Bill Lawry
Lawry was born in the Melbourne suburb of Thornbury. He was given the names William Morris after the early Prime Minister of Australia, William Morris Hughes. His father Alfred played amateur cricket until the age of 51. Bill never saw his father play, who was aged 47 when Bill was born. Aged nine, he played competitive cricket for the first time with the Thornbury Presbyterian Church team. He spent three years there, as well as playing for Preston Technical School. When he was twelve, he entered Melbourne's district competition playing for Northcote's fourth team, working his way up to the First XI by the age of sixteen. At the time, he was apprenticed as a plumber and attending Preston Technical College. Lawry was selected for Victoria's Second XI at the age of seventeen. He made a duck against the South Australians and did not see any further action for the Seconds for the rest of the summer of 1954–55. The following season, Lawry was recalled to the Seconds and scored 183 against South Australia.
Bill Andrews (cricketer)
William Harry Russell Andrews was born in Swindon the son of William and Betty Andrews. Betty's maiden name was Russell hence his third name. He had a younger brother Jack Andrews who played 7 matches as a wicket-keeper for Hampshire between 1937 and 1947, and also a sister known as Betty who was also a cricketer, being captain of a cricket team in Southern Rhodesia. In Swindon his father was a publican but the family moved to Weston-super-Mare in 1921 where Andrews saw the visiting Australians, sold scorecards and worked the scoreboard. Andrews left school at the age of fourteen and worked as an office boy in a solicitor's office where his fine handwriting was perhaps his greatest asset. There was tragedy for the family in 1925 when his mother died in childbirth. He played his cricket for the Weston club and learned more about cricket when Arthur Wellard lodged with the Andrews family, having moved to the county in 1927.