Thomas Leslie Pritchard (10 March 1917 – 22 August 2017) was a New Zealand

cricketer 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 ...

who played most of his

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 ...

in England. Pritchard was a genuinely fast right-arm bowler and a useful lower order right-handed batsman who played in several matches 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 ...

before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He said in 2013 that his memories of a game at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve, also known as the Cello Basin Reserve for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the Basin, is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It is used for Test cricket, Test matches, and is the main home ground of t ...

and of playing for his country in 1939 were still strong. Stationed in Egypt and then Italy with New Zealand forces during the war, he ended the war in England, playing cricket. He qualified for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

in 1947 and was highly successful for several seasons.Bolton P (2006
County Cult Heroes

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, April 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2017. His best year was

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

when he took 172 wickets at an average of 18.75. In 1951, his bowling, by now fast-medium rather than outright fast, played a big part in Warwickshire's unexpected

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

success. He took three hat tricks for the county during his career, as of 2016 still a record for the club. His bowling declined across the 1950s, and he left Warwickshire after the 1955 season. He played a few matches for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in 1956, but was not a success and retired. His last match was against Warwickshire, and as a batsman he was out first ball as part of a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

Keith Dollery Keith Robert Dollery (9 December 1924 – 18 August 2013) was an Australians, Australian cricketer who played first-class cricket for Queensland cricket team, Queensland and Tasmania cricket team, Tasmania in his native country, for Auckland ...

. He took 818 first-class wickets during his career and remains one of New Zealand's leading first-class wicket takers.McConnell L (2003
Cairns joins select group of bowlers in New Zealand history

, 11 July 2003. Retrieved 9 March 2017. Pritchard met his wife Mavis at a dance in London when he was playing for Warwickshire. They were married for 64 years before she died in 2009. He worked in sales in England after his cricket career ended. Pritchard retired to New Zealand and lived in Levin from 1986 until his death. A biography, ''Tom Pritchard: Greatness Denied'' by Paul Williams, was published in 2013.Cricketer's life revealed
''The Dominion Post'', 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013. His grandson,

David Meiring David Thomas Meiring (born 23 April 1986) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Central Districts in 2014 and 2015.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 ...

.David Meiring

. Retrieved 9 March 2017. In March 2017 Pritchard became the third New Zealand first-class cricketer, after

John Wheatley John Wheatley (19 May 1869 – 12 May 1930) was a Scottish socialist politician. He was a prominent figure of the Red Clydeside era. Early life and career Wheatley was born to Thomas and Johanna Wheatley in Bonmahon, County Waterford, Irel ...

and Syd Ward, to reach 100 years of age. He died in Levin on 22 August 2017. At the time of his death, he was New Zealand's oldest living first-class cricketer; that honour then passed to Alan Burgess.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchard, Tom 1917 births 2017 deaths Commonwealth XI cricketers Cricketers from Taranaki H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Kent cricketers New Zealand Army cricketers New Zealand men centenarians New Zealand cricketers New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand Services cricketers North Island Army cricketers North v South cricketers Players cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Warwickshire cricketers New Zealand expatriate cricketers in England Wellington cricketers