William Lloyd (Murdock) Murdoch (1854 - 1911)

Born 18 Oct 1854 in Sandhurst, Colony of Victoria

Husband of Jemima (Watson) Murdoch — married 8 Dec 1884 in Colony of Victoria

Died 18 Feb 1911 at age 56 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Biography

William (Murdock) Murdoch was born in the Colony of Victoria (1851-1900)

Preceded by David William Gregory (1845-1919)

2nd Australian Mens Test Cricket Captain 1880 to 1890

Succeeded by Thomas Patrick Horan (1854-1916)

William (Murdock) Murdoch is Notable.

William Lloyd (Billy) Murdoch was an Australian cricketer who captained the Australian national side in 16 Test matches between 1880 and 1890. This included four tours of England, one of which, in 1882, gave rise to The Ashes. In 2019 he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.^[1]

Billy was born on 18th October 1854 at Sandhurst, Colony of Victoria, to Gilbert Murdoch and Susanna Flagg. Susanna's maiden name was possibly Fleigge, although various spellings exist.^[2] In Billy's early childhood the Murdoch family moved to Sydney. Both Billy and his older brother Gilbert studied law at the University of Sydney.^[1] On 8th December 1884 Billy married Jemima Watson in the Free Church of England in Collingwood, Colony of Victoria.^[3]

Billy played his Australian domestic cricket for New South Wales, making his first-class debut in 1875, while his Test debut came in 1877. He began his career as a wicket-keeper, but at Test level kept wicket only once, with Jack Blackham being preferred. As a batsman, Billy scored both the first double century in Test cricket (211 against England in 1884) and the first triple century in Australian domestic cricket (321 against Victoria in 1882).^[1]

Billy captained Australian teams in England in 1880, 1882 and 1884 and each time headed the batting averages, but no longer kept wickets. In 1880 at the Oval in the only Test he backed himself to beat W. G. Grace's score of 152, in the second innings made 153 not out. Thereafter he wore on his watch-chain the sovereign he had won from Grace. Meanwhile in June 1879, the law firm he co-owned with his brother Gilbert, Murdoch & Murdoch, was dissolved and in December Billy was bankrupted with debts of £775. His only asset was clothing valued at £10. The release of his estate in 1881 revealed that his share of the profits of the 1880 English tour had gone to his brother.^[4]

In 1882 Billy scored 321 for New South Wales against Victoria, the first Australian innings over 300. In 1884 his 211 at the Oval was the highest score by an Australian in any Test until 1903 and the highest for Australia against England until 1930. Short and plump with a stiff stance, Billy was unexpectedly fast on his feet and best on a hard wicket. Using a very high grip he excelled at cuts and off-drives. On wet wickets he had good defence but few scoring shots. As captain in sixteen out of his eighteen Tests, he was a shrewd tactician and one of the earliest to change his field for different batsmen. Jovial and optimistic, he inspired confidence, comradeship and high morale.^[4]

In 1890 Billy was persuaded to lead one more team to England and again topped the averages.^[4] He settled in England and played county cricket for Sussex, where he was captain from 1893 to 1899, and made six centuries, followed by London from 1900 to 1904. In 1892, he toured South Africa with England and played in one Test match, making him one of the few cricketers to represent more than one international team. His final first-class match came at the age of 49, in August 1904.^[1] Billy hit twenty-one centuries in first-class cricket including five double centuries. He scored 17,319 runs at an average of 26.64 and in Tests made 896 runs at an average of 32.^[4][5]

On 18th February 1911 at Melbourne, while watching a Test match against South Africa, Billy suffered a stroke and died later the same day.^[6] His body was embalmed and buried in the Kensal Green cemetery, London.^[7] He was survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Wikipedia - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Murdoch. Article for William Lloyd Murdoch. Accessed 19 Jun 2020.
2. ↑ Birth - Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria. Online index - Birth Certificate (https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history : accessed 19 Jun 2020) birth record for William Lloyd Murdock, father: Gilbert Murdock, mother: Susanna Flagg, birth date: 18 Oct 1854, place: Sandhurst, registration number: 2470/1855.
3. ↑ Marriage - Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria. Online index - Marriage (https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history : accessed 19 Jun 2020) index entry for William Lloyd Murdoch and Jemima Watson (marriage date: 1884, registration number: 6951/1884.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Biography - Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murdoch-william-lloyd-billy-4272. Murdoch, William Lloyd (Billy) (1854–1911). Accessed 19 Jun 2020.
5. ↑ Career Statistics - Australia Players - Billy Murdoch. (ESPNcricinfo, https://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/6669.html : accessed 19 Jun 2020)
6. ↑ Death - Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria. Online index - Death (https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history : accessed 19 Jun 2020) index entry for William Lloyd Murdoch, father: Unknown, mother: Edith Mary, surname unknown, death date: 1911, place: Melbourne East, registration number: 2279/1911.
7. ↑ Burial - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 June 2020), memorial page for William Lloyd Murdoch (18 Oct 1854–18 Feb 1911), Find a Grave Memorial no. 149795628, citing Kensal Green Cemetery, Kensal Green, London Borough of Brent, Greater London, England ; Maintained by Tim Reynolds (contributor 48314828) .