On the death of Bevan Congdon (1938-2018)
I saw Congdon play for New Zealand against England in 1966, and a number of times when he played for Central Districts against Canterbury. I remember at university in Dunedin in 1973 listening to the commentary from England at night when Congdon scored 176 at Trent Bridge and New Zealand got close to the 479 needed to win, losing in the end by 38 runs. I saw him when he captained New Zealand to our first win over Australia, in 1974, at Lancaster Park, when Turner scored a century in each innings.
He seemed like a hard man with a good sense of humour. I sometimes saw him bowl and appreciated cricket writer Dick Brittenden's comment that Congdon's lolling bowling action made him look like a cowboy running to catch a bus. I learned recently that Congdon was a good trumpet player.
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Gary Bartlett - meteor over Marlborough
I recently requested that the public library in Hamilton buy a copy of Meteor over Marlborough - the Gary Bartlett Story (2014) by John Alexander. An excellent book. Gary Bartlett was surely New Zealand's fastest ever bowler. I followed the 1961 NZ tour of South Africa closely as a boy, with Bartlett a key part of the success of that team. John Reid's book Sword of Willow has a lively account of Bartlett's contribution to that tour. I watched Bartlett live for the first time at Lancaster Park in 1968, when New Zealand played
India. In this test, in which Graham Dowling, in his first test as captain, scored 239, Bartlett took 6 for 38. He was blisteringly fast. He had back troubles which ended his career early - not surprising when you see he leaned so far back in his bowling action that the ball sometimes grazed the ground behind him. I played against him once, for Picton against Wairau Valley, in 1980. By that stage Bartlett was playing only as a batsman, a very good one.
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Don Cupitt on P.B.H. May
'..... and there I saw PBH May make 180-odd runs against Eton on the school cricket field. And that was the physically most beautiful display of sport I've ever seen by anybody.' Cupitt speaks of Peter May briefly at 14:55. The rest of the video interview is good watching, too!
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Adam Gilchrist - 'Gillie and I'
I went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground with my brother, Tony, in 2014. Ahead of me in the line for a ticket into the museum was Adam Gilchrist, former wicket keeper-batsman. He was friendly towards this Kiwi stranger who wanted a photo with him.
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Graham Dowling
When I was nine, I got a cricket card from the local BP station for the 1961 New Zealand tour of South Africa. I can still remember the full names of all the New Zealand players on that tour. Especially, Graham Thorne Dowling, b. 4 March 1937. I often watched him play at Lancaster Park for Canterbury and for New Zealand. The most memorable innings I saw were 206 against Wellington in 1962, and 239 against India, in his first test as New Zealand captain, in 1968.
Graham Dowling's father, Henry Dowling, was my Bible Class teacher at St Ninian's, Christchurch, for a few Sundays when I was in the fifth form. His uncle, Basil Dowling (1910-2000), was a well-known poet.
The cricketing picture is of Graham Dowling playing in England, with Colin Cowdrey at first slip and Jim Parks the wicket keeper. The other photo shows Basil Dowling with poets/writers James K. Baxter (1926-1972) and Charles Brasch (1909-1973).
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Silence of the Heart, David Frith (2001)
Of Harold Gimblett, Alfred Trott, David Bairstow, Peter Roebuck and numerous other cricketers who took their own lives. Poignant. Beautifully written.
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Colin Cowdrey
Sir Michael Colin Cowdrey (1932-2000)
"He fitted into the changing world with reluctance and would go out of his way to court friends among whom the customs of England's past lives on. But he was not a snob and would not have known what it took to be one.'' (The Independent)
A favourite player to watch. He had an effortless cover drive. My first bat was a 'Colin Cowdrey' special. I remember the smell of linseed oil as I oiled it in the workshop at 157 Clyde Rd, Christchurch.
Colin Cowdrey came to Christchurch Boys' High School in March, 1966, when the English team captained by M.J.K. Smith was touring New Zealand. I was in the third form and made sure I got a seat near the front of the assembly hall when Cowdrey was the guest speaker. He was a mild-mannered man who spoke with self-deprecating humour about the ups and downs of cricket.
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01 December 2019
In Hamilton, Joe Root is on 114 today. Gill and I went to watch this afternoon. New Zealand 375. England 269/5. Two days to go.
(In Adelaide, Australia, David Warner has just scored 335* vs. Pakistan. South African-born Marnus Labuschagne 162.)
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(12 July 1943 – 6 February 2021)
'Zin' Harris was my dentist for a time in Christchurch. On one visit to get teeth out, I reminded him, as if he didn't know, that he had made a century against South Africa in the third test in 1961/62 at Cape Town. He asked me to count to ten as he administered the gas ... 'One, two .. ' before taking some of my teeth out. I felt elated afterwards that 'Zin' Harris was my dentist, but wretched from the effects of the anaesthetic.
Born in Christchurch 1927. ‘Zin’ Harris attended Waitaki Boys’ from 1942 to 1947 as a boarding student. In 1947 he was the Head Boy of the school.
‘Zin’ first played 1st XI Cricket in 1943 and thus represented the 1st XI for 5 years. That is certainly a unique feat. Looking closely through the records it appears his highest score was 99 run out in the Timaru Boys’ interschool of 1944. His best bowling figures were 5/7 including a hat-trick in the club match v Oamaru in 1945. In 1946 he was chosen to play representative cricket for North Otago and top scored with 45 against an Otago selection. In 1945 he captained the school 1st XI.
His sporting success at school was not only limited to cricket. From the Waitakians of 1942 – 1947 it can be seen that he won boxing and handicapped swimming events. He must have had some rivalry with I.T. Burrows (son of the Rector Brigadier Burrows and Head Boy in 1949), losing twice on points in 1946 and 1947 in the middleweight division.
In 1947, not only was ‘Zin’ captain of the 1st XI in his fifth year in the team, he won the Senior High Jump, was 1st in the 75yd sprint, 2nd in the 100yd sprint (to John Hotop), a member of the school tennis and fives teams and in the 1st XV he played at second five where he proved a “strong link” outside future All Black first five, John Hotop. It should be noted that the SKC interschool was won 24-0. ‘Zin’s younger brother John was the star of this match, scoring a hat-trick of tries. The Harris brothers must have been some ‘tour de force’ during their time at Waitaki – their names are almost inseparable with their achievements during this period.
After leaving school ‘Zin’ went to Otago dental school and eventually moved back to Christchurch to continue the family dental practice in Cashel St. In 1949 he made his first class cricket debut for Canterbury. Over the next 16 years he went on to play 69 times for Canterbury, scoring over 3000 runs at an average of 28.16, including 5 centuries.
The pinnacle of his cricket career was his selection for the national side in 1955, becoming Black Cap #72.
The first of his nine tests came against Pakistan in Karachi. He passed 50 twice, both against South Africa in 1961/2, when he scored 74 in the first test in Durban and 101 in the third test in Cape Town. This was NZ’s first test victory overseas. The South African captain Jackie McGlew said of Harris’ contribution to that series “We had the utmost respect for Harris who never took a backward step but played the game with a smile on his face. His contribution to the Kiwi team was huge”. His final test was against Pakistan in Auckland in 1965. An apt summary of his test cricket career was given in the cricket publication “Men in White” where it stated “the mercurial Harris as well as being a tenacious gutsy batsman, was also a magnificent cover fieldsman who took many brilliant catches for both New Zealand and Canterbury during the course of his 69 first class matches”.
‘Zin’ was also a very talented golfer – playing off a scratch handicap and good enough to play in the 1963 NZ Open as well as an A grade squash player.
In 1991 he sadly passed away aged 64, the year he was due to retire from his dental practice.
Of his three sons, Ben and Tim both attended Waitaki Boys’ High School during the 1970’s and 80’s, and Chris who attended St Andrews College in Christchurch followed his father’s footsteps into international cricket playing 250 one day games and 23 Tests for the Black Caps. Ben also played first class cricket for Canterbury and Otago.Source: https://www.waitakibhs.school.nz/about/news/article/moGWzKk
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I was sad to read of the death of Brian Hastings this year, as I'd seen many times playing for Canterbury and New Zealand at Lancaster Park (as it was then).
https://www.nzc.nz/news-items/obituary-brian-hastings/
Brian Frederick Hastings 23 March 1940 – 7 October 2024