| William Cotterill | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Fullname: | William John Cotterill |
| Birth Date: | 25 March 1863 |
| Birth Place: | Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Family: | Arthur Cotterill (brother) Henry Cotterill (brother) Edward Cotterill (brother) |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Club1: | Canterbury |
| Year1: | 1881–82 to 1893–94 |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 13 |
| Runs1: | 336 |
| Bat Avg1: | 15.27 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/1 |
| Top Score1: | 74 |
| Deliveries1: | – |
| Wickets1: | – |
| Bowl Avg1: | – |
| Fivefor1: | – |
| Tenfor1: | – |
| Best Bowling1: | – |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 6/0 |
| Date: | 1 March 2019 |
| Source: | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/21/21696/21696.html CricketArchive |
William John Cotterill (25 March 1863 – 30 October 1946) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury from 1882 to 1894.
William Cotterill was one of the 17 children of the Rev. George Cotterill, who became Canon of Christchurch.[1] He and his seven brothers were educated at Christ's College, Christchurch, and five of them played first-class cricket in New Zealand.[2]
Cotterill was a right-handed batsman. He captained the Christ's College cricket team in 1880, scoring 252 runs at an average of 36, which was believed to be the best seasonal batting average by a player at the school to that time.[3] His best first-class score was 74 not out in Canterbury's victory over Otago in 1884–85, when the next-highest score in the match was 36. He was the only Canterbury batsman to play the bowling of Frank Cooke (who took 9 for 73) with any success, and was carried shoulder-high to the pavilion when the innings ended.[4] [5]
Cotterill moved from Christchurch to Invercargill in 1892 in his work for the New Zealand Shipping Company.[6] In 1896 he moved to Timaru to take up the position of Timaru manager for the company.[7] He retired from the position in 1920 after 39 years with the company.[8] While in the position he also performed "with tact and ability" as chairman of the local Wharf Labourers' Dispute Committee.[9]
Cotterill died in Timaru in October 1946, aged 83. His wife Maud predeceased him.[10]