Basil Rigg
{{Short description|Australian cricketer (1926–2025)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Basil Rigg
| image = Basil Rigg 1948.jpg
| caption = Rigg in 1948
| country = Australia
| fullname = Basil Augustus Rigg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|8|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Highgate, Western Australia, Australia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|3|15|1925|8|12|df=yes}}
| death_place =
| family = Bert Rigg (brother)
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling = Leg break
| role = All-rounder
| club1 = Western Australia
| year1 = {{nowrap|1947–48–1956–57}}
| columns = 1
| column1 = First-class
| matches1 = 18
| runs1 = 511
| bat avg1 = 17.03
| 100s/50s1 = 0/2
| top score1 = 65
| deliveries1 = 952
| wickets1 = 8
| bowl avg1 = 86.12
| fivefor1 = 0
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 2/46
| catches/stumpings1 = 11/–
| date = 29 May
| year = 2020
| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/16/16617/16617.html CricketArchive
}}
Basil Augustus Rigg (12 August 1925 – 15 March 2025) was an Australian cricketer who played for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield.
Life and career
The son of Herbert William Rigg (1896–1960) and Bertha Mary Rigg, nee Hardy (1895–1957), Basil Augustus Rigg was born at Nurse Harvey's Hospital in Bulwer street, Highgate on 12 August 1925.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31874469 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=The West Australian |volume=XLI |issue=7,243 |location=Western Australia |date=15 August 1925 |page=1}}
Rigg attended Aquinas College, Perth, and was playing first-grade cricket while still at school.{{cite journal |title=Robinson's Century |journal=Daily News |date=27 December 1941 |page=13 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/83613344}} He played Australian rules football and was the leading goal-kicker for WANFL club Perth in 1943.{{cite web|url=http://www.waflonline.com.au/players/view/2289|title=Basil Rigg (Perth)|publisher=WAFL Online|access-date=5 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315014123/http://www.waflonline.com.au/players/view/2289|archive-date=15 March 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The following year he enlisted in the Australian Army and served overseas.{{cite web|url=http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=758645|title=WW2 Nominal Roll: Rigg, Basil Augustus|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=8 November 2015|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424012910/http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=758645|url-status=dead}} A rover, he had a stint at West Perth before returning to Perth after the war.The West Australian, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50348553 "B. Rigg For Perth"], 27 June 1946. p. 4 Towards the end of the decade he gave up football so he could concentrate on his promising cricket career.The West Australian, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47675203 "Versatility"], 6 October 1949. p. 21 He however still remained active outside of cricket by playing baseball, and was a state representative in the Claxton Shield.The West Australian, [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52970737 "States Enter Strong Baseball Teams"], 21 December 1954. p. 15
An all-rounder, Rigg was a member of the Western Australian Sheffield Shield-winning team in 1947–48. He played in two matches, including their win over Queensland which secured the Shield for the first time in the state's history. Rigg's contribution towards a successful campaign was limited, with 34 runs in four innings and no wickets.{{cite web |url-access=subscription |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/AUS/Sheffield_Shield_1947-48/Team_Averages.html|title=Averages by Team Sheffield Shield 1947/48| publisher=CricketArchive}} In all first-class matches that summer, he took just three wickets with his leg spin, despite bowling over 500 balls. His bowling was used less frequently in future seasons. He scored both of his first-class half-centuries in 1947/48, and both against national teams. He scored 54 not out against the touring Indian team and also put in his best performance with the ball by dismissing two batsmen, including their best in Vijay Hazare.{{cite web |url-access=subscription |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/18/18380.html|title=Western Australia v Indians| publisher=CricketArchive}} Playing against an Australian XI soon after, Rigg made 65 in the first innings, after initially retiring hurt on five. He also took the wicket of opener Bill Brown but conceded 65 runs in his six overs. It was perhaps his best match, as he had made his half-century against an attack featuring Keith Miller and four other bowlers who would later form part of "The Invincibles".{{cite web |url-access=subscription |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/18/18393.html|title=Western Australia v Australian XI| publisher=CricketArchive}}
In a long and successful career with the Perth Cricket Club, Rigg was one of the finest all-rounders in the club's history. In 252 matches from 1941 to 1964 he scored over 8,200 runs and took 325 wickets. He was a Life Member and named in the Team of the Century at the 150th Anniversary function held in 2012.
Rigg's brother Bert also played cricket for Western Australia. Their sister Marjorie and their mother represented Western Australia at hockey.{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Syd |title=Sports Looking-Glass |journal=Daily News |date=12 January 1955 |page=20 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/266299433}}
Rigg died on 15 March 2025, at the age of 99.{{cite news |title=Rigg, Basil |url=https://www.westannouncements.com.au/browse/obituaries/view/rigg-basil-1?set=obituaries-last7 |access-date=22 March 2025 |publisher=The West Australian |date=22 March 2025}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cricinfo|id=7474}}
- {{WAFL FootyFacts}}
{{Commons category|Basil Rigg}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigg, Basil}}
Category:People educated at Aquinas College, Perth
Category:Australian cricketers
Category:Western Australia cricketers
Category:Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
Category:Perth Football Club players
Category:West Perth Football Club players
Category:Australian baseball players
Category:Australian Army personnel of World War II
Category:Baseball people from Western Australia
Category:Cricketers from Perth, Western Australia