Eric Kenneth Gillott (born 15 April 1951) is a former New Zealand cricketer. He played first-class and List A cricket for Northern Districts between 1971/72 and 1978/79.[1] He also toured England in 1973 as part of the New Zealand team that played three Tests, though he did not feature in the Tests.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Eric Kenneth Gillott | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 April 1951 Waiuku, Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971/72–1978/79 | Northern Districts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FC debut | 30 December 1971 Northern Districts v Central Districts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last FC | 22 January 1979 Northern Districts v Otago | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LA debut | 5 December 1971 Northern Districts v Auckland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last LA | 2 December 1973 Northern Districts v Auckland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 16 May 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Life and career edit
Gillott was born at Waiuku, Auckland. He was a slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler and a right-handed tail-end batsman. He made his first-class and List A debuts for Northern Districts in the 1971/72 season and in his second match he took six Otago wickets for 79 runs in 43 overs in the match at Dunedin.[2] The 29 wickets he took in six matches in that New Zealand cricket season were beaten only by the 31 taken by another slow left-arm bowler, the Test player Hedley Howarth.[3] He followed this with 23 wickets in the 1972/73 season, with a further six-wicket haul, six for 105, in the match against Wellington at the Basin Reserve.[4]
This led to his call-up for the 1973 New Zealand tour of England, but he was not a success and took only 10 first-class wickets on the tour. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's report of the tour said of him: "Gillott showed he had yet to develop all the skills of a top-class left-hander."[5] It noted also that there were few pitches suited to spin bowling, which also had not helped the senior left-arm spinner, Howarth, who had been successful on the 1969 tour. Gillott was no more successful on his return to New Zealand for the 1973/74 season, and he dropped out of the Northern Districts side at the end of the season.
In 1976, Gillott spent a cricket season in England playing non-first-class Minor Counties cricket for Buckinghamshire, taking 41 wickets in the season, the most by any player in the team.[6] He returned to New Zealand for a further single season of first-class cricket for Northern Districts in 1978/79, but with little success, and left top-class cricket entirely after that.
References edit
- ^ "Eric Gillott". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Scorecard: Otago v Northern Districts". CricketArchive. 4 January 1972. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "First-class bowling in New Zealand in 1971/72". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "Scorecard: Wellington v Northern Districts". CricketArchive. 28 December 1972. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ "New Zealanders in England, 1973". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1974 ed.). Wisden. p. 300.
- ^ "The Minor Counties in 1976". Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1977 ed.). Wisden. p. 777.