Bobby Selk

Rudolph "Bobby" Selk (6 October 1871 – 31 January 1940) was an Australian cricketer. He played 16 first-class matches for Western Australia between 1898-99 and 1912-13.[1]

Bobby Selk
Personal information
Full name
Rudolph Albert Selk
Born(1871-10-06)6 October 1871
Omeo, Victoria, Australia
Died31 January 1940(1940-01-31) (aged 68)
Pickering Brook, Western Australia
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium-pace off-spin
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1898-99 to 1912-13Western Australia
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 16
Runs scored 192
Batting average 11.29
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 34
Balls bowled 3588
Wickets 75
Bowling average 24.58
5 wickets in innings 6
10 wickets in match 2
Best bowling 8/28
Catches/stumpings 6/–
Source: Cricinfo, 23 July 2020

Life and career

Bobby Selk moved from Benalla in Victoria to Western Australia during the 1895-96 cricket season, and between then and the 1910-11 season he took 777 wickets in senior cricket in Perth at an average of 9.31.[2] When he retired in 1918 he had taken 959 wickets.[3] He was a right-arm bowler, generally bowling medium-paced off-spin: "With a big variety of paces, turning from both sides, with a fine command of length and bowling that impossible ball which 'fizzes' off the pitch and comes back from three to four inches, 'Bobby' was always likely to bowl the best of batsmen 'neck and crop' as the cricket phrase goes."[2][4]

Selk took 5 for 19 and 7 for 108 when Western Australia beat South Australia in 1905-06.[5] His best first-class performance was in Western Australia's victory over Victoria in 1909-10, when he took 8 for 28 and 5 for 49.[6] His match figures of 13 for 77 in this match remained a West Australian record for 71 years until Terry Alderman took 14 for 87.[3] He was named in an All-Time Western Australia XI by the Western Australian Cricket Association in 1951.[7]

After a career in the postal service Selk retired to an orchard property at Pickering Brook on the eastern fringes of Perth. He died there in 1940 aged 68, leaving a widow and two sons and a daughter.[8][9][10]

See also

References
  1. "Rudolph Selk". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. "A Great Australian Bowler". Cricket: 154. 13 May 1911.
  3. The Oxford Companion to Australian Cricket, Oxford, Melbourne, 1996, p. 468.
  4. "West Australian Cricket". The Daily News. Perth, WA. 28 March 1907. p. 9. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  5. "Western Australia v South Australia 1905-06". CricketArchive. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  6. "Western Australia v Victoria 1909-10". Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  7. ""Best Ever" Team of State". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 3 May 1951. p. 12. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  8. "Famous Cricketer Dies". The Daily News: 10. 1 February 1940.
  9. "Bobby Selk: W.A.'s Greatest Bowler is Dead". Mirror: 3. 3 February 1940.
  10. "Bobby Selk Passes". Sunday Times: 1. 4 February 1940.
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