Gordon Rorke

Who is Gordon Rorke?

Gordon Frederick Rorke is a former Australian cricketer who played in 4 Tests in 1959.

Rorke made his Test debut in January 1959 in the Fourth Test of The Ashes series against England in Adelaide. It was an impressive debut, taking 3/23 off 18.1 eight-ball overs in the first innings and 2/70 from 34 overs in the second innings. Rorke claimed three wickets in the Fifth Test at Melbourne a fortnight later, and was selected to tour Pakistan and India the following year.

A six-foot five-inch "Blond Giant", Rorke was the fastest Australian bowler and accused of throwing by the English press, but this paled beside his excessive dragging. With his gigantic seven-foot stride and dragging his rear foot a yard over the crease he could be only eighteen yards from the batsman when he finally delivered the ball and at times seemed impossible to score from. Fred Trueman was no balled for dragging his foot a couple of inches over the crease and wrote "It was really annoying as this umpire seemed to allow Gordon Rorke to bowl with both his feet over the front line!". One picture showed him with his rear foot past the bowling crease before he had even begun to drag. Colin Cowdrey joked "I was frightened that he might tread on my toes".