Roy Westbrook
Australian cricketer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roy Austin Westbrook (3 January 1889 – 7 August 1961) was an Australian-born cricketer. He played three first-class matches for Tasmania between the 1910–11 and 1913–14 seasons and 11 matches in New Zealand for Otago between 1914–15 and 1921–22.[1]
Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia
Wellington, New Zealand
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Roy Austin Westbrook |
| Born | 3 January 1889 Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia |
| Died | 7 August 1961 (aged 72) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Role | Batsman |
| Relations |
|
| Domestic team information | |
| Years | Team |
| 1910/11–1913/14 | Tasmania |
| 1914/15–1921/22 | Otago |
Source: CricInfo, 20 January 2016 | |
Westbrook was born at Scottsdale in Tasmania in 1889 and educated at Launceston Grammar School.[2] He played cricket for teams representing the North of Tasmania from 1908–09, as had a number of members of his extended family, before making his first-class debut for the Tasmanian team in 1910–11.[3][4] On debut he made scores of 16 and 14 against the touring South African Test team in January 1911. He played twice more for the Tasmanian team, a 1911–12 match against Victoria and a 1913–14 match against New South Wales.[3] Westbrook worked for the Union Steam Ship Company at Launceston and in early 1914 was transferred to work at the company's office at Dunedin in New Zealand.[5][6]
After moving to Dunedin, where he played for the Carisbrook club,[7] Westbrook played twice for the Otago representative team against Southland during the 1914–15 season. He did not play any further wartime cricket, but appeared in nine more first-class matches for the province between the 1918–19 and 1921–22 seasons, including playing against the touring Australians in 1920–21. In his 11 matches for Otago he scored 282 runs, with a highest score of 40. This was the second highest first-class score of his career―he had made 41 against Victoria in his second match for Tasmania.[3]
During the 1921–22 season Westbrook left Dunedin and moved to Wellington where he played for the YMCA and Wellington clubs.[8][9] He played with "consistently fine form" in club cricket and was considered one of the better batsmen in the Wellington area and a possibility for selection for the Wellington team in 1925–26.[10] As late as 1929 he was being described as "a most reliable batsman",[11] although in the event he did not win selection to the provincial team.[3] He played into the 1930s and was a member of the Wellington club's committee.[12]
Westbrook married Frances Hankinson in 1932.[13][14] He died at Wellington in 1961 at the age of 72.[1] His brother, Keith Westbrook, and uncle, Russell Westbrook, both played first-class cricket for Tasmania.[2]