Roger Kimpton

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Roger Charles MacDonald Kimpton (21 September 1916 – 30 November 1999) was an Australian first-class cricketer who played mainly in the late 1930s. A right-handed batsman who could also bowl leg spin and keep wicket, he appeared most often for Oxford University and Worcestershire, with a handful of games for the Gentlemen and England XI in the 1930s.

Kimpton’s first-class debut came at age 18 for Oxford against Worcestershire in 1935, a match Oxford won easily. In his second game he made his best innings of 160 against Gloucestershire. The 1936 season was prolific: he made two centuries against Gloucestershire and Lancashire, and his 4–42 was a career-best bowling figure. He played in the Gentlemen v Players matches and had a notable 115 for the Gentlemen at Folkestone.

1937 was his peak year. He scored 1,568 runs in all first-class cricket at an average of 34.84, with a Worcestershire century against Derbyshire. He also played a Lord's appearance for the Gentlemen and an England XI match against New Zealand.

After 1938 his cricket was less successful. He did not play in 1939 and joined the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II, where he flew as a fighter pilot and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for leadership on 140 Pacific sorties.

Postwar, he played only a few more first-class games. He had a one-off Worcestershire appearance in 1949, scoring 93 not out against Nottinghamshire, and in 1955–56 he joined E. W. Swanton’s tour to the West Indies for two final matches at the age of 39. Outside sport, he was a talented tennis player and a golfer. He died in Melbourne in 1999, aged 83. His brother Stephen also played for Oxford University in 1935.