Tom Reese
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Thomas Wilson Reese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Christchurch, New Zealand | 29 September 1867||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 13 April 1949 Christchurch | (aged 81)||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relations | Dan Reese (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1887-88 to 1917-18 | Canterbury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricket Archive, 10 October 2014 |
Thomas Wilson Reese (29 September 1867 – 13 April 1949) was a New Zealand first-class cricketer who played for Canterbury from 1888 to 1918, and later wrote a two-volume history of New Zealand cricket.
Tom Reese was the older brother of Dan Reese, who captained New Zealand from 1907 to 1914. Tom played irregularly over two decades for Canterbury, batting low in the order. He reached fifty only once, when he made 53 against Hawke's Bay in 1903-04.[1] However, he was regarded as one of the best fieldsmen in New Zealand.[2] A spectacular catch he took in his first first-class match established his reputation:
Niven sent Dunlop hard to leg, and Reese, running along the boundary for some twenty or thirty yards, took a headlong dive, and was next seen at full length on the ground with his left arm extended just clear of the turf, and the ball held, to the surprise of the whole field. Niven's innings thus ended with the most brilliant catch that had ever been seen on the ground.[3]
Reese was a prominent batsman in Christchurch club cricket; in the 1906-07 season, playing for St Albans, he was the only player in the competition to score three centuries.[4] He captained Canterbury once, leading them to a five-wicket victory over Wellington in 1906-07.[5]
He formed a successful business partnership with Dan.[6] After many years of research, he wrote the first volume of his 1200-page history of New Zealand cricket, New Zealand Cricket, 1841–1914, in 1927,[7] and the second volume, New Zealand Cricket, 1914–1933, in 1936.[8]
References[]
- ^ Hawke's Bay v Canterbury 1903-04
- ^ Wisden 1950, p. 912.
- ^ "Cricket history: Recorded by Tom Reese: Dominion's best team from 1860 to 1914". Nelson Evening Mail. 31 March 1927. p. 4.
- ^ "Long Slip" (28 March 1907). "Cricket". Otago Daily Times: 5.
- ^ Canterbury v Wellington 1906-07
- ^ Greg Ryan, "Where the Game Was Played by Decent Chaps", PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, 1996, p. 217.
- ^ "Tom Reese Writes N.Z. Cricket History". The Star: 10. 26 March 1927.
- ^ "The Best N.Z. Eleven". Press: 17. 3 April 1937.
External links[]
- Tom Reese at ESPNcricinfo
- Tom Reese at CricketArchive
- Tom Reese's cricket reminiscences in The Star, 22 December 1926
- 1867 births
- 1949 deaths
- People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School
- New Zealand cricketers
- Cricketers from Christchurch
- Canterbury cricketers
- Cricket historians and writers
- New Zealand sports historians