Alister MacDonald Howden (20 August 1877 – 25 November 1938) was a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

between 1906 and 1914.

Life and career

Howden was born in Scotland and moved to New Zealand with his family as a boy. After attending

Otago Boys' High School Otago Boys' High School (OBHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 18 ...

he worked for the

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Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

before taking other positions in financial institutions in New Zealand. He went into business as a grain and produce merchant in

in the 1900s. In 1908-09 Howden took 7 for 87 and 5 for 61 with his leg-spin to help Auckland retain the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

against

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

, dismissing his brother

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

in each innings. In January 1910, after Howden had taken six wickets against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and eight against

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

to help Auckland retain the Shield, an Auckland cricket writer said: "it is the opinion of many experts that he is without exception the best bowler in New Zealand at present". He was selected in the first of the two matches

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

played against

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later that season, but had no success. He was also an accomplished

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er who won several local championships. Howden died in November 1938, aged 61, survived by his wife and four sons. He left an estate worth 11,000 pounds. A short biography (containing family trees) titled ''Alister MacDonald Howden: A True Sportsman 1875-1938'' was published in 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howden, Alister 1877 births 1938 deaths Auckland cricketers Sportspeople from Rothesay, Bute Cricketers from Argyll and Bute New Zealand cricketers People educated at Otago Boys' High School Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Scottish emigrants to New Zealand