Arthur Coningham (cricketer)

Arthur Coningham (/koʊnɪŋhæm/ 14 July 1863 – 13 June 1939) was an Australian cricketer who played in one Ashes Test match at Melbourne in 1894 in which he took a wicket with his very first ball.[1] He took 2 for 17 in England's first innings but failed to add to that tally in the second.

This article is about the Australian cricketer. For the Royal Air Force officer, see Arthur Coningham (RAF officer).

Arthur Coningham
Personal information
Full name
Arthur Coningham
Born(1863-07-14)14 July 1863
Emerald Hill, Victoria, Australia
Died13 June 1939(1939-06-13) (aged 76)
Gladesville, New South Wales, Australia
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
Only Test (cap 69)29 December 1894 v England
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 1 35
Runs scored 13 896
Batting average 6.50 15.71
100s/50s 0/0 1/2
Top score 10 151
Balls bowled 186 5,871
Wickets 2 112
Bowling average 38.00 23.24
5 wickets in innings 0 7
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 2/17 6/38
Catches/stumpings 0/– 28/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 10 September 2022
Coningham pictured middle (front row) with the 1893 Australia national cricket team

Biography

Coningham was born at Emerald Hill, Victoria in 1863. He was renowned as something of a joker. In an effort to stay warm while fielding in a tour match in 1893 at a frigid Blackpool he gathered straw and twigs and started a fire on the outfield.

He found life difficult after he retired from the game, serving time in jail for fraud, and he died in an asylum.[2] Coningham was involved in a famous scandal in 1899 when he sued his wife for divorce on the basis of her adultery with a Catholic priest, Fr Denis O'Haran, personal secretary to Cardinal Moran.[3] The jury found against Coningham and the couple emigrated to New Zealand; in 1912, his wife divorced him for adultery.[3]

His son was the World War I air ace and World War II commander Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham. Coningham died in 1939 and was buried in the Rookwood Cemetery.[4][5]

References
  1. Cricinfo
  2. Roebuck, Peter (2 September 2011). "New flingers and old selectors, take a bow". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. Nairn, Bede. Coningham, Arthur (1863 - 1939). Archived from the original on 19 June 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 655. New South Wales, Australia. 15 June 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 16 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Obituaries in 1939". Wisden. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
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