Richard Ian Leggat (born 28 August 1960) is a New Zealand former

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. He played in 22 first-class and 15

List A List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...

matches, mostly 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 1979 to 1984. He became a businessman and public administrator.

Cricket career

Leggat 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 ...

. A batsman and leg-spin bowler, he captained his school, the New Zealand schoolboys team, the Canterbury Under-23s and New Zealand Under-23s teams. After his first season of first-class cricket in 1980–81, the New Zealand cricket writer R. T. Brittenden called Leggat "a firecracker of a cricketer whose skills and aggression – batting, bowling or fielding – did much to help Canterbury to its very good season". Leggat captained Canterbury for most of the 1982–83 season. He also captained his club team, Old Collegians, to the title in the Canterbury Cricket Association in 1982–83 and 1983–84. He withdrew from the Canterbury squad before the 1984–85 season, saying he needed a rest from major cricket. He played no further first-class or List A cricket. Leggat's highest first-class score was 83 when he captained Canterbury to victory over the touring Sri Lankans in 1982–83. His best bowling figures were 3 for 60 and 5 for 37 (he also scored 32 and 33) when Canterbury defeated Northern Districts in 1980–81.

Professional career

While studying at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, Leggat and a fellow student, Tim Denne, made a special study of the economics of growing

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

in New Zealand. Leggat has served on the boards of

Panuku Development Auckland Eke Panuku Development Auckland (Eke Panuku) is one of four council-controlled organisations (CCOs) of Auckland Council in Auckland, New Zealand. Eke Panuku manages a NZD$2.3bn property portfolio of non-core Auckland Council assets. Eke Panuk ...

Warren and Mahoney Warren and Mahoney is an international architectural and interior design practice - one of the few third generation architectural practices in the history of New Zealand architecture. It is a highly awarded architectural practice, with office ...

, Snowsports New Zealand,

Cycling New Zealand Cycling New Zealand (), originally known as BikeNZ, is the national governing body for cycling organisations in New Zealand, and represents the interests of BMX NZ, Cycling New Zealand Road & Track, Mountain Bike NZ, and Cycling New Zealand Sch ...

New Zealand Winter Games Winter Games NZ (WGNZ) is the largest snow sports event in the Southern Hemisphere and is held annually in the Southern Lakes District, at Queenstown and Wānaka Ski Areas. Overview The Games are organised by the Winter Games New Zealand Trus ...

, and has been chair of

New Zealand Cycle Trail The New Zealand Cycle Trail project (Māori language, Māori: ''Nga Haerenga'', "The Journeys") is a New Zealand government initiative, co-funded together with Territorial authorities of New Zealand, local councils and charitable trusts, which ...

Inc. He was deputy chairman of

Tourism New Zealand Tourism New Zealand is the marketing agency responsible for promoting New Zealand as a tourism destination internationally. It is the trading name of the New Zealand Tourism Board, a Crown entity established under the New Zealand Tourism Board A ...

for eight years and on the board of

NZ Post NZ Post (), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a Government-owned corporation, state-owned enterprise responsible for providing most mail, postal services in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, ba ...

for six years. He is a trustee of the

Rakiura Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a lan ...

Maori Lands Trust. He was appointed chair of the

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

conservation organisation Kiwis for Kiwi in 2019. As of 2024 he is chair of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism. He took up the position of chair of

Auckland Transport Auckland Transport (AT) is the council-controlled organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council responsible for transport projects and services. It was established by section 38 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, and operates under ...

in February 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leggat, Richard 1960 births Living people People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand cricketers Canterbury cricketers Cricketers from Christchurch New Zealand people in transport 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople 21st-century New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand conservationists