William Harold "
Bill"
Ponsford <small>
MBE</small> (19 October 1900 – 6 April 1991) was an
Australian cricketer. Usually playing as an
opening batsman, he formed a successful and long-lived
partnership opening the batting for
Victoria and
Australia with
Bill Woodfull, his friend and state and national captain. Ponsford is the only player to twice break the world record for the
highest individual score in
first-class cricket; Ponsford and
Brian Lara are the only cricketers to twice score
400 runs in an innings. Ponsford holds the Australian record for a partnership in
Test cricket, set in 1934 in combination with
Donald Bradman—the man who broke many of Ponsford's other individual records.
Despite being heavily built, Ponsford was quick on his feet and renowned as one of the finest ever players of
spin bowling. His bat, much heavier than the norm and nicknamed "Big Bertha", allowed him to
drive powerfully and he possessed a strong
cut shot. However, critics questioned his ability against
fast bowling, and the hostile
short-pitched English bowling in the
Bodyline series of 1932–33 was a contributing factor in his early retirement from cricket a year and a half later.As a convention, cricket seasons are denoted as a single year to represent northern hemisphere summer, or dashed for southern hemisphere. See
Cricket season for more information. Ponsford also represented his state and country in...
Read More