William Alfred Shalders (12 February 1880 – 19 March 1917) was a South African cricketer who played in 12 Tests from 1899 to 1907.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | William Alfred Shalders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1880-02-12)12 February 1880 Kimberley, Cape Province, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 19 March 1917(1917-03-19) (aged 37) Cradock, Cape Province, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right-arm medium-pace | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side |
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Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1897-98 to 1898-99 | Griqualand West | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1902-03 to 1906-07 | Transvaal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 13 July 2017 |
Shalders was born in Kimberley, where his parents, John and Emily Shalders, owned the Halfway House inn from 1884 to 1925. He attended Kimberley Boys' High School.[1]
He was a stroke-playing opening batsman whose impetuosity often led to his dismissal in the twenties or thirties.[2] His highest Test score was 42 in his second Test, when South Africa took a first-innings lead of 65 over Australia only to lose by 159 runs.[3] He made a valuable 38 when South Africa beat England by one wicket in the 1905-06 series.[2]
He toured England with the South African team in 1901, 1904 and 1907, playing 58 of his 88 first-class matches in England and scoring his two first-class centuries. In 1901 he was the South Africans' second-highest run-scorer, with 782 runs at an average of 30.07,[4] with a top score of 103 against Somerset.[5] In 1907 he scored 105 against Hampshire.[6] His highest first-class score in South Africa was 93, the highest score of the match, in an innings victory for Transvaal over Natal in 1903-04.[7]
He was also a fine fieldsman and useful bowler.[2]
He was a member of the Kimberley Town Guard during the Siege of Kimberley (October 1899 to February 1900) and was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal and the Kimberley Star.[1] He also served in World War I.[8]
He was married to Myra Shalders.[1] He died on 19 March 1917 at Cradock, Eastern Cape, and is buried in the Cradock cemetery.[9]