Christopher Smith Cross (26 October 1852 – 26 June 1919) was a New Zealand cricketer and businessman who played first-class cricket in New Zealand from 1874 to 1895.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Smith Cross | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 October 1852 Nelson, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 June 1919 (aged 66) Mosman, Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Fast-medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | All-rounder, occasional wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1873/74–1888/89 | Nelson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1879/80 | West Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1884/85–1895/96 | Wellington | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 13 December 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cross was born in Nelson, where his father, James Smith Cross, was the harbourmaster.[1][2] He married Anne Green in Nelson in May 1876.[3]
Cross was a hard-hitting batsman, a fast-medium bowler, a fine fieldsman and sometimes wicket-keeper.[4] He made his highest first-class score for Wellington when they defeated Otago in 1892–93; he scored 67, easily the highest score of the match, an innings of "sterling cricket, comprising excellent cutting and driving".[5][6] He captained the Wanganui team that inflicted the only defeat on the touring Australians in 1880-81.[7] In 1882, while batting at the St John's ground in Wanganui, Cross hit a ball that travelled 156 yards before it landed.[8] This hit was still a New Zealand record in the late 1950s, and may still be.[9]
Cross worked as a financial agent and merchant in Wanganui.[10][11] Later he moved to Australia, where he had a business in Sydney as a coal exporter and shipping agent.[12] He died in Sydney after a long illness, leaving a widow, three sons and two daughters.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Personal". Wanganui Herald. 3 July 1919. p. 5.
- ^ a b "Personal Items". Nelson Evening Mail. 18 July 1919. p. 4.
- ^ "[untitled]". Nelson Evening Mail. 30 May 1876. p. 2.
- ^ "Interprovincial cricket". Auckland Star: 3. 1 December 1893.
- ^ "Wellington v Otago 1892-93". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Otago v. Wellington". Evening Post: 2. 4 January 1893.
- ^ "Wanganui v Australians 1880-81". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Local and General". Wanganui Chronicle. 5 December 1882. p. 2.
- ^ Irving Rosenwater, "The Longest Hits on Record", The Cricketer, Spring Annual 1959, pp. 72–74.
- ^ "In Bankruptcy". Wanganui Herald: 3. 29 June 1883.
- ^ "Resident Magistrate's Court". Wanganui Chronicle: 2. 8 July 1880.
- ^ "A Deal in Flour". Daily Herald: 4. 26 July 1910.