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.
Billy Beldham
In his reminiscences to James Pycroft in 1836, Beldham said that, when he was eighteen years old (i.e., in the 1784 season), he had played for Farnham against Hambledon and scored 43 against an attack including David Harris. He was watched by George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea who was cricket's most influential patron at the time. Next spring, Winchilsea visited Beldham at the farm where he worked and arranged with his employer, Mr Hilton, for him to have time off for playing cricket. Beldham was invited to play for Hampshire in June 1785 against All-England at White Conduit Fields and that began his career in top-class cricket.