Richard Wilson Wardill (3 November 1840 – 17 August 1873) was an Australian cricketer who played in ten first-class cricket matches, eight of which were for Victoria.

Family

The son of the stockbroker Joseph Wilson Wardill (1796-1866),^[1] and Mary Wardill (1815-1878), née Briddon,^[2] Richard Wilson Wardill was born at Everton, Liverpool, England on 3 November 1840. He was the brother of Benjamin Johnston Wardill (1842-1917).

He married Eliza Helena Lovett Cameron (1848-1943),^[3] later Mrs. Edward Thomas Tatham,^[4] on 18 May 1871. Their son, Richard Cameron Wardill (1872-1929) was born in Melbourne on 5 July 1872.^[5]

Cricket

He was the first cricketer to score a century in Australian first-class cricket, when he made 110 and 45 not out in Victoria's victory over New South Wales in 1867-68.^[6][7] Wardill was also an influential player and administrator in the early years of Australian rules football. On Boxing Day 1866 he captained the Melbourne Cricket Club against the Western District Aboriginal cricket team, led by Tom Wills.

Cricket writer Gideon Haigh published an article on Wardill in 1992 titled "The Drowned Bradman".

Football

In between 1859 and 1861 he played a number of games of Australian Rules Football with (pre-VFL) Melbourne, Richmond, and St Kilda.^[8]

Death

Wardill committed suicide by drowning himself in the Yarra River on 17 August 1873.

"In 1872-73 Wardill had serious personal problems probably because of speculation in mining shares; he embezzled £7000 from his employers, the Victoria Sugar Co. On 17 August 1873, aged 38, he committed suicide by jumping into the Yarra River…" — Australian Dictionary of Biography.^{[9][10][11][12]}