Richard Bright Canney (July 1852 – 17 June 1887) was an English-born

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er and doctor who practised in New Zealand and Australia. Born in

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Canney arrived in New Zealand in January 1878. While working as a general practitioner in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population ...

, Canney was selected to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

the

Nelson cricket team Nelson cricket team is a cricket team representing the Nelson Region of New Zealand. It played first-class cricket from 1874 to 1891, and currently competes in the Hawke Cup. Playing history Cricket was first reported as being played in Nelson in ...

in its annual first-class match against

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

in April 1878. He won the

toss Toss, Tossed or Tossing may refer to: Places in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland * Töss, a district of the city of Winterthur * Töss (river) * Töss Valley Film * ''Toss'' (2007 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''Toss'' (2009 film), an In ...

and, batting in the middle order, scored 7 and 15 – above-average scores in a match in which 40 wickets fell for 297 runs – and Nelson won by 85 runs. It was his only first-class cricket match. He moved to Australia in the early 1880s and practised in

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...

and then in

Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricult ...

, where he was highly regarded for his work among the poorer citizens. He married Ellen Sarah Rigney in Walcha in 1885. In March 1887, after he had unsuccessfully operated on a 15-year-old girl at

Breeza Breeza is a locality in New South Wales, Australia. It is about south of Gunnedah, in the Liverpool Plains agricultural region. The area around Breeza in particular is called the "Breeza Plains". The name "Breeza" may be derived from an Abori ...

and she died, he was accused of malpractice. However, the jury not only cleared Canney of malpractice, but in fact commended him for his actions, "when he knew there was no likelihood of ever being recompensed for his trouble". On Thursday 16 June 1887 Canney was thrown from his horse in Conadilly Street, Gunnedah, and suffered a fractured skull. He died of his injuries early the next morning.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canney, Richard 1852 births 1887 deaths New Zealand cricketers Nelson cricketers People from Thanet (district) English emigrants to New Zealand English emigrants to Australia Australian general practitioners Deaths by horse-riding accident in Australia