Raoul Garrard

Derwent Raoul Garrard (6 October 1897 – 14 June 1977) was a New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Auckland from 1918 to 1942 and represented New Zealand in the days before New Zealand played Test cricket.

Raoul Garrard

Personal information
Full name	Derwent Raoul Garrard
Born	6 October 1897 Christchurch, New Zealand
Died	14 June 1977 (aged 79) Auckland, New Zealand
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm leg-spin
Relations	Charles Garrard (father) Wilson Garrard (brother) William George Garrard (uncle)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1917-18 to 1941-42	Auckland
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 32 Runs scored 960 Batting average 24.61 100s/50s 0/5 Top score 67 not out Balls bowled 5255 Wickets 92 Bowling average 25.63 5 wickets in innings 6 10 wickets in match 2 Best bowling 8/51 Catches/stumpings 18/0
Source: Cricket Archive, 14 January 2015

Early life and career

Raoul Garrard was the elder son of Charles Garrard, a first-class cricketer and schoolteacher, and the brother of Wilson Garrard, who also played cricket for New Zealand. Raoul was a successful schoolboy cricketer in the Heathcote Williams Shield.[1]

A leg-spinner who put "plenty of turn on the ball"[2] and a useful lower-order batsman, Garrard made his first-class debut in 1917-18. In his third match, in 1918-19, he opened the bowling and took 6 for 143 and 5 for 84 in a high-scoring match against Wellington that Auckland won.[3]

In 1921-22 he was the leading bowler in the Plunket Shield, with 23 wickets in three matches at an average of 10.34.[4] He took 3 for 35 and 4 for 24 against Otago, 1 for 30 and 8 for 51 against Canterbury and 4 for 46 and 3 for 52 against Wellington. Auckland won all three matches, and the championship.[5]

He was selected to play for New Zealand in all three matches against MCC in 1922-23, but apart from top-scoring with 47 in the first innings of the first match he had little success with bat or ball.[6]

Later career

He played little first-class cricket for the next nine seasons, concentrating on his career as an accountant. He had a practice in Auckland, also acting as a liquidator.[7] He was honorary auditor to the Auckland Cricket Association.[8] He married Edna McMaster in the Auckland suburb of Devonport in April 1927.[9]

When he returned to Plunket Shield cricket in 1932-33 at the age of 35 he took 13 wickets at an average of 16.92 in three matches, including 5 for 69 and 5 for 83 (and 55 in the second innings) in the match against Wellington.[10] But in the same match the 18-year-old Wellington leg-spinner Doug Freeman took 4 for 85 and 5 for 102, and when the Test team to play England was announced shortly afterwards, Freeman was preferred.[11]

Garrard had another good season in 1933-34, taking 14 wickets in the Plunket Shield at 22.14 and making 154 runs at 51.33, including his highest score of 67 not out against Otago. Auckland won the Shield.[12] He played a few more matches before retiring.

See also

• List of Auckland representative cricketers

References

1. Auckland Star, 15 February 1919, p. 18.
2. Free Lance (Wellington), 6 March 1919, p. 10.
3. "Wellington v Auckland 1918-19". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
4. "Plunket Shield bowling averages 1921-22". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
5. "Plunket Shield 1921-22". CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
6. Don Neely & Richard Payne, Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985, Moa, Auckland, 1986, pp. 61-64.
7. Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 1933, p. 2.
8. Auckland Star, 27 September 1935, p. 13.
9. "Weddings". New Zealand Herald: 5. 5 April 1927.
10. "Auckland v Wellington 1932-33". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
11. Wisden 1995, p. 1384.
12. "Plunket Shield 1933-34". CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 April 2015.

External links

• Raoul Garrard at CricketArchive
• Raoul Garrard at Cricinfo