| Country | New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 4 December 1861 |
| Birth place | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Death date | 2 December 1886 (aged 24) |
| Death place | Devonport, New Zealand, Auckland |
| Family | George Lankham (father) |
| Bowling | Right-arm medium-fast |
| Club 1 | Auckland |
| Year 1 | 1882/83–1883/84 |
| Columns | 1 |
| Column 1 | First-class |
| Matches 1 | 5 |
| Runs 1 | 90 |
| Bat avg 1 | 12.85 |
| 100s/50s 1 | 0/0 |
| Top score 1 | 27 |
| Deliveries 1 | 1,367 |
| Wickets 1 | 53 |
| Bowl avg 1 | 7.05 |
| Fivefor 1 | 6 |
| Tenfor 1 | 4 |
| Best bowling 1 | 7/13 |
| Catches/stumpings 1 | 7/– |
| Date | 29 September |
| Year | 2014 |
| Source | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/22/22285/22285.html CricketArchive |
William Lankham (4 December 1861 – 2 December 1886) was a New Zealand cricketer who played five first-class matches for Auckland in the 1880s before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 24. In the history of first-class cricket, he has the highest average of wickets per match among bowlers with 50 wickets or more, with 10.6 wickets per match; the next best average is 8.4.[1]
Life and career
A tall, strongly-built right-arm opening bowler,[2] Lankham had an outstanding season for the Auckland United club in 1880–81, taking 84 wickets at an average of 3.32, helping Auckland United to an undefeated season.[3] He played for the Auckland XXII against the touring English team in 1881–82, taking 3 for 69 off 87 four-ball overs. The English captain, Alfred Shaw, regarded Lankham as the best bowler the tourists faced in New Zealand.[2]
Lankham played his first first-class match in December 1882 for Auckland against Canterbury in Christchurch. He took 7 for 39 in Canterbury's first innings; on the second day, which was also his 21st birthday, he made the second-top score in Auckland's first innings with 27, batting at number ten; then he took 4 for 60. Canterbury nevertheless won by 27 runs.[4] Auckland then travelled to Wellington, where Lankham took 3 for 28 and 4 for 41 in an Auckland victory.[5] The team then crossed Cook Strait again to play Nelson. In a match in which 40 wickets fell for 370 runs, Lankham took 6 for 18 and 4 for 39, and Auckland won by four runs after the Nelson last-wicket pair had put on 50, the highest partnership of the match.[6]
Three months later Taranaki travelled to Auckland to play their initial first-class match, but Lankham was too much for them, bowling unchanged through both innings to take 13 for 35 (7 for 13 and 6 for 22) and dismiss Taranaki for 63 and 55 to give Auckland an innings victory.[7] Lankham finished the season as the leading wicket-taker in New Zealand with 41 wickets at an average of 6.34.[8]
In 1883-84 Auckland played only one first-class match, against Canterbury in Auckland. Lankham bowled for most of the first innings and unchanged in the second to take 6 for 60 and 6 for 54, and Auckland won by four wickets.[9] Later that season, while playing club cricket, he suffered a burst blood vessel, and was never able to play again.[10] He died from tuberculosis two days before his 25th birthday.[11]
References
- ^ "First-Class Most Wickets per Match". CricketArchive. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
- ^ "W. Lankham". Observer. 16 December 1882.
- ^ "Auckland United Cricket Club". The New Zealand Herald. 14 June 1881.
- ^ Canterbury v Auckland 1882-83
- ^ Wellington v Auckland 1882-83
- ^ Nelson v Auckland 1882-83
- ^ Auckland v Taranaki 1882-83
- ^ 1882-83 bowling by average
- ^ Auckland v Canterbury 1883-84
- ^ "Death of W. Lankham". New Zealand Herald. 3 December 1886.
- ^ Grey River Argus, 4 December 1886, p. 2.