| Roy Westbrook | |
| Fullname: | Roy Austin Westbrook |
| Birth Date: | 3 January 1889 |
| Birth Place: | Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia |
| Death Place: | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Role: | Batsman |
| Club1: | Tasmania |
| Club2: | Otago |
| Date: | 20 January |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/8206.html CricInfo |
Roy Austin Westbrook (3 January 1889 - 7 August 1961) was an Australian-born cricketer. He played three first-class matches for Tasmania between the 1910–11 and 1913–14 seasons and 11 matches in New Zealand for Otago between 1914–15 and 1921–22.[1]
Westbrook was born at Scottsdale in Tasmania in 1889 and educated at Launceston Grammar School.[2] He played cricket for teams representing the North of Tasmania from 1908–09, as had a number of members of his extended family, before making his first-class debut for the Tasmanian side in 1910–11.[3] [4] On debut he made scores of 16 and 14 against the touring South African Test side in January 1911. He played twice more for the Tasmanian team, a 1911–12 match against Victoria and a 1913–14 match against New South Wales.[3] Westbrook worked for the Union Steam Ship Company at Launceston and in early 1914 was transferred to work at the company's office at Dunedin in New Zealand.[5] [6]
After moving to Dunedin, where he played for the Carisbrook club,[7] Westbrook played twice for the Otago representative side against Southland during the 1914–15 season. He did not play any further wartime cricket, but appeared in nine more first-class matches for the province between the 1918–19 and 1921–22 seasons, including playing against the touring Australians in 1920–21. In his 11 matches for Otago he scored 282 runs, with a highest score of 40. This was the second highest first-class score of his career―he had made 41 against Victoria in his second match for Tasmania.[3]
During the 1921–22 season Westbrook left Dunedin and moved to Wellington where he played for the YMCA and Wellington clubs.[8] [9] He played with "consistently fine form" in club cricket and was considered one of the better batsmen in the Wellington area and a possibility for selection for the Wellington side in 1925–26.[10] As late as 1929 he was being described as "a most reliable batsman",[11] although in the event he did not win selection to the provincial team.[3] He played into the 1930s and was a member of the Wellington club's committee.[12]
Westbrook married Frances Hankinson in 1932.[13] [14] He died at Wellington in 1961 at the age of 72.[1] His brother, Keith Westbrook, and uncle, Russell Westbrook, both played first-class cricket for Tasmania.[2]