Ossie Dawson

Oswald Charles Dawson MC (1 September 1919 – 22 December 2008) was a South African cricketer who played in 9 Test matches, all against England, in the 1947 and 1948–49 series.

Ossie Dawson

Personal information
Full name	Oswald Charles Dawson
Born	(1919-09-01)1 September 1919 Durban, Natal, South Africa
Died	22 December 2008(2008-12-22) (aged 89) Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
International information
National side	South Africa
Test debut	7 June 1947 v England
Last Test	5 March 1949 v England
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 9 75 Runs scored 293 3,804 Batting average 20.92 34.58 100s/50s 0/1 6/20 Top score 55 182 Balls bowled 1,294 9,563 Wickets 10 123 Bowling average 57.79 27.86 5 wickets in innings 0 3 10 wickets in match 0 0 Best bowling 2/57 5/42 Catches/stumpings 10/– 76/–
Source: CricketArchive, 15 November 2022

Dawson was an all-rounder, an aggressive middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, who was an important player for Natal from 1938–39 to 1949–50 and Border from 1951–52 to 1961–62. His highest first-class score was 182, when Border defeated Transvaal by an innings in the Currie Cup in 1952–53.^[1] His best bowling figures were 5 for 42, when the South Africans had an innings victory over Warwickshire in 1947.^[2]

Dawson also played baseball for Natal.^[3] His brother Denis played cricket for Kenya and East Africa.^[4]

Before he came to prominence on the cricket field, Dawson had a distinguished record in World War II. He served with the Royal Durban Light Infantry at the Battle of El Alamein and later won a Military Cross in Italy.^[5]

Dawson died at his home in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, in December 2008, aged 89. He and his wife Maureen had five children.^[5] Their son Kevin played first-class cricket in South Africa from 1979 to 1987.^[6][7]