George Fenwick Cresswell (22 March 1915 – 10 January 1966) was a cricketer who played three

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

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 ...

. Born in

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

, he was the older brother of Arthur Cresswell. He was the 50th Test cap for New Zealand.

Cricket career

Cresswell was educated at

Marlborough Boys' College Marlborough Boys' College is a state single-sex secondary school in Blenheim, New Zealand. The school was established as Marlborough High School in 1899 (renamed Marlborough College in 1919). The school in its current form was established in 1963 ...

, where he played for the first XI. R.T. Brittenden, ''New Zealand Cricketers'', A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1961, pp. 54–56. An accurate slow-medium bowler, he had played his cricket for

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

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 ...

when he was selected to make his first-class debut at the age of 33 in a trial match for The Rest against a New Zealand XI in January 1949. After taking three wickets in the match he was selected for the 1949 tour to England. On the tour of England, Cresswell took 62 wickets at 26.09 in 19 matches, and found his best form late in the season, taking 5 for 30 against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and 6 for 21 against

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. He made his Test debut in the final Test against England at The Oval. He opened the bowling with

Jack Cowie John Cowie (30 March 1912 – 3 June 1994) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in nine Tests from 1937 to 1949. His Test opportunities were restricted by New Zealand's limited programme, and his cricket career was interrupted by World War II ...

, and took 6 for 168 in England's only innings. Batting at his usual position of number 11, he made 12 not out, which remained his highest first-class score. As of early 2021 he is still the oldest person (at 34 years and 146 days) to take five or more wickets in an innings in his first Test. He played for Wellington in 1949–50. He also played for New Zealand against the touring Australian team, taking 8 for 100 in Australia's only innings; then, batting at number 11, he put on an unbroken partnership of nine runs with

Walter Hadlee Walter Arnold Hadlee (4 June 1915 – 29 September 2006) was a New Zealand cricketer and Test match captain. He played domestic first-class cricket for Canterbury and Otago. Three of his five sons, Sir Richard, Dayle and Barry played cricke ...

to avert an innings defeat. Earlier in the season, captaining Marlborough in a Hawke Cup elimination match against

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, he took 16 wickets in the match (8 for 44 and 8 for 46) but Nelson won by two wickets. In 1950–51 Cresswell played for

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

in their inaugural

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 ...

season, taking 5 for 31 against Canterbury at

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

and 5 for 38 against Auckland at

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

to give them victory in their first two home games and second place in the final table. He played in the two Tests against the visiting English side, taking 7 wickets at 17.71. After that he suffered from a back injury, and played only three matches in the next four seasons before retiring in 1956. Cresswell had an unusual run-up and action.

Dick Brittenden Richard Trevor Brittenden (22 September 1919 – 10 June 2002) was from the 1950s to the 1980s New Zealand's most prominent cricket writer. Early life, family and career Brittenden was born at Rakaia on 22 September 1919, and was educated at ...

wrote: "he bowled from a run of a few paces. He began each time by standing stiffly to attention, poised for an appreciable little interval. Then he moved in and bowled with one of the strangest of actions – no left arm, and his chest quite square to the batsman." Cresswell's younger brother

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

also played as a pace bowler for Wellington and Central Districts in the same period.

Death

Cresswell was found dead at his home in Blenheim in January 1966, with a gun next to him. He had been suffering from cancer.

References

External links

*
Film of the 1949 match MCC v NZ, showing Cresswell bowling
from

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cresswell, Fen 1915 births 1966 suicides 1966 deaths Central Districts cricketers Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut New Zealand cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers Cricketers from Whanganui Suicides by firearm in New Zealand Wellington cricketers People educated at Marlborough Boys' College Burials at Omaka Cemetery

Cricket career

Death

See also

References

External links