Sir Arthur Sims (27 July 1877 – 27 April 1969) was a New Zealand

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 ...

er, businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

Sims was born in 1877 in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England, the second son of Samuel and Louisa Sims, who were farmers. In 1880 they migrated to New Zealand, where Samuel managed a farm near Kaitangata in

South Otago South Otago lies in the south east of the South Island of New Zealand. As the name suggests, it forms the southernmost part of the geographical region of Otago. The exact definition of the area designated as South Otago is imprecise, as the area ...

that belonged to James Rutherford, a member of the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...

. In 1884, after Rutherford died, the family moved to

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 ...

, where Samuel managed the farm near Ashburton owned by another politician,

John Grigg John Edward Poynder Grigg (15 April 1924 – 31 December 2001) was a British writer, historian and politician. He was the 2nd Baron Altrincham from 1955 until he disclaimed that title under the Peerage Act on the day it received Royal Assen ...

, one of the founders of the New Zealand frozen meat industry. Arthur attended his local school until he won a scholarship to

Christchurch Boys' High School Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a site between the suburbs of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton and Fendalton, to the west of ce ...

. He moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

in 1890, boarding with family friends during the school term and returning home during the holidays. He played for the school First XI for several years, scoring over 1000 runs and taking over 100 wickets in his last two years and captaining the team in his final year, 1895. After he left school, John Grigg helped him find a clerical position with the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company in Christchurch. While working at the meat works Sims studied in the evenings at Canterbury College. He gained his BA and continued on to an MA. After that he studied accountancy and became a qualified accountant.

Cricket career

Sims played cricket for

, New Zealand and, in 1914, for Australia. In 1913–14 he captained an Australian XI in New Zealand, putting on 433 runs for the 8th wicket in 181 minutes with

Victor Trumper Victor Thomas Trumper (2 November 1877 – 28 June 1915) was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found ...

in the match against Canterbury, which remains the world record for that wicket in first-class cricket. After his playing days, Sims had a long career as a cricket administrator. He was president of the

New Zealand Cricket Council New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

in the late 1930s, and after the Second World War he spent two decades as New Zealand's representative on the

Imperial Cricket Conference The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body was renamed as the Intern ...

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

. In the 1930s he urged the English authorities to add a short tour of New Zealand to their regular tours of Australia; they acceded, and it became standard practice. Sims was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1950

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

" r services to medicine and education in the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

." A biography, ''84 Not Out: The Story of Sir Arthur Sims, Kt.'' by Alan Mitchell, was published in 1962.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, Arthur 1877 births 1969 deaths New Zealand cricketers New Zealand cricket administrators Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Australian cricketers Canterbury cricketers Cricketers from Lincolnshire 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople People from West Lindsey District Cricket people awarded knighthoods People from East Hoathly New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand philanthropists People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School