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John Wild (cricketer, born 1915)

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John Wild
Personal information
Full name
John Vernon Wild
Born26 April 1915
Wallasey, Cheshire, England
Died21 July 2012(2012-07-21) (aged 97)
Burwash, Sussex, England
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm slow
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1938Cambridge University
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 11
Runs scored 193
Batting average 11.35
100s/50s –/–
Top score 34
Balls bowled 1,796
Wickets 29
Bowling average 36.10
5 wickets in innings 2
10 wickets in match
Best bowling 6/125
Catches/stumpings 5/–
Source: Cricinfo, 15 January 2022

John Vernon Wild CMG OBE (26 April 1915 — 21 July 2012) was an English first-class cricketer, educator and colonial administrator in the Uganda Protectorate.

Early life and education

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Wild was born at Wallasey in April 1915. He was educated at Taunton School,[1] before matriculating to King's College, Cambridge.[2] While studying at Cambridge, he played first-class cricket for Cambridge University Cricket Club in 1938, making eleven appearances.[3] Playing primarily as a spin bowler in the Cambridge side, Wild took 29 wickets in his eleven matches at a bowling average of 36.10; he took two five wicket hauls, with best figures of six for 125.[4] As a batsman, he scored 193 runs at an average of 11.35, with a highest score of 34.[5]

Career

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After graduating from Cambridge, Wild joined the Colonial Service in the Protectorate of Uganda in 1938.[1] He was commissioned into the British Army as a second lieutenant in September 1943.[6] He resumed his colonial service following the war, becoming the chairman of the Ugandan Committee on Self-Government in 1959, which came to be known as the Wild Committee.[1] He was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1955 Birthday Honours in recognition of his services in Uganda,[7] and was later made a companion to the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1960 Birthday Honours.[8] While in Uganda, Wild wrote three books on the country and became fluent in the Acholi dialect.[1] He left the Colonial Service in 1960 and returned to England, where he took up a post teaching maths at Hele's School, Exeter. He left there in 1971 to become a maths lecturer at Exeter College, where he remained until 1976.[1]

Personal life

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Wild died at the nursing home in which was resident in at Burwash in Sussex in July 2012.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Obituary" (PDF). www.taunton.alumni-online.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  2. ^ The Cambridge University List of Members for the Year 1998. 1998. p. 850.
  3. ^ "First-Class Matches played by John Wild". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. ^ "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by John Wild". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. ^ "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by John Wild". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. ^ "No. 36680". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 August 1944. p. 4059.
  7. ^ "No. 40497". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1955. p. 3282.
  8. ^ "No. 42051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1960. p. 3976.
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