Arnold Williams (cricketer)

Arnold Butler Williams (6 January 1870 – 20 August 1929) was a Welsh-born cricketer who played first-class cricket for Otago and Wellington from 1887 to 1909, and captained New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.

Arnold Williams's father, William Butler Williams, brought his family to New Zealand in 1880 when he took up an appointment as a master at Otago Boys' High School. He taught there and at the University of Otago until his death in 1895. Arnold was one of three sons and four daughters.

Arnold Williams, "entertaining as a batsman of the punishing type and brilliant as a wicket-keeper" made his first-class debut for Otago against Canterbury in 1886-87 at the age of 17. Playing as a middle-order batsman, he scored 3 and 9. Thereafter he mostly played as a wicketkeeper-batsman. He played regularly for Otago between 1889 and 1894, but in his first nine first-class matches his highest score was 19.

In 1895 he moved to Wellington, where for some years he was one of the highest scorers in Wellington club cricket. On the basis of his club form he was selected in the New Zealand team of 15 to play the Australians in November 1896. After scoring 21 in the first innings of 129, he scored 73 out of 247 in the second innings. Writing 50 years later Dan Reese said this innings, "considering the calibre of the bowling, still ranks as one of the finest innings ever played for this country". A few weeks later, in his first first-class match for Wellington, he scored 163 against Canterbury, an innings the Evening Post reporter described as "magnificent ... stamps him as being at the present time the best batsman in the colony". It set a record for the highest first-class score for Wellington.

Williams was selected to tour Australia with the New Zealanders in 1898-99 but had to withdraw when he was unable to obtain leave. Dan Reese believed Williams was "the best batsman in New Zealand at this time".