Colin Alexander Snedden (7 January 1918 – 24 April 2011) was a New Zealand

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

er. His father, Nessie Snedden, and brother, Warwick Snedden, both played first-class cricket; Warwick's son,

Martin Snedden Martin Colin Snedden (born 23 November 1958) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played 25 cricket tests, and 93 One Day Internationals, between 1980 and 1990. He was a member of New Zealand's seam bowling attack, alongside Richard Hadlee ...

, played in 25 Tests and 93

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...

s for New Zealand.

Cricket career

Born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, Snedden attended

Sacred Heart College, Auckland , motto_translation = Take Courage And Act Manfully , type = State-integrated Day & boarding Secondary school , religion = Roman Catholic Marist , gender = Boys-only , patron ...

Joseph Romanos Joseph Romanos (born 1957) is a New Zealand journalist, author and broadcaster focusing mainly on sport. Life and career Romanos attended St Patrick's College in Wellington. His father Richie Romanos played cricket for Wellington in the 1951– ...

, ''Great New Zealand Cricket Families'', Random House, Auckland, 1992, pp. 139–44. 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 one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for the

Auckland cricket team The Auckland cricket team represent the Auckland region and are one of six New Zealand domestic first class cricket teams. Governed by the Auckland Cricket Association they are the most successful side having won 28 Plunket Shield titles, ten ...

. A tall and strongly built man, he weighed about 143 kilograms during his playing days. Bowling quick off-breaks,''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'' 2012, p. 221. he played one match before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, then resumed his career eight seasons later in 1946–47. He took five wickets against

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

then eight wickets against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, including 6 for 59 off 34 overs in the second innings. He was selected for the single

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, at

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in March 1947. Five other New Zealanders made their debut in the same match. New Zealand declared their first innings at 345 for 9; Snedden was the number 11 batsman so he did not get a chance to bat. He bowled 16 overs, but the third and fourth days were washed out, and the match was abandoned as a draw. He played a few matches in two more seasons before retiring.

Later life and death

Following his retirement from playing, Snedden was a radio commentator on cricket and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. He described cricket and rugby matches at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount E ...

in Auckland from 1950 until 1986. On the death of

Eric Tindill Eric William Thomas Tindill (18 December 1910 – 1 August 2010) was a New Zealand sportsman. Tindill held a number of unique records: he was the oldest ever Test cricketer at the time of his death, the only person to play Tests for New Zeala ...

on 1 August 2010, Snedden became the oldest surviving New Zealand Test cricketer. On 24 April 2011, he died in his sleep at the age of 93.

Personal life

Snedden married Mary O'Callaghan in Auckland in July 1940. A problem with the arch of his left foot rendered him medically unfit for active service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and he spent the war as a training officer in New Zealand.

References

External links

*
Colin Snedden's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snedden, Colin 1918 births 2011 deaths People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers Auckland cricketers Cricketers from Auckland New Zealand cricket commentators North Island cricketers Colin

Cricket career

Later life and death

Personal life

See also

References

External links