average of 27.72 in the four Tests—the Third Test was rained off without a ball being bowled—was marginally less than 1934, and in all matches he took 104 wickets at 16.59. In its report of the tour, however, WisdenO'Reilly took 3/164 on a batting paradise in the First Test at Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of...
as England scored 8/658 and forced Australia to follow on and hold on for a draw. In the Second Test at Lord's O'Reilly took 4/93 in the first innings and trapped Eddie Paynter
Eddie Paynter
Edward "Eddie" Paynter was an English cricketer: an attacking batsman and excellent fielder. His Test batting average of 59.23 is the fifth highest of all time, and second only to Herbert Sutcliffe amongst Englishmen; against Australia alone Paynter averaged an extraordinary 84.42.Born in...
for 99 to end a 222-run partnership with Hammond. In reply to England's 494, Australia were in danger of being forced to follow on; O'Reilly came in and made 42, featuring in a partnership of 85 in only 46 minutes with Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests 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...
that enabled Australia to save the match: having been dropped by Paynter, he hit Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity was a professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. A slow left arm orthodox bowler, he took 1,956 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 14.90 and in 40 Tests he took 144 wickets at an average of 24.37...
for consecutive sixes to take Australia past the follow-on
Follow-on
Follow-on is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough to the score achieved by the first team batting in the first innings...
mark. Brown recalled "It was a nice day, and a nice wicket. O'Reilly came in, and I told him I'd take the quicks—Wellard
Arthur Wellard
Arthur William Wellard was a cricketer who played for Somerset and England. A late starter in county cricket, having been told by his native county, Kent, that he would be better off taking up a career as a policeman, Wellard played on into his late 40s...
and Farnes
Ken Farnes
Kenneth Farnes was an English cricketer. He played in 15 Tests from 1934 to 1939.Farnes was born in Leytonstone, Essex, and was educated at the Royal Liberty School in Gidea Park. He made his first-class debut for Essex in 1930, aged only 19. He took 5-36 in his second county match against Kent...
—and Tiger [O'Reilly] took Verity." Australia reached 422 and O'Reilly took 2/53 in the second innings as the match petered into a draw.
In an otherwise high-scoring series, O'Reilly's greatest triumph was in the low-scoring Fourth Test at Headingley, where he exploited a difficult pitch to take five wickets in each innings as Australia secured the victory that enabled them to retain the Ashes. With the series level at 0–0, England captain Hammond elected to bat first; O'Reilly's 5/66 was largely responsible for ending England's innings at 223. He removed Hammond, who had top-scored with 76, Bill Edrich
Bill Edrich
William John "Bill" Edrich DFC was a distinguished cricketer who played for Middlesex, MCC, Norfolk and England.Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all played first-class cricket...
and Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
, all bowled in quick succession. England were 1/73 on the third day, an overall lead of 54, when O'Reilly was began a new spell after Bradman had switched his ends. Joe Hardstaff junior
Joe Hardstaff junior
Joseph Hardstaff junior was an English cricketer, who played in twenty three Tests for England from 1935 to 1948...
hooked him for four and the next ball was no-balled by the umpire. O'Reilly was reported to have become visibly enraged; he bowled Hardstaff next ball and then removed Hammond for a golden duck. This precipitated an English collapse to 123 all out, and O'Reilly ended with 5/56 and a total of 10/122. O'Reilly effort proved to be crucial as Australia scraped home by five wickets just 30 minutes before black clouds brought heavy rain, which would have made batting treacherous. The victory ensured the retention of the Ashes, and O'Reilly ranked it as his finest performance, alongside his ten wickets in the Second Bodyline Test of 1932–33.
Australia had retained the Ashes, but England struck back at The Oval, where they posted the then-record Test score of 7/903. Early on, O'Reilly trapped Edrich lbw for 12, to secure his 100th Test wicket against England. In a timeless match, Len Hutton
Len Hutton
Sir Leonard "Len" Hutton was an English Test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club and England in the years around the Second World War as an opening batsman. He was described by Wisden Cricketer's Almanack as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket...
made a world record Test score of 364 in a fastidious and watchful innings of 13 hours, surpassing Bradman's 334. When he was on 333, O'Reilly deliberately bowled two no-balls in an attempt to break Hutton's concentration by tempting him to hit out, but the Englishman blocked them with a straight bat.
O'Reilly eventually removed Hutton and ended with 3/178 off 85 overs. Nevertheless, these compared favourably with Fleetwood-Smith's 1/298 off 87 overs. O'Reilly was the only Australia to take more than a solitary wicket, and rated Hutton's knock as the finest innings played against him. Australia collapsed to lose by an innings and 579 runs, the heaviest defeat in Test history. O'Reilly's lack of success went with The Oval Test in 1934, when he took a total of 4/151.
O'Reilly scaled back his participation in Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1938–39 season, making himself unavailable for most of the campaign to spend time with his newborn son after half a year in England; he played in only two matches, against South Australia and arch-rivals Victoria. He took a ten-wicket haul in the latter match, but his figures of 6/152 and 4/60 were not enough to prevent defeat. Both teams were at full strength and eight of O'Reilly's victims were Test players, including batsman Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
twice. O'Reilly's only other match was for Bradman's XI against Rigg's XI
Keith Rigg
Keith Edward Rigg was an Australian cricketer who played in 8 Tests from 1931 to 1937. His cousin, Colin McDonald, also played for Victoria and Australia. He was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne.-External links:...
in a match to commemorate the centenary of the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
, in which he took a total of 7/129, to end the season with 19 wickets at 23.16.
He resumed regular service for New South Wales in the next season, taking 55 wickets at 15.12 in seven matches. He took 8/23 and 6/22 to set up an innings win over Queensland and 6/77 and 4/62 in another victory over South Australia. The two matches against Victoria were shared as O'Reilly took 17 wickets. In the second of the matches, in Sydney, Hassett became the only person to score centuries in both innings of match involving O'Reilly. Despite Hassett's feat, New South Wales won the match; O'Reilly took a total of 8/157.
O'Reilly continued his strong run in 1940–41, taking 55 wickets at 12.43 in eight matches. He took nine wickets in three consecutive matches, once for McCabe's XI in a match against Bradman's XI, which his team won by an innings, and in both matches against Victoria, which were split between the two states. First-class cricket was ended after one match in 1941–42; O'Reilly took a total of 9/124 in a loss to Queensland before the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
signalled the start of the Second World War in the Pacific. In the meantime, O’Reilly continued to play for St George and topped the grade competition’s bowling averages for years from 1941–42 onwards. He averaged between 8 and 9 in all these seasons, and took more than 100 wickets in three consecutive summers, peaking with 147 in 1943–44. O’Reilly had tried to enlist in the military in 1941, but after presenting himself for the medical, was informed that his employer was deemed a “protected undertaking”, so their workers were not allowed to enlist.McHarg, p. 166.
First-class cricket resumed in Australia in 1945–46 after the end of the war, although the Shield competition was not held that season. O'Reilly captained New South Wales at the age of 40, and although the emergence of Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
and Ernie Toshack
Ernie Toshack
Ernest Raymond Herbert Toshack was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1946 to 1948. A left arm medium paced bowler who was known for his accuracy and stamina in his application of leg theory, Toshack was best known for being as member of Don Bradman's Invincibles that toured...
in the state side indicated a shift in emphasis away from spin and towards faster bowling, O'Reilly maintained his pre-war standards. He took 33 wickets at 14.36 in six matches and New South Wales were undefeated; they won four matches and drew both fixtures against Victoria. He took at least two wickets in every innings and claimed his innings best of 6/43 against Queensland. O’Reilly also took a match total of 7/94 in an innings win over the Australian Services team
Australian Services cricket team
The Australian Services XI was a cricket team comprising solely military service personnel during World War II. They became active in May 1945 after the defeat of Nazi Germany. The team played matches against English cricket sides of both military and civilian origins to celebrate the end of the war...
, which had drawn a series against a full-strength England team.
O'Reilly's final first-class cricket came on a four-match tour by an Australian team to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in early 1946. O'Reilly was the vice-captain of the team, which was led by Bill Brown
Bill Brown (cricketer)
William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests 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...
. The main fixture during the tour was a four-day match against a representative New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
side in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, retrospectively designated as the first Test between the two countries in 1948. The uncertain nature of the tour saw the Australians wear blazers labelled ABC for Australian Board of Control
Cricket Australia
Cricket Australia, formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket...
, rather than the usual coat of arms. New Zealand were outclassed; after winning the toss and electing to bat on a rain-affected pitch, they made 42 in their first innings and 54 in their second to lose by an innings and 103 runs. O'Reilly took 5/14 in the first innings, and 3/19 in the second, dominating with Toshack. It was his last Test and his last first-class game. O'Reilly dominated in the other tour games as well; he took match totals of 9/103 and 8/128 against Auckland and Otago respectively, and ended with 28 wickets at 10.60 for the tour. Having only decided to tour New Zealand after much consideration, O’Reilly retired at the end of the Test, throwing his boots out of the dressing room window.
Conflict with Bradman
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, mostly of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
descent, of whom O'Reilly was one, and Protestants, like Bradman. Bradman was a non-drinker and a reserved character, often preferring to read quietly, rather than socialise or drink with his team-mates. Coupled with his on-field dominance, this led to perceptions that Bradman was cocky and distant from his team-mates. In the late 1930s, the Australian Board of Control summoned O'Reilly, Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
, Leo O'Brien
Leo O'Brien
For the former US congressman from New York, see Leo W. O'BrienFor the former Wisconsin politician, see Leo P. O'BrienLeo Patrick Joseph O'Brien was an Australian cricketer who played in 5 Tests from 1932 to 1936.He attended both Xavier College and St Patrick's College, Ballarat....
and Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
Leslie O'Brien "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. Known universally as "Chuck", he was the "wayward genius" of Australian cricket during the 1930s...
, all Catholics of Irish descent to a meeting to discuss the apparent schism in the team. Jack Fingleton
Jack Fingleton
John "Jack" Henry Webb Fingleton OBE was an Australian cricketer who was trained as a journalist and became a political and cricket commentator after the end of his playing career...
, a trained journalist, was not invited to the meeting, but after the deaths of both Fingleton and O'Reilly, Bradman penned a letter in which he accused the former of being the ringleader. O'Reilly's eventual departure also raised speculation that a purge had occurred. In 1995, after both Fingleton and O'Reilly had died, Bradman wrote: "With these fellows out of the way, the loyalty of my 1948 side was a big joy and made a big contribution to the outstanding success of that tour"; the Australians went through the 1948 English summer undefeated.
O'Reilly became a journalist, and together with Fingleton, he often criticised Bradman. They were in the press box when Bradman was bowled for a duck in his final Test innings, when they were reported to have become hysterical with laughter. Nevertheless, O'Reilly kept most of his strongest feelings about Bradman to himself and suppressed them from his autobiography; he would say of Bradman that "You don't piss on statues". Before his death, O'Reilly gave a series of interviews to the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
, in which he accused Bradman of purging Grimmett from the team because Grimmett had joked that Bradman had ensured his own dismissal in a match against Victoria, to avoid facing the express pace of Ernie McCormick
Ernie McCormick
Ernest Leslie McCormick was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1935 to 1938....
.
According to cricket historian Gideon Haigh
Gideon Haigh
Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh is an English-born Australian journalist, who writes about sport and business. He was born in London of a Yorkshire father and an Australian mother, and was raised in Geelong, Victoria.- Career :Haigh has been writing about sport and business for over...
, "O'Reilly was a man of embedded prejudices". In retirement, O'Reilly complained to a board member that "You have to play under a Protestant to know what it's like". The Test umpire Col Egar recalled that O'Reilly never talked to him in their decades in cricket until a third party informed the bowler that Egar was a Catholic.
Despite their conflicts, a few years before his death O'Reilly wrote that, compared with Bradman, batsmen like Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
and Allan Border
Allan Border
Allan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
were mere "child's play".
Off-field career, mentoring and legacy
In 1933, O’Reilly married Mary Agnes "Molly" Herbert, after less than six months of courtship. Of Irish stock, Molly had been introduced to O'Reilly through one of his teaching colleagues at Kogarah, who married Molly’s elder sister the following year. The couple then moved to the southern Sydney suburb of HurstvilleHurstville, New South Wales
Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hurstville is located 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of...
. The couple had two children, a girl followed by a boy.
O'Reilly continued to work as a schoolteacher after he broke into international cricket, but at the end of 1934, after missing more than six months of the year in England, he resigned from his government post, reasoning that his career could not progress if he was going to be overseas so often. However, he had not made any plans for his future employment.McHarg, p. 113. Soon after, O'Reilly received an offer to work as a sportsgoods salesman for the department store David Jones
David Jones Limited
David Jones Limited , colloquially known as DJs, is a high-end Australian department store chain.David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh immigrant, and is claimed to be the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. It...
with sporting leave entitlements. The Premier of New South Wales, Bertram Stevens, tried to coax O'Reilly into staying in the government education system, offering him a post at Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...
if he returned to STC to complete the Bachelor of Arts that he had abandoned a decade before.
In 1935, O'Reilly took up an appointment at Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
, one of the leading private schools in the state, having been offered 50% paid leave for his cricket commitments. There he taught English, history and business. In 1939 he took a job in the sports store of close friend, teammate and fellow Irish Catholic Stan McCabe
Stan McCabe
Stanley Joseph McCabe was an Australian cricketer who played 39 Test matches for Australia from 1930 to 1938. A short, stocky right-hander,...
, which was located on George Street
George Street, Sydney
George Street is one of Sydney's most notable city streets. There are more high rise buildings and more ASX 100 companies located here than anywhere else in Australia, and is well known for being busy around-the-clock...
, the city centre's main thoroughfare. O’Reilly was a financial partner in the business, but following the outbreak of World War II, the sales revenue began to suffer and O’Reilly left as the store would not be able to support two stakeholders.
O'Reilly then accepted a position as a manager of the Lion Tile Company at Auburn
Auburn, New South Wales
Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Auburn is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Auburn Council.-History:...
, in Sydney's western suburbs. He remained in the position until 1976. O’Reilly was responsible for the financial and accounting affairs of the firm, which expanded to employ more than 200 workers. He was held in high regard and granted full paid leave when he thrice went overseas for six months to cover tours of England as a journalist.McHarg, pp. 180–181. Doc Evatt, a leading Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
politician attempted to recruit O'Reilly into politics, but was unsuccessful.
During the late-1930s, O'Reilly mentored the then-teenaged Arthur Morris
Arthur Morris
Arthur Robert Morris MBE is a former Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of...
and Ray Lindwall
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
at St. George. He converted Morris from a left arm unorthodox spinner into an opening batsman, and exhorted Lindwall to become a specialist express paceman. Both had long Test careers and captained their country and are regarded as all-time Australian greats in the fields that O'Reilly chose for them—both were chosen with O'Reilly in the ACB Team of the Century
Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century
The Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century was a theoretical cricket team selected by the Australian Cricket Board in 2000 as the best team of Australian cricketers in the 20th century.- Team :# Bill Ponsford# Arthur Morris# Don Bradman...
. The pair credited O'Reilly as being the main influence in their careers, and Lindwall made his Test debut in O'Reilly's last Test in 1946.
In 1956–57, McCabe and O'Reilly were given a testimonial match by the New South Wales Cricket Association
New South Wales Cricket Association
The New South Wales Cricket Association is a sporting club who administer cricket in New South Wales, based at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Their trading name is Cricket NSW....
. The match was between Harvey's XI
Neil Harvey
Robert Neil Harvey MBE is a former Australian cricketer who represented the Australian cricket team between 1948 and 1963, playing in 79 Test matches. He was the vice-captain of the team from 1957 until his retirement...
and Lindwall's XI
Ray Lindwall
Raymond Russell Lindwall MBE was a cricketer who represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946 to 1960. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He also played top-flight rugby league football with St...
and acted as a trial for the non-Test tour of New Zealand. It raised 7,500 pounds, which was split between McCabe and O'Reilly and would have bought two average-sized homes in Sydney at the time.
On retirement as a player, O'Reilly became a cricket columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, remaining in that position until his health declined in 1988. His first engagement was England’s tour of Australia in 1946–47, and during this season he began a partnership with the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, going on to cover several Ashes series for them. O’Reilly’s articles for The Sydney Morning Herald were reproduced in its sister publication, The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Later, his writing was syndicated to newspapers in India, South Africa and New Zealand. His style was described by Wisden as "muscular, very Australian... flavoured with wit and imagery ('You can smell the gum
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
-leaves off him', he wrote of one country boy
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
just starting with Queensland)." Jack McHarg said that "The clarity, wit and pungency of his writing, together with almost infallible judgment, never deserted him", even as his health began to restrict him. He was a highly respected and forthright pundit, who hated one-day cricket
One-day cricket
Limited overs cricket, also known as one-day cricket and in a slightly different context as List A cricket, is a version of the sport of cricket in which a match is generally completed in one day, whereas Test and first-class matches can take up to five days to complete...
, describing it as "hit and giggle". He condemned the omission of Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
in 1949–50 and said that to call it "a complete surprise would be a cowardly way of describing a botch". Reacting to the selection of the dour batting all rounder Ken Mackay
Ken Mackay
Kenneth Donald Mackay was an Australian cricketer who played in 37 Tests from 1956 to 1963....
, he wrote "words fail...to express adequately my contempt for this howler". In 1952 he had a falling-out with Lindwall after condemning his protégé for bowling five consecutive bouncers
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
at Everton Weekes
Everton Weekes
Sir Everton DeCourcy Weekes, KCMG, GCM, OBE is a leading former West Indian cricketer. Along with Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket.-Youth and early career:...
in a Test. In comparison with his illustrious contemporary on-field and on paper, "while Sir Donald
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
walked the corridors of cricketing power O'Reilly was the rumbustious backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
." In 1956, O’Reilly strongly criticised Australian captain Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (cricketer)
Ian William Geddes Johnson CBE was an Australian cricketer who played 45 Test matches as a slow off-break bowler between 1946 and 1956. Johnson captured 109 Test wickets at an average of 29.19 runs per wicket and as a lower order batsman made 1,000 runs at an average of...
, a Melburnian, for his leadership during the 1956 Ashes tour
Australian cricket team in England in 1956
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1956 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the series 2-1 with 2 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes....
. The Age took exception to this and asked their sister publication to rein in their pundit. O’Reilly refused to shy away from his opinions and was dropped by the Melbourne publication.McHarg, p. 172. In the 1980s, when Bob Simpson
Bob Simpson (cricketer)
Robert Baddeley Simpson AO is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963–64 until 1967–68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team...
became the first coach of Australia, O’Reilly, himself self-taught, spoke out against the creation of such posts. He was a strong critic of the breakaway World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
, the commercialisation of the sport and the erosion of the social norms that were followed during his playing career.McHarg, pp. 174–176.
Aside from his autobiography, O'Reilly wrote two books; Cricket Conquest: The Story of the 1948 Test Tour, published in 1949, and Cricket Task Force, published in 1951. They were accounts of the Invincibles tour of England in 1948 and England's Ashes tour to Australia in 1950–51
English cricket team in Australia in 1950-51
Freddie Brown captained the English cricket team in Australia in 1950–51, playing as England in the 1950-51 Ashes series against the Australians and as the MCC in their other matches on the tour. They were regarded as a weak team - some critics wanted to cancel the tour - and failed to regain the...
.
Upon retiring from The Sydney Morning Herald, O'Reilly wrote in a column
O’Reilly was honoured with several accolades late in his life. In 1980, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his services to cricket as a player and writer. In 1985, the oval in Wingello was renamed in his honour, and in 1988, a grandstand at the SCG was named the Bill O’Reilly Stand.McHarg, p. 187. In the same year, the oval in White Cliffs was renamed, and The Sydney Morning Herald renamed the medal they awarded to the best player in grade cricket in O’Reilly’s honour. During the celebrations for the Australian Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
, O’Reilly was named among the 200 people, and only 21 living, who had contributed the most to the country since European settlement.McHarg, pp. 187–188.
O'Reilly's later years were troubled with poor health, including the loss of a leg
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
. In late 1988, he suffered a major heart attack and was hospitalised for two months.McHarg, p. 189. He died in hospital in Sutherland
Sutherland, New South Wales
Sutherland is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
in 1992, aged 86. O'Reilly lamented the decline of spin during his twilight years, and in the 1980s he was often derided by younger people who felt that his advocacy of spin bowling—which they deemed to be obsolete—was misplaced. He died just months before Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
revived the art of leg spin on the international stage.
In 1996, O'Reilly was posthumously inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is a part of the Australian Gallery of Sport and Olympic Museum in the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This Hall of Fame commemorates the greatest Australian cricketers of all time....
as one of the ten inaugural members. In 2000, O'Reilly was named in the Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century
Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century
The Australian Cricket Board Team of the Century was a theoretical cricket team selected by the Australian Cricket Board in 2000 as the best team of Australian cricketers in the 20th century.- Team :# Bill Ponsford# Arthur Morris# Don Bradman...
, and in 2009 he was named among the 55 inaugural inductees of the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
's Hall of Fame
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame "recognises the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". A hall of fame, it was launched by the International Cricket Council on 2 January 2009, in association with the Federation of International Cricketers'...
, being formally inducted in January 2010.
Statistical summary
In his 18-season first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career, O'Reilly took 774 wickets at an average of 16.60. In his 27 Test matches, O'Reilly took 144 wickets at 22.59, 102 of them in his 19 Ashes Tests against England.
Test match performance
| Batting | Bowling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition | Matches | Runs | Average | High Score | 100 / 50 | Runs | Wickets | Average | Best (Innings) |
| England | 19 | 277 | 10.65 | 42 | 0/0 | 2587 | 102 | 25.36 | 7/54 |
| New Zealand | 1 | – | – | – | – | 33 | 8 | 4.12 | 5/14 |
| South Africa | 7 | 133 | 22.16 | 56* | 0/1 | 634 | 34 | 18.64 | 5/20 |
| Overall | 27 | 410 | 12.81 | 56* | 0/1 | 3254 | 144 | 22.59 | 7/54 |
Career rankings and ratings
It has been retrospectively calculated by the International Cricket CouncilInternational Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
's LG Ratings that he was the best bowler in the world for much of his career.
External links
- Profile from CricinfoCricinfoESPNcricinfo is believed to be the largest cricket-related website on the World Wide Web. Content includes news,articles, live scorecards,live text commentary and a comprehensive and searchable database called 'StatsGuru', of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present...
- O'Reilly's citation as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1935
- O'Reilly, W. J. (William Joseph) (1905–1992) National Library of Australia, Trove, People and Organisation record for Bill O'Reilly
- Bill O'Reilly – State Library of New South WalesState Library of New South WalesThe State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...