| Will O'Rourke | |
| Full Name: | William Peter O'Rourke |
| Birth Date: | 6 August 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Kingston upon Thames, London, England |
| Heightm: | 1.97 |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm fast-medium |
| Role: | Bowler |
| International: | true |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Internationalspan: | 2023–present |
| Testdebutdate: | 13 February |
| Testdebutyear: | 2024 |
| Testdebutagainst: | South Africa |
| Testcap: | 286 |
| Lasttestdate: | 29 February |
| Lasttestyear: | 2024 |
| Lasttestagainst: | Australia |
| Odidebutdate: | 17 December |
| Odidebutyear: | 2023 |
| Odidebutagainst: | Bangladesh |
| Odicap: | 214 |
| Lastodidate: | 23 December |
| Lastodiyear: | 2023 |
| Lastodiagainst: | Bangladesh |
| T20idebutdate: | 21 April |
| T20idebutyear: | 2024 |
| T20idebutagainst: | Pakistan |
| T20icap: | 103 |
| Lastt20idate: | 25 April |
| Lastt20iyear: | 2024 |
| Lastt20iagainst: | Pakistan |
| Club1: | Canterbury |
| Columns: | 4 |
| Column1: | Test |
| Matches1: | 2 |
| Runs1: | 0 |
| Bat Avg1: | — |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/0 |
| Top Score1: | 0 |
| Deliveries1: | 402 |
| Wickets1: | 11 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 17.36 |
| Fivefor1: | 1 |
| Tenfor1: | 0 |
| Best Bowling1: | 5/34 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 0/– |
| Column2: | ODI |
| Matches2: | 3 |
| Runs2: | 1 |
| Bat Avg2: | 1.00 |
| 100S/50S2: | 0/0 |
| Top Score2: | 1 |
| Deliveries2: | 113 |
| Wickets2: | 5 |
| Bowl Avg2: | 23.00 |
| Fivefor2: | 0 |
| Tenfor2: | 0 |
| Best Bowling2: | 3/47 |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 0/– |
| Column3: | FC |
| Matches3: | 17 |
| Runs3: | 68 |
| Bat Avg3: | 11.33 |
| 100S/50S3: | 0/0 |
| Top Score3: | 17 |
| Deliveries3: | 3,095 |
| Wickets3: | 61 |
| Bowl Avg3: | 26.09 |
| Fivefor3: | 1 |
| Tenfor3: | 0 |
| Best Bowling3: | 5/34 |
| Catches/Stumpings3: | 6/– |
| Column4: | LA |
| Matches4: | 24 |
| Runs4: | 65 |
| Bat Avg4: | 7.22 |
| 100S/50S4: | 0/0 |
| Top Score4: | 16 |
| Deliveries4: | 1,087 |
| Wickets4: | 42 |
| Bowl Avg4: | 20.64 |
| Fivefor4: | 1 |
| Tenfor4: | 0 |
| Best Bowling4: | 6/20 |
| Catches/Stumpings4: | 7/– |
| Source: | https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/william-o-rourke-1211825 ESPNcricinfo |
| Date: | 3 March |
| Year: | 2024 |
William Peter O'Rourke (born 6 August 2001) is a New Zealand cricketer. A right-arm fast medium bowler,[1] he plays for the Canterbury cricket team in domestic cricket.[2] He made his international debut for New Zealand in December 2023, having previously played for the national under-19 side.[3]
O'Rourke was born at Kingston upon Thames in London in 2001.[4] His father, Paddy O'Rourke, played as a fast bowler for Wellington between the 1989–90 and 1991–92 seasons and his uncle, Matthew O'Rourke, played a single senior match for Auckland in 1991–92.[5] [6] The family had moved to England before O'Rourke's birth and, when he was around five years old, moved back to New Zealand, settling in Auckland.[5] [7] He played cricket from a young age and made appearances for Auckland age-group sides from the 2017–18 season until 2019–20[3] before moving to the South Island to study at the University of Canterbury.[8]
In December 2019, O'Rourke was named in New Zealand's squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.[9] After impressing for his club side Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club, he was called into the Canterbury 'A' team during the 2020–21 season,[8] taking 10 wickets for the side during the National Provincial A Tournament.[10] In January 2021, he played two Twenty20 matches for a New Zealand XI against the touring Pakistan Shaheens.[11]
After the end of the 2020–21 season, O'Rourke was awarded a first domestic contract by Canterbury Cricket.[12] He made his List A debut for Canterbury on 3 January 2022, playing against Otago in the 2021–22 Ford Trophy,[13] before going on to make his Twenty20 debut on 7 January against Auckland[14] and his first-class debut on 20 March against Central Districts.[15]
The following season, he was the joint-highest wicket-taker for Canterbury in the 2022–23 Super Smash with 12 wickets from ten matches, with the team reaching the final of the competition.[16] He was the team's leading wicket-taker in the 2022–23 Ford Trophy with 13 wickets from nine matches,[5] including figures of 3 for 47 against Otago, helping Canterbury to qualify for the final.[17]
On 2 February 2024, he took his maiden five-wicket haul in List A cricket, against Otago in the 2023–24 Ford Trophy. His bowling figures of 6 for 20 were also the second best figures by a Canterbury player in List A cricket.[18]
In March 2023, O'Rourke was named in the New Zealand A squad for their first-class series against Australia A[19] and in December 2023 he was called-up to the New Zealand squad for the first time ahead of a One Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh.[20] He made his ODI debut during the series,[21] becoming the first England-born cricketer to play for New Zealand since Roger Twose in the 1990s.[22]
The following month, O'Rourke was called into New Zealand's Test squad for their series against South Africa.[23] He made his Test debut on 13 February 2024 in the second match of the series,[24] taking a five-wicket haul in South Africa's second innings[25] and finishing the match with figures of nine wickets for 93 runs (9/93), recording the best match-bowling figures by a New Zealander on Test debut.[26]
O'Rourke is known for his ability to generate extra bounce from his tall frame.[5] [27] A fast bowler who can reach delivery speeds of 140km/h, his bowling style has been compared to that of Kyle Jamieson, another tall New Zealand fast bowler; O'Rourke has spent time working alongside Jamieson to develop his approach to bowling.[5] [28]