Harcourt Dowsley
Encyclopedia
Harcourt Dowsley was an Australian sportsman who played first-class cricket
with Victoria
and Australian rules football
for Carlton
in the Victorian Football League
(VFL).
Dowsley made his first-class debut in a match against Tasmania at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
in 1937/38 when he opened the batting and made scores of 46 and 72 not out. Tasmania would be Dowsley's opponent in all of his five first-class matches, the first three coming before his VFL stint and the other two after.
An Old Melburnian, Dowsley played his football as a full-forward and kicked four goals on debut in the 1941 VFL season
, against St Kilda at Junction Oval. He kept his spot in the side for the next couple of games, kicking a further three goals, before joining the RAAF with whom he would serve in the World War II Pacific campaign.
When Dowsley returned from war he turned his attention to cricket and in 1946 played two first-class matches to finish his career with 336 runs at 56.00, including three half centuries. He also took two wickets at 37.00 with his right-arm fast-medium bowling.
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...
with 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...
and Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
for Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
in the Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(VFL).
Dowsley made his first-class debut in a match against Tasmania at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
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...
in 1937/38 when he opened the batting and made scores of 46 and 72 not out. Tasmania would be Dowsley's opponent in all of his five first-class matches, the first three coming before his VFL stint and the other two after.
An Old Melburnian, Dowsley played his football as a full-forward and kicked four goals on debut in the 1941 VFL season
1941 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1941.-Premiership season:In 1941, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...
, against St Kilda at Junction Oval. He kept his spot in the side for the next couple of games, kicking a further three goals, before joining the RAAF with whom he would serve in the World War II Pacific campaign.
When Dowsley returned from war he turned his attention to cricket and in 1946 played two first-class matches to finish his career with 336 runs at 56.00, including three half centuries. He also took two wickets at 37.00 with his right-arm fast-medium bowling.