Zulch Billy Image 1 Transvaal 1921

Description

Lydenburg, Transvaal born right hand opening batsman Johan Wilhelm “Billy” Zulch had his earliest big success on the cricket field with an innings of 180 for Pretoria against Potchefstroom. His debut in first class cricket for Transvaal came in 1908-09 and when he made 176 not out for Transvaal against England at Pretoria in 1909-10, he and L.A. Stricker, who made 101, put on 215 for the first wicket. Soon after he played the first of his 16 Tests for South Africa, his debut coming against England at Johannesburg in January 1910. At Cape Town in March 1910 he carried his bat in South Africa’s first innings total of 103, making 43 not out.

Twice in the Tests against England early in 1914, batting with Herbie Taylor, he recorded excellent opening partnerships, the pair making 153 together at Johannesburg and 129 at Port Elizabeth: Zulch’s innings were respectively 82 and 60 and Taylor’s 70 and 87. His cricket career was interrupted by the First World War, but he still managed 985 Test runs at an average of 32.83, with two Test centuries, both against Australia on his first overseas tour in 1910-11, when he made 105 at Adelaide and in January 1911 and 150 at Sydney in March 1911.

His 105 came in the only Test South Africa won on that tour. Zulch batted for three hours, and a hundred from Tip Snooke then boosted South Africa to 482; and, despite 214 from Australian batsman Victor Trumper, and a relative failure from Zulch with 14 in the second innings, South Africa went on to win by 38 runs. In 16 Tests he scored 985 runs with an average of 32.83.

In the Second Test against Australia at Old Wanderers in Johannesburg in 1921, Australian fast bowler Ted McDonald dismissed Zulch by breaking his bat so that fragments flew back to dislodge a bail, and then Zulch was given out, “hit wicket”. Nowadays a batsman would not be given out if a splinter, or part of his bat, breaks the wicket, as it must be his whole bat that breaks the wicket. His last Test was the match against Australia at Cape Town in November 1921. In other notable innings he made 168 for H.D.G. Leveson-Gower’s XI against Rhodesia at Bulawayo in 1909-10 and 135 for South Africa against The Australian Imperial Forces at Johannesburg in 1919-20. In his seven innings whilst on tour with a Transvaal XI in 1920-21, he made four centuries averaging 107.28 on tour.

He died in May 1924, in Umkomaas, Natal, following a nervous breakdown aged only 37, having played his final first class match earlier the same season. In 53 first class matches he scored 3,556 runs at 41.83 with 9 hundreds and 17 half centuries, with a  highest score of 185 made against Orange Free State in 1920-21. He also took 5 wickets as an occasional medium pace bowler at 24.40 apiece with a best return of 3-28.

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