Bill Coleman (cricketer)

William Ezra Coleman (5 December 1878 – 27 January 1960) was an English first-class cricketer.

Coleman was born at Hitchin in December 1878. He made his debut in minor counties cricket for Hertfordshire against Norfolk in the 1896 Minor Counties Championship.[1] Six years later he made his debut in first-class cricket for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against London County at Lord's. Coleman played first-class cricket for the MCC until 1909, making a total of ten appearances.[2] Across his ten matches, he scored 180 runs at an average of 11.25, with a high score of 37.[3] With his right-arm fast-medium bowling, he took 23 wickets at a bowling average of 21.00, with best figures of 6 for 30.[4] These figures, which was his only five wicket haul in first-class cricket, came against Oxford University in 1903.[5] He continued to play minor counties cricket for Hertfordshire until 1914, making a total of 147 appearances in the Minor Counties Championship.[1] He scored a total of 3,885 runs for Hertfordshire in the Minor Counties Championship, as well as taking 619 wickets.[6] He is Hertfordshire's fourth leading wicket-taker in the Minor Counties Championship.[6]

Outside of playing, he spent ten years on the groundstaff at Lord's, in addition to coaching cricket at St George's School, Harpenden and spending 23 years coaching at Aldenham School.[7] He died in January 1960 at Napsbury, Hertfordshire.