Dave Nourse
Encyclopedia
Arthur William "Dave" Nourse, born at Croydon
, England
on 26 January 1878 (some sources say 25 January 1879) and died at Port Elizabeth, South Africa
on 8 July 1948, was a cricket
er who played for Natal, Transvaal
, Western Province and South Africa
.
A left-handed batsman and left-arm medium-pace swing bowler, Nourse was the mainstay of the South African Test
team for more than 20 years and had a first-class cricket
career of almost 40 years. He played 45 consecutive Tests from 1902 to 1924 and while his batting was dogged rather than dynamic, career figures that show only one Test century and a batting average under 30 do scant justice to his value to his team.
Nourse went to South Africa as a drummer with the West Riding Regiment in 1895 and stayed there, making his first-class cricket debut for Natal two years later. In his first Test, against Australia
at Johannesburg
in October 1902, he scored 72, and his first Test wicket followed in the next match. Perhaps his greatest Test match was the first game of the England
tour in 1905-06, when South Africa gained its first-ever victory against England. Batting at No 8 and arriving with the score at 105 for six wickets, Nourse hit an unbeaten 93 and, with a last-wicket partnership of 48 with Percy Sherwell
, took South Africa to an unlikely target of 284.
Nourse toured England three times, in 1907, 1912 and 1924, and went to Australia in 1910-11. At the age of 46, he scored 1928 runs on the 1924 tour. His one Test century came in 1921-22 against Australia at Johannesburg, when he scored 111; he topped the South African batting averages in that series. In other innings, he passed 50 no fewer than 15 times. In an era when South African cricket was dominated by leg break
and googly
bowlers, Nourse sometimes opened the bowling for the Test team and he took 41 Test wickets. He also took 43 catches.
Nourse was the highest ever scorer in South African domestic cricket, appearing for Natal from 1897 to 1925, for Transvaal for two seasons after that, and then for Western Province through to the age of 58 in the 1935-36 season, when he scored 55 against the Australians in his last first-class match. His highest first-class innings was 304 not out
for Natal against Transvaal in 1920.
Nourse's obituary in Wisden
says that he was known for so long as "Dave" that he adopted David as his middle name in preference to William. It also gives a long list of his careers outside cricket: "a soldier, a railway guard, billiard marker, saloon keeper, commercial traveller, manager of an athletic outfitters and finally coach to Cape Town University
".
His son, Dudley Nourse
, was also a Test cricketer who played 34 times for South Africa.
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 26 January 1878 (some sources say 25 January 1879) and died at Port Elizabeth, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on 8 July 1948, was a cricket
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 who played for Natal, Transvaal
Transvaal cricket team
Gauteng cricket team is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng in South Africa....
, Western Province and 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...
.
A left-handed batsman and left-arm medium-pace swing bowler, Nourse was the mainstay of the South African 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...
team for more than 20 years and had a 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 of almost 40 years. He played 45 consecutive Tests from 1902 to 1924 and while his batting was dogged rather than dynamic, career figures that show only one Test century and a batting average under 30 do scant justice to his value to his team.
Nourse went to South Africa as a drummer with the West Riding Regiment in 1895 and stayed there, making his first-class cricket debut for Natal two years later. In his first Test, against Australia
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...
at 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...
in October 1902, he scored 72, and his first Test wicket followed in the next match. Perhaps his greatest Test match was the first game of the England
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...
tour in 1905-06, when South Africa gained its first-ever victory against England. Batting at No 8 and arriving with the score at 105 for six wickets, Nourse hit an unbeaten 93 and, with a last-wicket partnership of 48 with Percy Sherwell
Percy Sherwell
Percy William Sherwell was a South African cricketer who played in 13 Tests as a wicketkeeper from 1906 to 1911. He captained the side in every one of his 13 Tests...
, took South Africa to an unlikely target of 284.
Nourse toured England three times, in 1907, 1912 and 1924, and went to Australia in 1910-11. At the age of 46, he scored 1928 runs on the 1924 tour. His one Test century came in 1921-22 against Australia at Johannesburg, when he scored 111; he topped the South African batting averages in that series. In other innings, he passed 50 no fewer than 15 times. In an era when South African cricket was dominated by 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...
and googly
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 :...
bowlers, Nourse sometimes opened the bowling for the Test team and he took 41 Test wickets. He also took 43 catches.
Nourse was the highest ever scorer in South African domestic cricket, appearing for Natal from 1897 to 1925, for Transvaal for two seasons after that, and then for Western Province through to the age of 58 in the 1935-36 season, when he scored 55 against the Australians in his last first-class match. His highest first-class innings was 304 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...
for Natal against Transvaal in 1920.
Nourse's obituary in Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
says that he was known for so long as "Dave" that he adopted David as his middle name in preference to William. It also gives a long list of his careers outside cricket: "a soldier, a railway guard, billiard marker, saloon keeper, commercial traveller, manager of an athletic outfitters and finally coach to Cape Town University
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
".
His son, Dudley Nourse
Dudley Nourse
Arthur Dudley Nourse was a South African Test cricketer and batsmanThe son of batsman Arthur Nourse, Nourse played 34 Test matches in a long career of sixteen years...
, was also a Test cricketer who played 34 times for South Africa.