Donald Charles Cleverley (23 December 1909 – 16 February 2004) was a New Zealand Test

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er. Cleverley played in two

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for the New Zealand national cricket team, 14 years apart, but failed to take a wicket in either match.

Domestic career

Born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...

in Otago, he was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and left-handed batsman. Cleverley played domestic

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

over 21 seasons, from 1930/31 to 1951/52, before playing a final season in 1952–53 for

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

. He also played for Piako against the touring MCC side in February 1936, and for

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

against

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in the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat t ...

in December 1952.

International career

He first played in New Zealand's inaugural Test match against

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, at Christchurch in February 1932. Cleverley bowled 22 overs without success, and scored 10* and 7 with the bat, and New Zealand were beaten by an innings and 12 runs. He also played in the notorious one-off Test against Australia at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in March 1946, New Zealand's first Test against Australia. Electing to bat first on a rain-affected pitch, New Zealand were bowled out for 42 inside two hours on the first morning. Australia scored runs as the pitch dried out, and ended the day at 149–3, but lost quick wickets after they resumed on a damp wicket the next morning and declared on 199–8. This was more than sufficient, and New Zealand were bowled out for 54 inside another two hours, to lose by an innings and 103 runs. Cleverley bowled 15 overs without taking a wicket, and was the not-out batsman on one run in each innings. After this debacle, which highlighted the gap in quality between the sides, Australia and New Zealand did not play against each other in Test cricket until 1973.

Trivia

Cleverley still holds the record for the longest time between the last dismissal and end of a Test match career – 14 years and 29 days (1 March 1932 to 30 March 1946). On the death of M. J. Gopalan in 2003, Cleverley became the oldest living Test cricketer. He died in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

at the age of 94, and he was succeeded as the oldest living Test cricketer by his compatriot

Eric Tindill Eric William Thomas Tindill (18 December 1910 – 1 August 2010) was a New Zealand sportsman. Tindill held a number of unique records: he was the oldest ever Test cricketer at the time of his death, the only person to play Tests for New Zeala ...

, who also played in the Test match against Australia in 1946.Don Cleverley, oldest Test cricketer, dies aged 94
ESPNcricinfo, 16 February 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleverley, Don 1909 births 2004 deaths New Zealand cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers Auckland cricketers Central Districts cricketers