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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 23)
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 Test1 November 2024 v India
ODI debut (cap 214)17 December 2023 v Bangladesh
Last ODI23 December 2023 v Bangladesh
ODI shirt no.2
T20I debut (cap 103)21 April 2024 v Pakistan
Last T20I27 April 2024 v Pakistan
T20I shirt no.2
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2021/22–presentCanterbury
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 7 3 22 24
Runs scored 7 1 75 65
Batting average 2.33 1.00 8.33 7.22
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 2* 1 17* 16
Balls bowled 953 113 3,646 1,087
Wickets 26 5 76 42
Bowling average 19.42 23.00 25.07 20.64
5 wickets in innings 2 0 2 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 5/34 3/47 5/34 6/20
Catches/stumpings 3/– 0/– 9/– 7/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 19 November 2024

William Peter O'Rourke (born 6 August 2001) is a New Zealand cricketer. 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

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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 in 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

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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

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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

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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 into 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][27]

Playing style

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O'Rourke is known for his ability to generate extra bounce from his tall frame.[5][28] A fast bowler who can reach delivery speeds of 150 kilometres per hour (93 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][29]

References

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  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. ^ "Surrey-born 'giraffe' O'Rourke ready to take on England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  28. ^ Deivarayan, Muthu (27 January 2024). "Gary Stead: 'No reason why Henry Nicholls can't make it back'". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  29. ^ "'Bright future' – Will O'Rourke set for Test debut against Proteas". 1News. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
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