William O'Rourke (cricketer)

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Will O'Rourke
Personal information
Full name
William Peter O'Rourke
Born (2001-08-06) 6 August 2001 (age 22)
Kingston upon Thames, London, England
Height1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
Relations
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 286)13 February 2024 v South Africa
Last Test29 February 2024 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 214)17 December 2023 v Bangladesh
Last ODI23 December 2023 v Bangladesh
T20I debut (cap 103)21 April 2024 v Pakistan
Last T20I25 April 2024 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2021/22–presentCanterbury
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 2 3 17 24
Runs scored 0 1 68 65
Batting average — 1.00 11.33 7.22
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 0* 1 17* 16
Balls bowled 402 113 3,095 1,087
Wickets 11 5 61 42
Bowling average 17.36 23.00 26.09 20.64
5 wickets in innings 1 0 1 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 5/34 3/47 5/34 6/20
Catches/stumpings 0/– 0/– 6/– 7/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 3 March 2024

William Peter O'Rourke (born 6 August 2001) is an English-born cricketer who plays in New Zealand. A right-arm fast medium bowler,[1] he plays for the Canterbury cricket team in domestic cricket.[2] He made his international debut for New Zealand in December 2023, having previously played for the national under-19 side.[3]

Personal life[edit]

O'Rourke was born at Kingston upon Thames in London in 2001.[4] His father, Paddy O'Rourke, played as a fast bowler for Wellington between the 1989–90 and 1991–92 seasons and his uncle, Matthew O'Rourke, played a single senior match for Auckland in 1991–92.[5][6] The family had moved to England before O'Rourke's birth and, when he was around five years old, moved back to New Zealand, settling at Auckland.[5][7] He played cricket from a young age and made appearances for Auckland age-group sides from the 2017–18 season until 2019–20[3] before moving to the South Island to study at the University of Canterbury.[8]

Early career[edit]

In December 2019, O'Rourke was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[9] After impressing for his club side Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club, he was called into the Canterbury 'A' team during the 2020–21 season,[8] taking 10 wickets for the side during the National Provincial A Tournament.[10] In January 2021, he played two Twenty20 matches for a New Zealand XI against the touring Pakistan Shaheens.[11]

Domestic career[edit]

After the end of the 2020–21 season O'Rourke was awarded a first domestic contract by Canterbury Cricket.[12] He made his List A debut for Canterbury on 3 January 2022, playing against Otago in the 2021–22 Ford Trophy,[13] before going on to make his Twenty20 debut on 7 January against Auckland[14] and his first-class debut on 20 March against Central Districts.[15]

The following season he was the joint-highest wicket-taker for Canterbury in the 2022–23 Super Smash with 12 wickets from ten matches, with the team reaching the final of the competition.[16] He was the team's leading wicket-taker in the 2022–23 Ford Trophy with 13 wickets from nine matches,[5] including figures of 3 for 47 against Otago, helping Canterbury to qualify for the final.[17]

On 2 February 2024, he took his maiden five-wicket haul in List A cricket, against Otago in the 2023–24 Ford Trophy. His bowling figures of 6 for 20 were also the second best figures by a Canterbury player in List A cricket.[18]

International career[edit]

In March 2023, O'Rourke was named in the New Zealand A squad for their first-class series against Australia A[19] and in December 2023 he was called-up to the New Zealand squad for the first time ahead of a One Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh.[20] He made his ODI debut during the series,[21] becoming the first England-born cricketer to play for New Zealand since Roger Twose in the 1990s.[22]

The following month, O'Rourke was called in to New Zealand's Test squad for their series against South Africa.[23] He made his Test debut on 13 February 2024 in the second match of the series,[24] taking a five-wicket haul in South Africa's second innings[25] and finishing the match with figures of nine wickets for 93 runs (9/93), recording the best match-bowling figures by a New Zealander on Test debut.[26]

Playing style[edit]

O'Rourke is known for his ability to generate extra bounce from his tall frame.[5][27] A fast bowler who can reach speeds of 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph), his bowling style has been compared to that of Kyle Jamieson, another tall New Zealand fast bowler; O'Rourke has spent time working alongside Jamieson to develop his approach to bowling.[5][28]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Profile: William O'Rourke". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. ^ Seconi, Adrian (6 March 2023). "Game against Canty must-win for Volts". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Teams which Will O'Rourke played for". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Profile: Will O'Rourke". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Deivarayan, Muthu (14 December 2003). "Meet Will O'Rourke, New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson clone". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  6. ^ Egan, Brendon (23 February 2024). "'Newborn giraffe' to budding Black Caps star: The rise of Will O'Rourke". The Post. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  7. ^ George, Zoë (7 December 2023). "New Black Caps seamer Will O'Rourke hoping to reach great heights this summer". Stuff. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Will O'Rourke". Canterbury Cricket. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Wiseman's warning: Tough challenge ahead for U19s". New Zealand Cricket. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Most Wickets | National Provincial A Tournament 2020/21". CricketArchive. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Pakistan Shaheens tour of New Zealand 2020/21". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  12. ^ "O'Rourke earns first domestic contract". Canterbury Cricket. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  13. ^ "9th match, Otago v Canterbury, 2021–22 Ford Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  14. ^ "20th Match, Auckland v Canterbury, 2021–22 Men's Super Smash". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  15. ^ "18th match, Canterbury v Central Districts, 2021–22 Plunket Shield season". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  16. ^ Deivarayan, Muthu (9 February 2023). "Fulton hopes 'third time's the charm' as Canterbury chase elusive Super Smash title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  17. ^ Egan, Brendon (17 February 2023). "Chad Bowes, Leo Carter tons power Canterbury into Ford Trophy final". Stuff. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  18. ^ "The summer of Will O'Rourke continues with sizzling maiden bag". NZC. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Bruce, Bracewell, Ajaz in NZ A squad for four-day matches against Australia A". ESPNcricinfo. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Ashok, Clarkson & O'Rourke called up for Bangladesh ODIs". NZC. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  21. ^ "NZ vs BAN, Bangladesh in New Zealand 2023/24, 1st ODI at Dunedin, December 17, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  22. ^ Voerman, Andrew (6 December 2023). "Towering England-born seamer bolts into Black Caps ODI squad". Stuff. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  23. ^ "O'Rourke gets maiden Test call-up, Ravindra picked for SA Tests". ESPNcricinfo. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  24. ^ "NZ vs SA, South Africa in New Zealand 2023/24, 2nd Test at Hamilton, February 13 - 16, 2024 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  25. ^ Ramanujam, Srinidhi (16 February 2024). "Bedingham century and O'Rourke five-for leave contest in the balance". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Will O'Rourke registers best bowling figures by New Zealand bowler on Test debut". Times of Oman. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  27. ^ Deivarayan, Muthu (27 January 2024). "Gary Stead: 'No reason why Henry Nicholls can't make it back'". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  28. ^ "'Bright future' - Will O'Rourke set for Test debut against Proteas". 1News. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

External links[edit]

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