Eric Charlton Petrie (22 May 1927 – 14 August 2004) 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 who played 14 Test matches for

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 ...

from 1955 to 1966 as a

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

Domestic career

Petrie began playing for

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat ...

in 1945–46. He made his first-class debut 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 ...

in 1950–51. He established himself in the Auckland team in 1952–53, and captained the team in 1954–55. When the

Northern Districts men's cricket team The Northern Districts men's cricket team are one of six New Zealand first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. They are based in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand (excluding Auckland). They compete in the ...

made its first-class debut in 1956-57 he was appointed captain, a position he held until the end of the 1960–61 season. He scored two first-class centuries, both 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 ...

: the first in 1953-54 when he opened the Auckland second innings and made 151, the other in 1959-60 when he made 136 at number five for Northern Districts. He retired from first-class cricket after the 1966–67 season.

International career

Petrie was selected to tour

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

with the New Zealanders in 1955–56. He played in four of the eight Tests on the tour. He toured England in 1958, playing all five Tests. He was also selected for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of cricket matches that began in July 1806 and was abolished in January 1963. It was a match between a team consisting of amateurs (the Gentlemen) and a team consisting of professionals (the Players ...

match at the end of the season. ''

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" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' noted that he was "a neat and reliable wicket-keeper, who ... was immensely popular because of his pleasant personality". He played both Tests when England toured in 1958-59, and after a gap he returned for all three Tests when England toured in 1965-66. His top score in Tests was 55 against England in the First Test in 1965–66.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrie, Eric 1927 births 2004 deaths Auckland cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers Northern Districts cricketers Gentlemen cricketers People from Ngāruawāhia North Island cricketers Wicket-keepers Cricketers from Waikato