Charles Valentine "Val" Holten (15 September 1927 – 14 January 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played five first class cricket matches for Victoria between 1950–51 and 1952–53. Born in Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, Holten was a right hand batsman and right arm medium pace bowler who bowled inswingers.[1][2] He was considered "one of the State's most useful cricketers."[3]

Val Holten
Personal information
Full name
Charles Valentine Holten
Born(1927-09-15)15 September 1927
Brighton, Victoria, Australia
Died14 January 2015(2015-01-14) (aged 87)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1950/51–1952/53Victoria
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 5
Runs scored 170
Batting average 21.25
100s/50s 0/1
Top score 59*
Balls bowled 176
Wickets 2
Bowling average 45.00
5 wickets in innings 0
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 1/11
Catches/stumpings 4/–
Source: CricInfo, 30 August 2022

Holten attended Hailebury College and Melbourne Grammar,[4] and first played District cricket with Melbourne Cricket Club in 1947–48. After two seasons with Melbourne, he moved to Prahran Cricket Club where he played another eight seasons; topping the District cricket averages in his first season and five seasons later topping the aggregate.[5]

Holten later joined the Sub-District club of Malvern. A dispute over coaching fees five seasons later saw him move to sub-district rivals Oakleigh. Highly successful at sub-district level, Holten was made an inaugural member of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association (VSDCA) Hall of Fame in 2007 and in 2014 was appointed a Legend of the VSDCA.[6][7]

Personal life

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He married Dorothy Porter in 1952.[8] He died at Melbourne in 2015 aged 87.[9][10][11][12]

References

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  1. ^ Beames, Percy (7 December 1953). "Pathetic Displays by Batsmen in District Games". The Age. p. 14. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  2. ^ Welch, Bruce (30 December 1949). "Holten Made Two Starts". The Age. p. 13. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  3. ^ Beames, Percey. "Holten Makes 108 in District Play". The Age. p. 13. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  4. ^ Piesse, Ken (2015). "Val Holten – A Giant of the Game" (PDF). Scoresheet. 36 (1). Australian Cricket Society: 2. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Vale Val Holten" (Press release). Cricket Victoria. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  6. ^ Ryan, Conor (11 March 2014). "Val Holten elevated to Legend status". Stonnington Leader.
  7. ^ Amy, Paul (19 March 2008). "One for the ages". Stonnington Leader. p. 41.
  8. ^ "Cricketer to Marry at Grammar Chapel". The Herald. 4 March 1952. p. 13. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  9. ^ Val Holten, CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 August 2022. (subscription required)
  10. ^ O'Molloy, Eamonn (21 January 2015). "Sub-District farewells one of the greats". Diamond Valley Leader. News Limited. p. 24.
  11. ^ Paproth, Daniel (19 January 2015). "VSDCA mourns passing of Oakleigh's 'Don Bradman'". The Weekly Review Bayside & Port Philip. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  12. ^ Paproth, Daniel (21 January 2015). "VSDCA: Oakleigh's touching tribute to legend Val Holten". The Weekly Review Bayside & Port Philip. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
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