Matt Henderson (cricketer)

Matthew Henderson (2 August 1895 – 17 June 1970) was a New Zealand cricketer who played for Wellington from 1922 to 1932 and played in New Zealand's first-ever Test match in January 1930.

Matt Henderson
Henderson pictured in 1927
Personal information
Full name
Matthew Henderson
Born(1895-08-02)2 August 1895
Auckland, New Zealand
Died17 June 1970(1970-06-17) (aged 74)
Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
International information
National side
Only Test (cap 6)10 January 1930 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1921/22–1931/32Wellington
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 1 41
Runs scored 8 495
Batting average 8.00 14.14
100s/50s 0/0 0/0
Top score 6 47
Balls bowled 90 6,649
Wickets 2 107
Bowling average 32.00 29.90
5 wickets in innings 0 5
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 2/38 6/70
Catches/stumpings 1/– 12/–
Source: Cricinfo, 30 April 2023

Cricket career

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Henderson was a left-arm fast-medium bowler and tail-end batsman who made his first-class debut for Wellington in 1921–22, taking 5 for 66 against Auckland in his second match.[1] In the 1926–27 season he took 12 wickets in two matches at an average of 17.75,[2] including 6 for 70 against Auckland.[3]

Henderson toured England with the 1927 team under Tom Lowry. No Tests were played on this tour. Henderson took 33 first-class wickets at 24.21, including 5 for 27 against the Civil Service[4] and 5 for 76 against Leicestershire,[5] but his bowling, according to Wisden, lacked direction.[6]

Henderson's only Test appearance was the first Test ever played by New Zealand, against the England team led by Harold Gilligan at Christchurch in January 1930, when he was 34. He dismissed Eddie Dawson with his first delivery[7] and later took the wicket of K. S. Duleepsinhji, the top scorer.[8] But New Zealand lost in two days and he was replaced for the Second Test by his Wellington team-mate, the all-rounder Eddie McLeod.[9]

Henderson never played Test cricket again, and dropped out of first-class cricket in 1932 after three more games for Wellington. In a long career in Wellington club cricket he took 333 wickets at 21.90.[10]

Henderson died on 17 June 1970, in Lower Hutt, Wellington, aged 74.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Auckland v Wellington 1921-22". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Matt Henderson bowling by season". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Auckland v Wellington 1926-27". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Civil Service v New Zealanders 1927". Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Leicestershire v New Zealanders 1927". Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. ^ Wisden, 1928, p. 451.
  7. ^ "Wicket with first ball in Test cricket". Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  8. ^ "New Zealand v England, Christchurch 1929-30". CricketArchive. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  9. ^ Don Neely & Richard Payne, Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985, Moa, Auckland, 1986, pp. 100–1.
  10. ^ Wisden, 1971, p. 1025.
  11. ^ "Matt Henderson". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
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