Jeremy Vernon Coney MBE (born 21 June 1952)[1] is a former New Zealand cricketer and current cricket commentator. An all-rounder, between 1974 and 1987 he played 52 Test matches and 88 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for New Zealand, of which he was captain in 15 Tests and 25 ODIs.
 Coney in 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Jeremy Vernon Coney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 June 1952 Wellington, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Chris Coney (brother)
Julie Coney (former wife) Murray Halberg (second cousin) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 129) | 5 January 1974 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 15 March 1987 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 31) | 9 June 1979 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 28 March 1987 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971/72–1986/87 | Wellington | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 22 January 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International career edit
Coney was one of New Zealand's most successful batsmen, at least by average, and he made 16 fifties, but centuries often eluded him and he had to wait nine years to make his first – by that time, he had turned 31. He only lost one Test series as captain, against Pakistan away, and he became a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1984.[1]
Coney was the captain who in 1986, after the England wicketkeeper Bruce French was injured by a Hadlee bouncer, allowed Bob Taylor to leave the sponsor's tent and play as a substitute.[2] New Zealand won that series with the bowling of Richard Hadlee only slightly more potent than the captaincy of Coney. His medium-pace bowling was often used in ODIs, where it yielded 54 wickets, including four for 46 against Sri Lanka in 1985.[citation needed]
Beyond cricket edit
During his playing days, Coney's height, reach, and reactions as a slip fieldsman, earned him the nickname "The Mantis". He wrote Playing Mantis: An Autobiography in 1986. Along with John Parker and Bryan Waddle, he wrote The Wonderful Days of Summer in 1993.[3]
In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Coney was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to cricket.[4] In 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[5]
In 2001 he made a television documentary series, The Mantis and the Cricket: Tales from the Tours, which looked back on New Zealand's cricket history, using interviews with former players and historical footage.[6] The first part follows the 1937 New Zealand Cricket team which toured England with interviews of Walter Hadlee, Merv Wallace, Jack Kerr and Lindsay Weir.[7]
He now lives in south Oxfordshire and works as a commentator/summariser for Sky TV and Test Match Special, where he is noted for his regular use of the word "parsimonious". Coney is trained as a stage lighting designer; in 2008 he lit I Found My Horn, a solo play which has enjoyed runs at the Tristan Bates and the Hampstead theatres.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b Woodcock, John, ed. (1984). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (121 ed.). John Wisden & Co. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-0356102382.
- ^ Taylor, Bob (25 July 2009). "On this day, 25 July 1986: Bob Taylor's unexpected comeback". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Books by Jeremy Coney". National Library of New Zealand catalogue. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "No. 50553". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 14 June 1986. p. 32.
- ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 104. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ "Coney hits the spot with documentary series" Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "The Mantis and the Cricket – Tales On Tour – F52195". New Zealand Film Archive. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Viner, Brian (29 November 2008). "How theatre replaced drama of cricket for captain Coney". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
External links edit
Media related to Jeremy Coney at Wikimedia Commons- Jeremy Coney at ESPNcricinfo
