Ray Watson-Smith
South African cricketer
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Raymond Watson-Smith (born 20 February 1940) is a former South African cricketer. Playing for Border in 1969–70, he scored a not-out century in each of his first two first-class matches, and reached 310 runs before being dismissed.
Mowbray, Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Raymond Watson-Smith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 February 1940 Mowbray, Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium-pace | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–70 | Border | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 9 July 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cricket career
Ray Watson-Smith made his first-class debut for Border against Orange Free State in November 1969 in the B Section of the Currie Cup. In a drawn match in Bloemfontein, in which 1258 runs were scored in three days for the loss of only 17 wickets, Watson-Smith, batting at number seven, scored 183 not out, the highest of five centuries in the match.[1] In the next match, against Griqualand West in East London two weeks later, he batted at number six and made 125 not out in 145 minutes. Border won by an innings.[2] He was finally dismissed for the first time in the next match against Natal B, when he made 2 and 19, and Border lost by an innings.[3] In the fourth and last match of the Currie Cup season he made 25 and 53 not out in a draw with North Eastern Transvaal.[4]
He finished the Currie Cup season at the top of the competition's batting averages, with 407 runs at an average of 135.66.[5] He then played for Border against the Australians, scoring 28 and 9.[6] At the end of the season he played one match in South Africa's first List A cricket tournament, top-scoring with 47 in a losing Border team.[7]
His captain at Border, Gordon Minkley, said Watson-Smith was a talented player but "He hit a lot of balls in the air and I think the word quickly got around among the other teams." Watson-Smith moved away from Border after the 1969–70 season and played no further first-class cricket.[8]
Watson-Smith's 310 career runs before being dismissed remained a world record until 2015, when the Victorian batsman Travis Dean made 347 runs before being dismissed. Dean was dismissed in his second first-class match.[9]