Overview
William Salwey Kendall (born 18 December 1973) is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Oxford University and Hampshire in a playing career which spanned from 1994 to 2004 as a batsman.
Early life and varsity cricket
Kendall was born in Wimbledon in December 1973. He was educated at Bradfield College, before matriculating to Keble College, Oxford. There, he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University against Durham at Oxford in 1994. He played nine first-class matches during his debut season, recording his maiden century with an unbeaten 113 against Surrey at The Oval. He gained his blue during the 1995 season, when he played in The University Match against Cambridge University at Lord's. Prior to the match, he had played for the Combined Universities against the touring West Indians. During the 1996 season, his last at Oxford, he made ten appearances for Oxford and scored an unbeaten 145 runs in The University Match against Cambridge.
Career with Hampshire
Having joined the staff at Hampshire alongside Matthew Keech and Giles White in 1994, Kendall made his debut for Hampshire against Somerset in the 1996 County Championship following his graduation from Oxford. In the final match of the season, he made his first century for Hampshire with an unbeaten 103 runs against Nottinghamshire; Having found himself out of the Hampshire side for large parts of the 1998 season, he established himself in the team during the 1999 season. His good form continued into the following match against Northamptonshire, when he was praised for good sportsmanship after walking on 98 runs when an appeal for caught behind from David Sales was given not out by umpire Graham Burgess.
His first-class form remained strong in 2000, when he scored 1,156 runs from eighteen matches at an average of 41.28, a role he would hold for two seasons until it was scrapped by Hampshire coach Paul Terry during the 2002 season. With Hampshire's move to their new Rose Bowl ground in 2001, Kendall struggled on the pitches there which made batting difficult. Kendall was released by Hampshire towards the end of the 2004 season, having lost his place in the side to James Adams and Greg Lamb. In one-day cricket, he made 127 appearances for Hampshire, scoring 2,059 runs at an average of 21.90.
Personal life
Kendall is married to Emily. At the age of 14, his daughter was included in the Hampshire women's cricket team ahead of the 2019 season. Away from the professional game, Kendall played club cricket for Esher in the Surrey Championship.