Thomas Cobcroft
Encyclopedia
Leslie Thomas Cobcroft was a first-class
cricket
er in Australia
and New Zealand
, and Test match
umpire
in New Zealand.
Cobcroft was born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales
, Australia
. He became a solicitor
.
A right-hand batsman
and off-break bowler
, he played 23 matches of first-class cricket between 1895/96 and 1909/10. He captained the New South Wales side that toured New Zealand in 1895/6. He settled in New Zealand, and played for Canterbury from 1897/98 to 1899/00 and for Wellington from 1906/07 to 1909/10. He was the third captain for New Zealand in first-class cricket, captaining the side that toured Australia in 1898/99. He also captained Canterbury, Wellington and Wairarapa sides. In first-class games, he scored a total of 868 runs in 42 innings, at the relatively low batting average
of 21.70, including 5 half-centuries. He made his highest score, 85 not out, carrying his bat for New South Wales against Wellington in December 1895. He took 37 wickets at the excellent bowling average
of 18.97, with best bowling of 6/23 for Canterbury against Wellington in December 1899 (he also hit 70 and 44 with the bat in that match). His only other 5-wicket haul came for Wellington against Otago in December 1907: he took 4/20 and 5/87 in that match.
He umpired 14 first-class matches from March 1925 to February 1935, all in New Zealand. He umpired three Test matches: the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Tests between New Zealand and England, played consecutively in New Zealand in January and February 1930. He stood with Ken Cave in all three matches, which were all drawn. The 2nd Test was played at Basin Reserve
in Wellington. The first two days of the 3rd Test at Eden Park
in Auckland
were washed out, so the 4th Test was arranged a week later.
He died in Wellington
, New Zealand
.
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...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
umpire
Umpire (cricket)
In cricket, an umpire is a person who has the authority to make judgements on the cricket field, according to the Laws of Cricket...
in New Zealand.
Cobcroft was born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He became a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
.
A right-hand batsman
Batting (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball with a cricket bat to score runs or prevent the loss of one's wicket. A player who is currently batting is denoted as a batsman, while the act of hitting the ball is called a shot or stroke...
and off-break bowler
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
, he played 23 matches of first-class cricket between 1895/96 and 1909/10. He captained the New South Wales side that toured New Zealand in 1895/6. He settled in New Zealand, and played for Canterbury from 1897/98 to 1899/00 and for Wellington from 1906/07 to 1909/10. He was the third captain for New Zealand in first-class cricket, captaining the side that toured Australia in 1898/99. He also captained Canterbury, Wellington and Wairarapa sides. In first-class games, he scored a total of 868 runs in 42 innings, at the relatively low batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 21.70, including 5 half-centuries. He made his highest score, 85 not out, carrying his bat for New South Wales against Wellington in December 1895. He took 37 wickets at the excellent bowling average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 18.97, with best bowling of 6/23 for Canterbury against Wellington in December 1899 (he also hit 70 and 44 with the bat in that match). His only other 5-wicket haul came for Wellington against Otago in December 1907: he took 4/20 and 5/87 in that match.
He umpired 14 first-class matches from March 1925 to February 1935, all in New Zealand. He umpired three Test matches: the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Tests between New Zealand and England, played consecutively in New Zealand in January and February 1930. He stood with Ken Cave in all three matches, which were all drawn. The 2nd Test was played at Basin Reserve
Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve , is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. Some argue that its proximity to the city, its Historic Place status and its age make it the most famous cricket ground in New Zealand...
in Wellington. The first two days of the 3rd Test at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
were washed out, so the 4th Test was arranged a week later.
He died in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.