Former Australia batsman Bill Watson dies aged 87

Bill Watson, the former Australia and New South Wales batsman, has died aged 87.

A right-handed opener, Watson struck a hundred in his second first-class match against the touring English side in Sydney in 1954-55 and subsequently made his Test debut against England that season along with former Queensland batsman Peter Burge, also at the SCG. He made 18 and 3 in a draw on debut and went onto play three more Tests for Australia, in the Caribbean.

He played 41 first-class games, scoring 1958 runs in 66 innings, including six hundreds and five fifties. His highest first-class score was 206 playing for NSW against Western Australia in Perth in 1956.

Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts paid tribute to Watson: “Our thoughts are with Bill’s family at this time, and all the friends he made throughout his time in cricket. He made a valuable contribution to NSW cricket and was regarded as a legend of the St George club. We pay our respects to Bill and we are grateful for his deep involvement in all levels of the game. He will be sadly missed.”

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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