George Ritchie Dickinson (11 March 1903 – 17 March 1978) 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 and

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player. He played three

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for the

New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. ...

between 1930 and 1932, and five matches for the New Zealand national rugby side, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, in 1922.

Early life and family

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 11 March 1903, Dickinson was the son of Henry Dickinson and Eliza Jane Dickinson (née McDonald). He was educated at

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 ...

. On 11 June 1929 he married Rua Belle Milne at First Church in Dunedin.

Sporting career

Rugby union

While at Otago Boys' High School, Dickinson played as a

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in the school's 1st XV rugby team between 1918 and 1921. He made his debut for the All Blacks in 1922 on their tour of New South Wales, playing five matches and scoring three tries. He went on to play 12 matches for between 1922 and 1924, scoring five tries, 11 conversions and one penalty goal. Dickinson also played for the South Island in 1922. He retired from first-class rugby at the age of 21.

Cricket

A fast bowler, Dickinson became the first so-called "

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" when he represented New Zealand at cricket against

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in the 1924–25 season. He played a match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1927–28, then in New Zealand's first two official

Tests 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) ...

, against

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in 1929–30, and a final Test against

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in 1931–32. He took eight wickets at an average of 30.62 in his three Tests. Dickinson played for

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 ...

from 1920–21 to 1937–38, and one match for

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 ...

in the 1943–44 season. His outstanding performance came in Otago's match against the touring Australians in February 1928, when he dismissed seven of the first eight batsmen, at one stage taking six wickets for three runs in five overs, and finished with figures of 7 for 96. Other notable performances were 6 for 43 and 5 for 46 against Canterbury in 1924–25, and 7 for 90 and 4 for 55 against Wellington the next season. He also scored useful runs in the lower order, with one century, 104, against Wellington in 1927–28.

Working life and death

Dickinson worked as a salesman, store manager, and clerk. He died in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

on 17 March 1978, and his ashes were buried at Taitā Lawn Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, George 1903 births 1978 deaths Cricketers from Dunedin People educated at Otago Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Otago rugby union players New Zealand cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Otago cricketers Wellington cricketers Burials at Taitā Lawn Cemetery Rugby union players from Dunedin South Island cricketers Rugby union centres