Tom Bourdillon was born at Shangani in 1938 and educated at REPS (Rhodes Estate Preparatory School), Plumtree School and Rhodes University. At school he captained the first eleven.

He came from a strong cricketing family: his father Thomas Edmund captained Rhodesia and also played a match for Sussex in 1919, while an uncle, Victor, played three times for Sussex, also in 1919.

During the sixties and early seventies he taught at Mutare Boys High and Mount Pleasant schools. He was a selector of the national schools XI for five years and managed the side in 1968.

He moved into teacher education and became a highly esteemed lecturer in Education at the University of Zimbabwe.

He continued his involvement with cricket and for eight years he served as a selector of the national Under-16 team. He was widely respected in local cricket circles for his knowledge of the game.

Tom, who was tragically killed in a motor accident, leaves a widow and three sons, two of whom (Paul and Jonathan) captained Zimbabwe Schools in 1984 and 1990-1991 respectively, and played domestic first-class cricket in Zimbabwe.

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