Reginald John Read (8 June 1886 – 1 March 1974) was a New Zealand medium-pace bowler who 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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

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 1904–05 to 1937–38.

Playing career

Read made his first-class debut in Christchurch against the

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at the age of 18 in February 1905, batting at number 11 and bowling only one over. He played two matches in 1906–07 but was given only seven overs altogether, and did not take a wicket. He had to wait another 11 years for his next match. In 1917–18, for his Canterbury club Lancaster Park, he took 92 wickets in eight matches for 781 runs with his accurate medium-pace bowling,

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 ...

, ''New Zealand Cricketers'', A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, 1961, pp. 140–42. and he returned to the Canterbury side at the age of 31. The

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 ...

was still in its wartime hiatus, but there were several inter-provincial

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

es. In his first match, against

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 ...

, he took 3 for 58 and 2 for 35 (bowling throughout the innings) and made 18 and 34 not out to help Canterbury to victory. In the next match he bowled through the entire

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 ...

first innings, taking 4 for 43 off 23 overs. He remained in the Canterbury side, opening the bowling for more than ten years until his early forties. In 1920–21, in what proved to be Southland's second-last first-class match, he took 7 for 35 and 7 for 24, bowling unchanged throughout the two innings. In 1922–23, when Canterbury won the Plunket Shield, he was the leading bowler in the competition, with 20 wickets at an average of 18.40. In the victory over

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 ...

that season he made his highest score, 50, then took 5 for 53 and 3 for 81. No one bettered Read's Plunket Shield tally of 19 wickets in 1926–27, but at 40 he was overlooked when the team for New Zealand's first tour of England in 1927 was chosen. He was selected to play 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 ...

against the touring Australians in 1927–28, but took only two wickets in the two matches. By the time New Zealand played

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

for the first time, in 1930, he was no longer playing for Canterbury. Read kept playing for Lancaster Park, on his way to a tally of around 1800 wickets in club cricket. Without him, Canterbury won the Plunket Shield in 1934–35, but then did not win a match in 1935–36 or 1936–37, and for the 1937–38 season they brought Read back to open the bowling again at the age of 51. He took only four wickets in the three matches, and Canterbury finished last without a victory again, but his stamina was undiminished. In his final match he bowled 33.1 eight-ball overs, taking 1 for 102 as Auckland amassed 590. In his first first-class match Read had played against

Syd Gregory Sydney Edward Gregory (14 April 1870 – 1 August 1929), sometimes known as Edward Sydney Gregory, was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. At the time of his retirement, he had played a world-record 58 Test matches during ...

, whose first-class career began in 1890; in his last match he played against Merv Wallace, whose first-class career ended in 1961.

said of Read: "From a run of about eight yards, he bowled medium-paced out-swingers and off-breaks ... his mastery of length and direction was absolute ... Read was one of the fittest cricketers ever to put on a pad."

Personal life

Read worked as a foreman in a Christchurch

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. Later he retired to live in

Kaikōura Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...

. He died in his sleep at his

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

in the Christchurch suburb of Mount Pleasant in March 1974, aged 87.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Reg 1886 births 1974 deaths Canterbury cricketers New Zealand cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Cricketers from Auckland