Laddy Outschoorn

Who was Laddy Outschoorn?

Ladislaus Frederick Outschoorn, usually known as Laddy Outschoorn, was a cricketer: a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler who played for Worcestershire in the years after the Second World War. He was born in Colombo, Ceylon.

In 1939 and 1940, Outschoorn played two matches for the Straits Settlements against the Federated Malay States and made his first-class debut in July 1946 against Combined Services at New Road, though he made only 3 and 9. His career proper began in 1947, when he played 21 times for the county, although averaging a distinctly mediocre 23.39 with a top score of only 66. He improved markedly the following summer, passing 1,000 runs for the first time and hitting his first century, exactly 100 not out against Derbyshire; he also gained his county cap that summer. May 1948 also saw him take his first wickets, when he took three in a match against Gloucestershire in May; his victims were all Test cricketers.

Although Outschoorn never surpassed the 12 wickets he claimed in 1948, his batting continued to improve, and he passed 1,000 runs in seven of the next eight seasons, helped in 1949 by his career-best score of 215 not out against Northamptonshire. His best year was probably 1951, when he made 1,761 runs at 35.93 including four centuries, as well as taking 43 catches in the field, second only to his 54 in 1949. Outschoorn's batting declined in the late 1950s, although he rallied himself for his last season, 1959, when he made 1,271 first-class runs.