| Alf Cate | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Fullname: | William Alfred Cate |
| Birth Date: | 22 November 1878 |
| Birth Place: | Upper Hutt, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Petone, New Zealand |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Role: | Wicket-keeper |
| Club1: | Wellington |
| Year1: | 1908–09 to 1922–23 |
| Columns: | 1 |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 5 |
| Runs1: | 43 |
| Bat Avg1: | 6.14 |
| 100S/50S1: | 0/0 |
| Top Score1: | 11 |
| Deliveries1: | – |
| Wickets1: | – |
| Bowl Avg1: | – |
| Fivefor1: | – |
| Tenfor1: | – |
| Best Bowling1: | – |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 4/2 |
| Date: | 20 April 2017 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/newzealand/content/player/36674.html Cricinfo |
William Alfred Cate (22 November 1878 – 22 October 1939) was a cricketer who played four matches of first-class cricket for Wellington between 1908 and 1922, and represented New Zealand in 1922–23.
Alf Cate worked as a wool classer in Wellington, and taught wool classing at the Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College for 25 years. He and his wife had a daughter.[1]
A wicket-keeper, Cate made his first-class debut in 1908, but then had to wait until 1920 before he played again, partly because Wellington had New Zealand representative wicket-keepers in Jeremiah Mahoney and James Condliffe in this period, but also because he was unable to make himself available.[1] Despite his age (44) and lack of first-class experience, Cate replaced Condliffe as New Zealand's wicket-keeper in the third of the three matches New Zealand played against MCC in 1922–23.[2] It was his last first-class match.
The former New Zealand captain Tom Cobcroft, writing in the New Zealand Truth, regarded Cate still as New Zealand's best wicket-keeper in 1925, when Cate was 47, hampered by ill-health, and playing only club cricket for Petone in Wellington.[3]