Digger Robertson facts for kids
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| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Legbreak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Only Test (cap 38) | 1 January 1885 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 12 October 2022
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William "Digger" Roderick Robertson (born October 6, 1861 – died June 24, 1938) was an Australian cricketer. He played in one important Test match in 1885.
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Digger Robertson: A Cricket Story
Digger Robertson was born in Deniliquin, a town in New South Wales, Australia. This town is close to the border of Victoria. He was a right-handed batsman and bowled with a leg break style. This means he spun the ball to make it curve away from the batsman.
Early Days and First Matches
Digger started his first-class career playing for the Victoria team. His first big game was against the English touring team in November 1884. In this match, he showed off his bowling skills. He took 3 wickets for 36 runs in one part of the game. Then he took 5 wickets for 46 runs in another part.
Later, the main Australian team players refused to play in the Second Test match. Because of this, Digger Robertson was chosen to play for Australia. He was one of eight players making their Test debut in that game. However, he didn't take any wickets in the match. Australia lost, and Digger, along with four other new players, didn't play another Test match.
Playing Cricket in America
After a disagreement with his captain at the East Melbourne club, Digger Robertson decided to move. He went all the way to San Francisco in the United States. There, he continued to play cricket for several clubs in the California Cricket Association league. This was around the turn of the century (the late 1800s).
In 1898, he became the captain of the Bohemia Cricket Club. He led his team to win the California Cricket Association championship. Digger also scored one of the very first "centuries" (100 runs in one innings) in California's cricket history. He even played against the Australian Test team when they visited in 1896. This match happened at the Presidio ground in San Francisco.
Back Home in Australia
Digger Robertson returned to Australia in 1899. He continued his successful cricket career there. For many years, he played well for the St Kilda Cricket Club in Melbourne. He lived a long life and passed away in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton when he was 76 years old.
