Jack Nitschke
{{short description|Australian cricketer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Jack Nitschke
| image = HCNitschke.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1905|04|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1982|09|29|1905|04|14|df=yes}}
| death_place = North Adelaide, South Australia
| batting = Left-handed
| bowling =
| columns = 2
| column1 = Test
| matches1 = 2
| runs1 = 53
| bat avg1 = 26.50
| 100s/50s1 = 0/0
| top score1 = 47
| hidedeliveries = true
| catches/stumpings1= 3/0
| column2 = First-class
| matches2 = 45
| runs2 = 3,320
| bat avg2 = 42.02
| 100s/50s2 = 9/16
| top score2 = 172
| catches/stumpings2= 22/0
| international = true
| country = Australia
| testdebutagainst = South Africa
| testdebutdate = 27 November
| testdebutyear = 1931
| testcap = 137
| lasttestdate = 18 December
| lasttestagainst = South Africa
| lasttestyear = 1931
| source = http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/6931.html Cricinfo
| date = 9 September
| year = 2022
}}
Homesdale Carl Nitschke, often misspelt as Holmesdale, and also known as Jack, Sling or Slinger (14 April 1905 – 29 September 1982), was an Australian cricketer.
Early life and family
File:Hiltaba homestead 2021.jpg
Born on 14 April 1905 in Adelaide, South Australia, Homesdale Nitschke was the son of Carl Hermann Wilhelm Luder Richard "C. H." Nitschke (1866–1922).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} C.H. bought Hiltaba sheep station in the Gawler Ranges in 1918, and Homesdale ran it for some time.{{cite book| title=Hiltaba Nature Reserve: North Wall Nature Drive track notes| date=August 2021|author= Nature Foundation| chapter= A brief history of Hiltaba|others=Version 1.3.}} He built the current homestead in 1936, before his marriage.
His uncle, Richard Nitschke, was a famous baritone. Nitschke's grandfather Wilhelm Nitschke (c. 1817–1889) was the founding owner of the Hackney Distillery.
Career
Described by E.W. Swanton as "a left-handed bat of belligerent inclinations",Melford, p. 208. Nitschke played in only two Tests; against South Africa in Brisbane and Sydney in 1931, and could probably be considered unlucky to have arrived at his best years at the same time as cricketing greats such as Don Bradman, Bill Ponsford, Bill Woodfull, Archie Jackson, Stan McCabe and Alan Kippax.
He had far more impressive statistics in domestic first-class cricket where he scored 3,320 runs at an average of 42.03, including nine centuries.
Later life and death
Nitschke was a successful racehorse breeder, with "Dayana" winning the Perth Cup in 1973, and the derbies of four states in 1972.
He died on 29 September 1982 in North Adelaide.
References
Sources
- Melford, M. (1984) Daily Telegraph Cricket Year Book 84, Daily Telegraph: London. {{ISBN|0 86367 000 8}}.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitschke, Jack}}
Category:Australia Test cricketers
Category:South Australia cricketers
Category:Australian people of German descent
Category:Australian cricketers
Category:Cricketers from Adelaide
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
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