Douglas St. John

Douglas Stuart St John (26 February 1928 – 11 July 1992) was a New Zealand first class cricketer who played for Otago and Wellington between 1946 and 1956. A right-handed batsman, St. John played 34 matches in total, scoring 1,236 runs at 20.94 with five half-centuries.[1][2]

Douglas St. John
Personal information
Full nameDouglas Stuart St. John
Born(1928-02-26)26 February 1928
Nelson, New Zealand
Died11 July 1992(1992-07-11) (aged 64)
Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
BattingRight-hand bat
RoleBatsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1946-1951Otago
1952-1956Wellington
First class debut1 January 1947 Otago v Auckland
Last First class10 February 1956 Wellington v West Indies
Career statistics
Competition FC
Matches 34
Runs scored 1236
Batting average 20.94
100s/50s 0/5
Top score 88[nb 1]
Balls bowled 84
Wickets 0
Bowling average -
5 wickets in innings -
10 wickets in match -
Best bowling -
Catches/stumpings 21/0
Source: Cricket Archive, 15 September 2009

Career

Doug St John attended Otago Boys' High School, where he won the award for most improved player in the cricket team in his second-last year, 1944.[3] He went on to study commerce at the University of New Zealand.[4]

St. John made his debut on 1 January 1947, against Auckland. Batting at six for Otago, he scored 28 and 31, and took two catches but could not stave off a one wicket defeat.[5] He went on to play two more matches that season; scoring eight and eight not out against Wellington on 31 January,[6] six and 25 in a drawn game against the Marylebone Cricket Club on 25 March.[7] He ended his first season with 106 runs from three matches at 21.20, with a best of 31.[8]

At the start of the next season, St. John scored 85 and five not out against Wellington on Christmas Day.[9] He would go on to play five matches in total, scoring a career-best 278 runs at 34.75, with two half centuries.[8] He was selected to play for South Island in the match against North Island at the end of the season, scoring 47 and 63.[10] His batting and sharp fielding in the match were noted, and he was named alongside John Reid as a promising player who might be selected to tour England in 1949.[11]

He struggled with the bat during the next few seasons, scoring only 102 runs during 1948/49 at 20.40 with a best of 53, and 117 during 1950/51 at 16.71, followed by 92 runs at 13.13 and 146 runs at 18.25 during his first two seasons at Wellington.[8] He improved, however, during the 1954/55 season, where he scored 213 runs at 21.30, including a career-best 88.[8] This came against Central Districts on 7 January 1955. Opening the batting – as he often did after moving to Wellington – St. John's 88 was bettered only by Test cricketer John Reid's 106 as Wellington pursued Central District's first innings score of 183 all out. St. John made 15 more runs in the second innings as Wellington reached victory by four wickets.[12]

The following season was to be his last, however, and saw St. John play five matches, scoring 182 runs at 20.22 with a best of 52 – his only half century of the season,[8] which came in his final match. He bowed out on 10 February 1956, against a touring West Indies side that included Garfield Sobers. St. John scored his 52 in the first innings before being caught by Sobers, and made 19 as Wellington were forced to follow on and fell to an innings defeat.[13]

See also

Footnotes
  1. CricInfo records a top score of 85, whereas CricketArchive records it as 88.

Notes
  1. "Player Profile: Douglas St. John". CricInfo. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  2. "Player Profile: Douglas St. John". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  3. "Plea to Youth". Evening Star. 15 December 1944. p. 6.
  4. "Commerce Examinations". Evening Star. 23 December 1946. p. 5.
  5. "Auckland v Otago - Plunket Shield 1946/47". Cricket Archive. 4 January 1947. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  6. "Otago v Wellington - Plunket Shield 1946/47". Cricket Archive. 3 February 1947. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  7. "Otago v Marylebone Cricket Club - Marylebone Cricket Club in New Zealand 1946/47". Cricket Archive. 18 March 1947. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  8. "First-class Batting and Fielding in Each Season by Douglas St John". Cricket Archive. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  9. "Wellington v Otago - Plunket Shield 1947/48". Cricket Archive. 29 December 1947. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  10. "South Island v North Island 1947-48". CricketArchive. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  11. "Sports Commentary". Otago Daily Times. 12 February 1948. p. 5.
  12. "Central Districts v Wellington - Plunket Shield 1954/55". Cricket Archive. 10 January 1955. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  13. "Wellington v West Indians - West Indies in New Zealand 1955/56". Cricket Archive. 13 February 1956. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
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