Peter Carlstein

Peter Rudolph Carlstein (born 28 October 1938 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal) is a former South African cricketer who played as a middle-order batsman in eight Tests from 1958 to 1964.

Peter Carlstein

Peter Carlstein in 1963
Personal information
Full name	Peter Rudolph Carlstein
Born	(1938-10-28) 28 October 1938 Klerksdorp, South Africa
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Leg spin
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	South Africa
Test debut	28 February 1958 v Australia
Last Test	24 January 1964 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1954–1958	Orange Free State
1958–1972	Transvaal
1964–1967	Natal
1967–1980	Rhodesia
Career statistics
Competition Test FC LA Matches 8 148 14 Runs scored 190 7,554 369 Batting average 14.61 31.60 36.90 100s/50s 0 9/46 1/0 Top score 42 229 167* Balls bowled – 788 – Wickets – 9 – Bowling average – 53.33 – 5 wickets in innings – 0 – 10 wickets in match – 0 – Best bowling – 3/37 – Catches/stumpings 3/– 82/– 0/–
Source: Cricket Archive, 23 December 2010

Carlstein made his first-class debut at the age of 16 for Orange Free State against Natal at Bloemfontein in 1954-55; in the second innings he scored 54 and added 161 for the seventh wicket with his captain, Stephen Hanson.[1] Three years later, still in his teens, he made his Test debut in the Fifth Test against Australia in 1957-58, scoring 32 in the first innings batting at number eight.[2]

He toured England in 1960, scoring 980 runs in 23 first-class matches at an average of 29.69, with a top score of 151 against Hampshire.[3] He played all five Tests, but scored only 119 runs, making his top Test score of 42 in the Fifth Test at The Oval.[4]

He played in the First and Fourth Tests in Australia in 1963-64, making 37 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide, which South Africa won.[5] While the team was in New Zealand in late February 1964, he received the news that his wife and three children had died in a motor accident, and returned to South Africa immediately.[6]

Carlstein continued to play first-class cricket until 1979-80, when he was 41, 25 seasons after his first match. His highest score was 229 for Transvaal against the International Cavaliers in 1962-63, which was also his most successful season, with 852 runs at 71.00 including two other centuries. He was Rhodesian Player of the Year 1967-68.

After his first-class career ended in the early 1980s he moved to Perth in Western Australia, where he played and then coached at the Midland-Guildford club.

According to Wally Grout, Carlstein was "a descendant of a European royal family".[7] This misunderstanding was the result of a joke played on Carlstein by his teammates. They had a conversation in the dressing room as to where their surnames came from. Carlstein made the suggestion that his surname came from King Carl Gustav of Sweden who had married a Princess of Stein, giving him the name of Carlstein. The next day when the team gathered to receive telegrams wishing them well, Eddie Barlow passed one to Carlstein who looked at it and said, "Who the hell is Carl Gustav?" "Your relation," they replied. The following day when he went out to bat, Grout, who had heard of this incident, greeted Carlstein with, "Good morning, your Royal Highness".