PONSFORD, WILLIAM HAROLD

born Oct. 19, 1900, Melbourne, Vic., Australia died April 6, 1991, Kyneton, Vic. Australian cricketer, one of the game's most prolific scorers. He was the first to make a quadruple century since Archie MacLaren first broke 400 in 1895 and the only player to exceed 400 twice in first-class matches. Ponsford made an inauspicious debut for Victoria in February 1921 but scored 162 in his only first-class appearance the next season. In his first innings in 1922-23 he batted for 7 hours 57 minutes, scoring 429 to top MacLaren's record of 424, and in 1924-25 he became the first man to hit hundreds in his first two Test matches. Ponsford dominated Australian first-class cricket in the mid-1920s, hitting three centuries in 1925-26 and six (including one double and one triple) in only 10 innings in the 1926-27 season. His record 437 came in 10 hours 21 minutes the following December. In his last Test innings-against England in August 1934-he scored 266 in a second-wicket partnership of 451 with Don Bradman, an aggregate Test record that stood until 1991. Ponsford retired soon thereafter, having achieved a career total of 13,819 runs (average 65.18) and 47 centuries (13 exceeding 200), including 2,122 runs (average 48.22) and seven centuries in Test matches.