Russell Halley

Russell Halley (5 October 1862 – 6 July 1909) was a Scottish-born New Zealand cricketer who played first-class cricket for Canterbury from 1886 to 1891.

Russell Halley
Personal information
Born(1862-10-05)5 October 1862
Dundee, Scotland
Died6 July 1909(1909-07-06) (aged 46)
Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLeft-arm medium-pace
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1886-87 to 1890-91Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 7
Runs scored 126
Batting average 10.50
100s/50s 0/0
Top score 29
Balls bowled 1188
Wickets 29
Bowling average 13.27
5 wickets in innings 2
10 wickets in match 0
Best bowling 5/33
Catches/stumpings 6/–
Source: Cricinfo, 30 March 2020

Personal life

Halley was born in Dundee. After he migrated to New Zealand he was a frequent performer as a bass soloist in concerts in Christchurch.[1][2] He worked as a sales representative for the firm of Sargood, Son and Ewen in Christchurch for 17 years before moving in 1898 to the firm of Bing, Harris and Co, who transferred him to Wellington around 1901.[3]

He died at the age of 46 at his home in the southern Wellington suburb of Island Bay, leaving a widow, Bessie, and five children.[4][5]

Cricket career

A left-arm medium-pace bowler, at the beginning of his career in Christchurch club cricket Halley was described as a promising bowler who "bowls left hand round the wicket, delivers right at the end of the crease, and, moreover, breaks back a good bit".[6] In a senior club match for Addington in December 1884, when one of the opposition batsmen was absent, he took 9 for 65 in an innings.[7]

On his first-class debut against Wellington in 1886-87 he bowled unchanged throughout both innings (partnered by a fellow Scotsman, David Dunlop) to take 5 for 33 and 4 for 19 for match figures of 37.3–12–52–9 (five-ball overs).[8] When Canterbury played the English touring team in 1887-88 he took 6 for 50 in the first innings, including four caught and bowled.[9] In 1890 a local newspaper described Halley thus: "The best bowler of the Province, breaks both ways, and uses his head, always gets wickets."[10]

References
  1. "Local & General". Ashburton Guardian. 18 June 1897. p. 2.
  2. "Entertainments". Lyttelton Times. 17 March 1898. p. 5.
  3. "Local & General". Star. 4 July 1898. p. 3.
  4. "Deaths". Evening Post. 7 July 1909. p. 1.
  5. "Obituary". Lyttelton Times. 8 July 1909. p. 5.
  6. "Lancaster Park v Midland". Press. 12 November 1883. p. 3.
  7. "Cup Matches". Star. 15 December 1884. p. 5.
  8. "Wellington v Canterbury 1886-87". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  9. "Canterbury v A. Shrewsbury's XI 1887-88". CricketArchive. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  10. "Cricket". Star. 7 February 1890. p. 4.
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