Chris Duckworth facts for kids

Christopher "Chris" Anthony Russell Duckworth (born 22 March 1933, died 16 May 2014) was a talented cricketer from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He played in two important Test matches for the South African national team in 1957.

Early Life and Other Sports

Chris Duckworth was born in a place called Que Que, which was then part of Southern Rhodesia. Today, this area is known as Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. He went to Chaplin High School and later studied at the University of Natal in South Africa.

Chris was not just good at cricket! He was a great all-round athlete. He also played field hockey for Rhodesia. He even played rugby for the Natal Under-19 team. On top of that, he played tennis in Johannesburg.

Playing for South Africa

Chris Duckworth played in two Test matches for South Africa. Both of these matches were against England during the 1956–57 series. South Africa won both games!

• The first match was at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
• The second was at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth.

After each win, the team captain, Clive van Ryneveld, gave Chris a special souvenir. It was a piece of a cricket stump to remember the victory.

First-Class Cricket Career

Before playing for South Africa, Chris Duckworth had a strong career in first-class cricket. This is a type of cricket played over several days.

Playing for Natal

He played for the Natal team for two years. This was from the 1952–1953 season. He was studying at university in Pietermaritzburg at the time. In only his second match, he scored a "century," which means he scored 100 runs or more in one innings.

Returning to Rhodesia

In 1954–55, Chris went back to play for his home team, Rhodesia. He was a key player for them. In 1963, the Rhodesian selectors wanted him to lead the national team. However, Chris had to turn down this honour. He and his family were planning to move to South Africa.

Playing in Johannesburg

Once in Johannesburg, Chris played for the Wanderers team. He joined them in the 1965–66 season. He was invited by another famous cricketer, John Waite.

Overseas Tours

Chris Duckworth was chosen as a reserve wicket-keeper for two tours to England. These tours happened in 1955 and 1960. A reserve wicket-keeper is a backup player. Even though he toured, he wasn't picked to play in any of the Test matches on those tours.

Highest Score

During the 1955 tour, Chris made his highest ever first-class score. He scored 158 runs against Northamptonshire. The captain of the 1955 team, Jack Cheetham, wrote about Chris in his book I Declare. He said that Chris played "beautiful innings," and his score at Northampton was "possibly the most correct of the tour."

Winning Record

Chris Duckworth played in 33 matches for the South African teams he was part of. He was on the winning side in 21 of those games! He only lost two matches. Both losses happened during the 1960 tour to England.

• One loss was against Northamptonshire. Chris scored 51 not out in that game.
• The other loss was in Bristol, on a very difficult playing field.