Charlie Finlason

Charles Edward "Charlie" Finlason (19 February 1860 – 31 July 1917) played a single match of Test cricket for the South African national side, against England in March 1889.

Finlason was born in Camberwell, London, and died in Surbiton, London. He played first-class cricket in South Africa for Griqualand West (also known as Kimberley at the time) and Transvaal between 1888 and 1891. In 1889, he played a single Test match for South Africa against England, scoring six runs across two innings and failing to take a wicket.[1][2]

In April 1891, Finlason recorded his single first-class century, for Griqualand West against the Transvaal in the second season of the Currie Cup. The match, at the Wanderers ground in Johannesburg, was designated "timeless", and finished with a Griqualand West victory after six days of play spread over a week. Finlason scored 154 not out in Griqualand West's second innings. He featured in a 95-run tenth-wicket partnership with Alfred Cooper, who finished with 41 runs.[3] As of December 2014, this remains a record for the last wicket for Griqualand West.[4]

Later, Finlason described an expedition as newspaperman to Salisbury, Rhodesia (as that city and country were then called) by ox-drawn cart, with near-disastrous but very entertaining results, in his 1893 book A Nobody in Mashonaland.