Ian Burns Cromb (25 June 1905 – 6 March 1984) was a

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 ...

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 in five

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) ...

from 1931 to 1932, including all three Tests of the 1931 tour of England. Cromb was born in

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 ...

and attended

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 was an all-rounder: an aggressive batsman and a fast-medium bowler in his younger days and a spin bowler later in his career. He played for

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 ...

from 1929–30 to 1946–47, captaining the side from 1935–36 to 1937-38 and again from 1945–46 to 1946–47, and he also captained New Zealand in the four-match series against the visiting MCC in 1935–36. As a captain, he had a "penchant for the unexpected". Cromb made his highest first-class score of 171 in Canterbury's innings victory over

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 1939–40

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 ...

, after taking five wickets in Wellington's first innings. His best bowling figures were 8 for 70 for the New Zealanders against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

in 1931. Two weeks earlier he had taken 6 for 46 in the New Zealanders' innings victory over the MCC at

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 ...

. R. T. Brittenden, ''Great Days in New Zealand Cricket'', A. H. & A. W. Reed, Wellington, 1958, pp. 74–79. After he retired from playing he was a coach, administrator and selector. He served as president of the Canterbury Cricket Association in the 1970s. In 1930 Cromb opened a sporting goods shop in

Cashel Street City Mall is the main pedestrian mall in the Christchurch Central City, central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, comprising two sections of Cashel Street plus the Bridge of Remembrance and one section of High Street. It is also known colloquia ...

, in partnership with his fellow Canterbury and New Zealand cricketer Bill Merritt. The shop was still operating under the same name in the 1990s. Cromb was also a prominent golfer, winning the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

championship and several

championships. He helped launch the career of the New Zealand champion golfer Bob Charles. Together they had a golfing tour of the United States and Great Britain between January and August 1958, Charles playing in several of the major tournaments. Cromb married Valmai Kelly in

in February 1935. She died in July 1956; they had a son and two daughters. Cromb died in a car accident in Christchurch in March 1984, aged 78.Tony McCarron
''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64 – 2010''
ACS, Cardiff, 2010, p. 38.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromb, Ian 1905 births 1984 deaths People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers Canterbury cricketers New Zealand Army cricketers South Island Army cricketers South Island cricketers New Zealand cricket coaches New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand male golfers Businesspeople from Christchurch Road incident deaths in New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen