James Condliffe
James William Condliffe (30 July 1888 – 23 November 1945) was a wicket-keeper who played first-class cricket for Otago and Wellington from 1909 to 1923 and played five times for New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Full name | James William Condliffe | ||||||||||||||
Born | Wellington, New Zealand | 30 July 1888||||||||||||||
Died | 23 November 1945 57) Wellington | (aged||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||
1909–1914 | Otago | ||||||||||||||
1917–1923 | Wellington | ||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricket Archive, 11 January 2015 |
Career with Otago
James Condliffe made his first-class debut for Otago in 1909–10, and played as Otago's regular wicket-keeper until World War I. He won the award for the best batting average in senior Dunedin cricket in the 1912-13 season.[1] He was selected to play for New Zealand against the touring Australians early in 1914 when Charles Boxshall, who had occupied the wicket-keeping position for the previous 15 years, was unavailable.[2] He made 25 and, opening the batting in the second innings, 23 in a first-wicket partnership of 80 with Harry Whitta. He was one of only four New Zealand players who kept their place in the team for the second match against Australia.[3]
He served as a driver with the field artillery in the New Zealand forces in World War I.[4] He was wounded at Gallipoli.[5]
Career with Wellington
After the war Condliffe resumed his cricket career, playing for Wellington as their regular wicket-keeper from 1917–18 to 1922–23. He made his top score of 62 against Canterbury in 1919–20: after Wellington had been 47 for 6, he batted for 160 minutes and with the help of the tail-enders took the score to 262.[6]
He played twice for New Zealand against MCC in 1922–23. He was replaced as Wellington's keeper by the 19-year-old Ken James in 1923–24, but although Condliffe was no longer playing domestic first-class cricket, he played one final match for New Zealand in 1924–25.
References
- "J. W. Condliffe Dead". Evening Star: 3. 19 December 1945.
- Otago Daily Times, 5 March 1914, p. 10.
- Don Neely & Richard Payne, Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985, Moa, Auckland, 1986, pp. 57–58.
- Cenotaph record: James William Condliffe
- Free Lance (Wellington), 10 November 1916, p. 19.
- The Press, 10 January 1920, p. 7.