| William Lankham | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Birth Date: | 4 December 1861 |
| Birth Place: | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Devonport, New Zealand, Auckland |
| Family: | George Lankham (father) |
| Bowling: | Right-arm medium-fast |
| Club1: | Auckland |
| Year1: | 1882–83 to 1883–84 |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 5 |
| Runs1: | 90 |
| Bat Avg1: | 12.85 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/0 |
| Top Score1: | 27 |
| Deliveries1: | 1367 |
| Wickets1: | 53 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 7.05 |
| Fivefor1: | 6 |
| Tenfor1: | 4 |
| Best Bowling1: | 7/13 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 7/0 |
| Date: | 29 September |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/22/22285/22285.html Cricket Archive |
William Lankham (4 December 1861 – 2 December 1886) was a New Zealand cricketer who played five first-class matches for Auckland before his death at the age of 24.
A tall, strongly-built right-arm opening bowler, Lankham had an outstanding season for the Auckland United club in 1880–81, taking 84 wickets at an average of 3.32, helping Auckland United to an undefeated season.[1] He played for the Auckland XXII against the touring English team in 1881–82, taking 3 for 69 off 87 four-ball overs. The English captain, Alfred Shaw, regarded Lankham as the best bowler the tourists faced in New Zealand.[2]
Lankham played his first first-class match in December 1882 for Auckland against Canterbury in Christchurch. He took 7 for 39 in Canterbury's first innings; on the second day, which was also his 21st birthday, he made the second-top score in Auckland's first innings with 27, batting at number ten; then he took 4 for 60. Canterbury nevertheless won by 27 runs.[3] Auckland then travelled to Wellington, where Lankham took 3 for 28 and 4 for 41 in an Auckland victory.[4] The team then crossed Cook Strait again to play Nelson. In a match in which 40 wickets fell for 370 runs, Lankham took 6 for 18 and 4 for 39, and Auckland won by four runs after the Nelson last-wicket pair had put on 50, the highest partnership of the match.[5]
Three months later Taranaki travelled to Auckland to play their initial first-class match, but Lankham was too much for them, bowling unchanged through both innings to take 13 for 35 (7 for 13 and 6 for 22) and dismiss Taranaki for 63 and 55 to give Auckland an innings victory.[6] Lankham finished the season as the leading wicket-taker in New Zealand with 41 wickets at an average of 6.34.[7]
In 1883-84 Auckland played only one first-class match, against Canterbury in Auckland. Lankham bowled for most of the first innings and unchanged in the second to take 6 for 60 and 6 for 54, and Auckland won by four wickets.[8] He never played again, and died from tuberculosis two days before his 25th birthday.[9]