{{short description|Australian cricketer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Use Australian English|date=December 2012}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Clarrie Fleay | country = Australia | fullname = Clarence William Edward James Fleay | birth_date = 27 December 1886 | birth_place = Gilgering, Western Australia | death_date = 6 August 1955 (aged 68) | death_place = Katanning, Western Australia | nickname = | heightft = | heightinch = | heightm = | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right-arm medium | role = Batsman | club1 = Western Australia | year1 = 1922/23 | columns = 1 | column1 = First-class | matches1 = 1 | runs1 = 4 | bat avg1 = 4.00 | 100s/50s1 = 0/0 | top score1 = 4 | deliveries1 = 72 | wickets1 = 2 | bowl avg1 = 18.00 | fivefor1 = 0 | tenfor1 = 0 | best bowling1 = 2/10 | catches/stumpings1 = 2/– | date = 30 December | year = 2012 | source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/16/16033/16033.html CricketArchive }} '''Clarence William Edward James Fleay''' (27 December 1886 – 6 August 1955) was an Australian cricketer who only played a single only first-class match, for Western Australia during the 1922–23 season.

Born on his parents' property at Gilgering, a locality between York and Beverley in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37586920 "FROM YORK TO DALE RIVER: THE COUNTRY DESCRIBED"] – ''The Western Mail''. Published 13 March 1909.</ref> Fleay boarded at The High School (now Hale School) in Perth, and played Darlot Cup cricket for the school in his final two years.<ref>[http://www.oldhale.com/archives/notable_old_haleians/sport.phtml Sport: Hale Cricketers] – Old Haleians' Association. Retrieved 30 December 2012.</ref> He was one of his school's most successful batsmen, with his highest score an innings of 137 not out during the 1905–06 season.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25633985 "MR. A. G. RUSSELL'S TEAM v. HIGH SCHOOL: FINE BATTING BY FLEAY"] – ''The West Australian''. Published 6 March 1906.</ref> After the conclusion of his schooling, Fleay returned to the country, where he regularly played in district teams.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/16/16033/Miscellaneous_Matches.html Miscellaneous matches played by Clarence Fleay (1)] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 December 2012.</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37394264? "YORK CRICKET CLUB"] – ''Western Mail''. Published 18 May 1907.</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25080845 "CRICKET: COUNTRY MATCHES"] – ''The West Australian''. Published 10 February 1904.</ref> At the annual Country Week tournament held in Perth, he usually represented Katanning, and sometimes captained the side.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70177093 "CRICKET WEEK IN PERTH: SUCCESS OF KATANNING TEAM"] – ''Albany Advertiser''. Published 8 March 1922.</ref>

Fleay's single match at first-class level came in November 1922, against a touring Marylebone Cricket Club side led by Archie MacLaren (although John Hartley substituted as captain in the match against Western Australia).<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/16/16033/First-Class_Matches.html First-class matches played by Clarence Fleay (1)] – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 December 2012.</ref> His selection for the team was based mainly on his form in the preceding year's Country Week matches, with Joe Lanigan the only other player selected from country sides.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23878468 "CRICKET: WESTERN AUSTRALIA V. MACLAREN'S TEAM"] – ''The West Australian''. Published 1 November 1922.</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66685179 "VISIT OF MACLAREN'S TEAM: LOCAL PLAYERS IN STATE ELEVEN"] – ''Geraldton Guardian''. Published 2 November 1922.</ref> In the match, held at the WACA Ground, Fleay, an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, took two wickets in the MCC's first innings to finish with figures of 2/10. He scored only four runs whilst batting, and was not selected at first-class level again.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/10/10650.html Western Australia v Marylebone Cricket Club], Marylebone Cricket Club in Australia and New Zealand 1922/23 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 December 2012.</ref> Fleay spent the remainder of his life in the country, and died in Katanning in August 1955, aged 68.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/5303.html Clarence Fleay player profile] – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 December 2012.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleay, Clarrie}} Category:1886 births Category:1955 deaths Category:Australian cricketers Category:Cricketers from Western Australia Category:People educated at Hale School Category:People from Beverley, Western Australia Category:Western Australia cricketers Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen