West Coast cricket team explained

West Coast cricket team was a cricket team nominally representing the West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, but actually from Whanganui.[1]

West Coast appeared twice in recorded cricket. The first match was a first-class match against Wellington in 1879 at the Basin Reserve.[2] [3] Captained by George Anson, the team won its only appearance in first-class cricket by 6 wickets. In the low-scoring match, William Barton scored 75 not out in West Coast's first innings; the next-highest score in the match was 26.[4] The team's second appearance came in a one-day match against Wellington in 1882.[5] The New Zealand captain and cricket historian Dan Reese later wrote: "For a couple of years ... Wanganui cricket reached first-class standard, chiefly on account of Barton, then the best batsman in New Zealand, being resident there. But neither before nor since have they been first-class."[6]

A West Coast Cricket Association was formed in 1888, based in Wanganui and including Hāwera and Feilding.[7] It lapsed in the 1890s, and never fielded a representative team. It should not be confused with the South Island's West Coast Cricket Association, formed around the same time, based in Greymouth, which is still in existence.[8] [9]

List of first-class cricketers

The 1879 first-class match was the only first-class fixture that six of the 11 cricketers who played for West Coast appeared in. Four of the West Coast players had previously played in a match now considered first-class, with opening batsman John Fulton the only one to have played in more than three first-class matches before the game. Only Christopher Cross, who played in a total of 22 first-class matches, went on to make more than 10 first-class appearances.[2]

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Wellington v. Wanganui: Second Day. New Zealand Times. 25 December 1879. XXXIV. 5847. 2. 23 August 2017.
  2. Carman AH (1981) A guide to first-class matches played in New Zealand, 1863 to 1980, p. 19. Nottingham: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. (Available online at The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 9 September 2024.)
  3. Web site: First-Class Matches played by West Coast. CricketArchive. 7 November 2011.
  4. Web site: Wellington v West Coast, 1879. CricketArchive. 7 November 2011.
  5. Web site: Other Matches played by West Coast. CricketArchive. 7 November 2011.
  6. Reese . Dan . Cricket in New Zealand . Evening Star . 7 October 1913 . 8 .
  7. West Coast Cricket Association. Wanganui Chronicle. 20 September 1888. XXXI. 11336. 2. 3 December 2017.
  8. Web site: West Coast (South Island). CricketArchive. 3 December 2017.
  9. Web site: West Coast Cricket Association . sporty.co.nz . 17 March 2020.