William Territt Greswell (15 October 1889 – 12 February 1971) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Somerset from 1908 to 1930.
But his career as a tea-planter with the family company in Ceylon meant that he appeared in only 115 first-class matches for the county in that period, and was a regular player in only five seasons, dotted over almost 20 years.
Born at Cuddalore in British India, Bill Greswell was a bowler of medium-paced right-arm in-swingers, and a right-handed batsman who batted mostly in the lower order.
He also appeared in amateur sides put together by H. D. G. Leveson Gower against both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and in an end-of-season Gentlemen v Players match at Scarborough.
[6] "Wiseacres, sprawled in their canvas chairs in front of the Stragglers Bar at Taunton, stroked leathery faces and said he would walk into the England team," says one account of that first full season.
Bowling at "deceptively languid medium pace", he also used a lot of swing: "He could exploit the element of surprise without appearing to try.
For Leveson Gower's team against Cambridge University at Eastbourne, he took six for 108 in the first innings and seven for 62 in the second: this was his first 10-wicket match (13/170), though this was a 12-a-side game (but still regarded as first-class).
[3] Over the next 20 years, he played a lot of cricket in Sri Lanka for teams that would now be regarded as first-class: "His record as a bowler was by local standards phenomenal.
[6] Aside from Somerset matches, he again played for H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI, and was picked for two Gentlemen v Players games, at The Oval and Lord's.
Greswell served as an officer in the Somerset Light Infantry in the First World War, reaching the rank of major.
He was seconded to the Royal Engineers (Gas Brigade) and was mentioned in despatches for "gallant and distinguished service in the field" just before the war ended in 1918.
The 1924–25 team's stopover in Colombo was no more comfortable than their predecessors in 1920 had been: a virtually full Test side was dismissed for a total of 73, and Greswell took eight wickets for 38 runs.
[6] There was one spectacular day of success for him at Weston-super-Mare: helped by five catches from George Hunt in the leg-side trap, Greswell took nine Hampshire wickets for 62 runs, the best innings analysis of his long career.
In later life, he was a member of Williton Rural District Council and he also served on Somerset County Cricket Club committees, becoming chairman.