Ray Watson-Smith

Raymond Watson-Smith (born 20 February 1940) is a former South African cricketer. Playing for Border in 1969–70, he scored a not-out century in each of his first two first-class matches, and reached 310 runs before being dismissed.

Ray Watson-Smith

Personal information
Full name	Raymond Watson-Smith
Born	(1940-02-20) 20 February 1940 (age 85) Mowbray, Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium-pace
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1969–70	Border
Career statistics
Competition FC List A Matches 5 1 Runs scored 444 47 Batting average 88.80 47.00 100s/50s 2/1 0/0 Top score 183* 47 Balls bowled 12 0 Wickets 0 – Bowling average – – 5 wickets in innings – – 10 wickets in match – – Best bowling – – Catches/stumpings 4/– 3/–
Source: CricketArchive, 9 July 2016

Cricket career

Ray Watson-Smith made his first-class debut for Border against Orange Free State in November 1969 in the B Section of the Currie Cup. In a drawn match in Bloemfontein, in which 1258 runs were scored in three days for the loss of only 17 wickets, Watson-Smith, batting at number seven, scored 183 not out, the highest of five centuries in the match.^[1] In the next match, against Griqualand West in East London two weeks later, he batted at number six and made 125 not out in 145 minutes. Border won by an innings.^[2] He was finally dismissed for the first time in the next match against Natal B, when he made 2 and 19, and Border lost by an innings.^[3] In the fourth and last match of the Currie Cup season he made 25 and 53 not out in a draw with North Eastern Transvaal.^[4]

He finished the Currie Cup season at the top of the competition's batting averages, with 407 runs at an average of 135.66.^[5] He then played for Border against the Australians, scoring 28 and 9.^[6] At the end of the season he played one match in South Africa's first List A cricket tournament, top-scoring with 47 in a losing Border team.^[7]

His captain at Border, Gordon Minkley, said Watson-Smith was a talented player but "He hit a lot of balls in the air and I think the word quickly got around among the other teams." Watson-Smith moved away from Border after the 1969–70 season and played no further first-class cricket.^[8]

Watson-Smith's 310 career runs before being dismissed remained a world record until 2015, when the Victorian batsman Travis Dean made 347 runs before being dismissed. Dean was dismissed in his second first-class match.^[9]