Rupert de Smidt
Encyclopedia
Rupert de Smidt was a South Africa
n cricket
er who played first-class cricket
for Western Province and is one of nine first-class cricketers to pass 100 years of age.
Born in Cape Town
, de Smidt played four matches for Western Province during the 1912/13 season. A leg break
bowler he took 16 wickets at an average
of 18.00, finishing his only first-class season as Western Province leading wicket-taker. His best bowling figures of 4/40 (4 wickets for 40 runs) came on his debut against Transvaal and followed him taking 4/65 in the first innings.
De Smidt was a lower order batsman, batting at number eight in four of his five innings, he scored 74 runs at an average of 18.50, with a highest score of 42 not out
against Orange Free State.
De Smidt died in Cape Town aged 102 years 253 days. His Wisden
obituary stated he 'was believed to be the oldest first-class cricketer'. The record passed to Jim Hutchinson
in August 1999.
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...
n 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 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...
for Western Province and is one of nine first-class cricketers to pass 100 years of age.
Born in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, de Smidt played four matches for Western Province during the 1912/13 season. A 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...
bowler he took 16 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 18.00, finishing his only first-class season as Western Province leading wicket-taker. His best bowling figures of 4/40 (4 wickets for 40 runs) came on his debut against Transvaal and followed him taking 4/65 in the first innings.
De Smidt was a lower order batsman, batting at number eight in four of his five innings, he scored 74 runs at an average of 18.50, with a highest score of 42 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...
against Orange Free State.
De Smidt died in Cape Town aged 102 years 253 days. His Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
obituary stated he 'was believed to be the oldest first-class cricketer'. The record passed to Jim Hutchinson
Jim Hutchinson
James Metcalf Hutchinson was an English cricketer who played more than 250 first-class games for Derbyshire between 1920 and 1931...
in August 1999.