Alfred Eckhold
Encyclopedia
Alfred George Eckhold (28 December 1885 – 24 October 1931) was a New Zealand sportsman who played first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...

 for Otago
Otago Volts
The Otago Volts are a first class cricket team representing the Otago Cricket Association, one of six major associations that make up New Zealand Cricket....

 and represented the All-Blacks at rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

.

Rugby career

Eckhold, a 66 kg five-eighth, was originally from Australia and came to New Zealand when he was a teenager. He returned to his country of birth in 1907, with the New Zealand national rugby union team. Eckhold made three appearances on the tour, against NSW in Sydney and twice against Queensland in Brisbane. When back home in New Zealand, Eckhold played with the Southern Rugby Club in Dunedin and for Otago. In the 1920s he was a prominent rugby referee around the country and officiated in some Ranfurly Shield
Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...

 matches. His son in law, Harry Simon, was also an All Black.

Cricket career

He had made his first-class cricket debut in 1907, when he lined up against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...

 which was filled with experienced international cricketers. He accounted for himself well though, making 41 in his maiden innings, the second top score for Otago. He seemed to perform well against good opponents as he was again one of his team's best batsmen when they took on the Australian cricket team at Carisbrook in 1910, with innings of 27 and 26.

Four of his first-class matches were in the Plunket Shield
Eckhold made his highest score of 60 not out, against Wellington at Basin Reserve in 1915, after making a duck in the first innings. His effort, coupled with an unbeaten century from captain and England Test cricketer Jack Crawford
Jack Crawford (cricketer)
John Neville Crawford was an English first-class cricketer who played mainly for Surrey. An amateur, he played as an all-rounder and was highly regarded from an unusually early age before a disagreement with his county curtailed his career. A right-handed batsman, Crawford had a reputation for...

, allowed Otago to hold on for a draw and it also set an eight wicket record for the team.

External links

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