Eric William Thomas Tindill (18 December 1910 – 1 August 2010)
was a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
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
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
for New Zealand in both
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 striki ...
and
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
(a so-called "
double All Black"), and the only person ever to play Tests in both sports, referee a rugby union Test, and umpire a cricket Test: a unique "double-double".
Early life
Tindill was born in
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and was raised in
Motueka
Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of
The surrounding dis ...
. His family moved to
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 me ...
in 1922, and he was educated at
Wellington Technical College
, seal_image =
, motto = Excellence in Learning
, type = State secondary
, established = 1886
, streetaddress = 249 Taranaki Street
, city = Wellington
, postcode = 6011
, country = New Zealand
, ...
until 1925. He trained as an accountant, and worked as a civil servant for 40 years in the government audit office. He was nicknamed "Snowy" due to his fair hair. He married his wife Mary in 1937, shortly before he left on a cricket tour to England. An all-round sportsman, in addition to cricket and rugby, Tindill also played football for Wellington in 1927, and was a founder of the Wellington Table Tennis Association in 1932.
Cricket
In cricket, Tindill played club cricket for the Midland club (now
Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club
Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club is a cricket club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They are also known as the Eastern Suburbs or latterly Easts Cricket Club and play in the Sydney Grade Cricket
NSW Premier Cricke ...
). He 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 officiall ...
for
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 me ...
from 1932–33 to 1949–50 as a
wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...
/batsman and left-handed
opening batsman
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...
. He made a century on his first-class debut in January 1933, scoring 106 as an opening batsman in a
Plunket Shield
New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield.
History
The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...
match against
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
at
Eden Park
Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...
.
He also played five
Tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
for the
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...
. He toured England under
Curly Page
Milford Laurenson "Curly" Page (8 May 1902 – 13 February 1987) was a New Zealand Test cricketer and rugby union player, who represented his country in both sports.
Early life and family
Born in Lyttelton on 8 May 1902, Page was the son of O ...
in
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
, playing in 25 tour matches, including the three Test matches at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
,
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
and
the Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
. The report of the tour in the 1938 edition of ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' stated that Tindill "did nothing out of the common with the bat, but as a wicket-keeper he was always worth his place". Later that year, in a match played against
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
on the return journey to help cover the costs of the England tour, he caught
Don Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...
for 11 – Bradman's only appearance against a New Zealand team – off the bowling of
Jack Cowie
John Cowie (30 March 1912 – 3 June 1994) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in nine Tests from 1937 to 1949. His Test opportunities were restricted by New Zealand's limited programme, and his cricket career was interrupted by World War I ...
in the opening over of the Saturday's play. Unfortunately, this caused large numbers of spectators who were queuing to enter the ground to leave, costing the New Zealand team the gate money and defeating the purpose of the game.
He served in the
NZEF in the Second World War, in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
. He then played in the first two Test matches in New Zealand after the War. In the Test against Australia at Wellington in
1945–46, New Zealand were bowled out for 42 and then 54, Tindill making 1 and 13. He also played in the only Test against the touring English side at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, in
1946–47. His Test batting average of 9.12 did not reflect his talent.
He played his last first-class game for Wellington against the
touring Australians in 1950. He scored six first-class centuries and finished with an average of 30.35 in 116 innings in 69 first-class matches. He reached his top score – 149 – playing for Wellington against Auckland in 1948. As a wicket-keeper, he took 96 catches and 33 stumpings.
Rugby
![Eric_WIlliam_Thomas_Tindill_passport_application](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Eric_WIlliam_Thomas_Tindill_passport_application.jpg)
In rugby, Tindill alternated between
half-back and
first five-eighth
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
for
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 me ...
(Athletic) between 1932 and 1945, and was noted for his kicking of
drop goal
A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football.
A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...
s, then worth 4 points against 3 for a try. He made his debut for Wellington playing against the All Blacks in 1932, before they left on tour; he scored a try, and the provincial side beat the national team, 36–23.
The vast supply of midfield talent in Wellington during the 1930s made it difficult for him to get noticed, but the selectors for the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
were remarkably thorough at seeking out talent—the trials for the team that would
tour Britain in 1935–36 would see 188 players take part to fill 30 places. He was selected for that tour, and played in New Zealand's first loss to a club side against
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, 3–11, but scored two drop goals against
London Counties
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 26 December 1935, and was selected to play one Test against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
on 4 January 1936. The match is most famous for the two tries scored by England's
Alexander Obolensky
Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky KStJ (russian: Александр Серге́евич Оболенский; 17 February 1916 – 29 March 1940) was a Rurikid prince of Russian origin who became a naturalised Briton, having spent most of h ...
– the son of a Russian émigré prince, playing in his first Test – and England beat New Zealand for the first time, 13–0.
Tindill was unable to play against
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in 1937, having already departed to tour England with the New Zealand cricket team, but he joined the All Blacks tour to Australia in 1938, playing in three games against state sides. The match against England in 1936 remained his only rugby Test. In all, he played 17 matches with the All Blacks, including one Test, and scored 24 points for 6 drop goals. Famed rugby commentator
Winston McCarthy
Winston John McCarthy (10 March 1908 – 2 January 1984) was a rugby union radio commentator during the 1940s through to the 1960s who became known as the "Voice of New Zealand Rugby". He is particular remembered for his broadcasts of the New ...
was certain that Tindill would have won selection for the 1940 tour of South Africa had it not been scrapped due to the outbreak of World War II.
Umpire and referee
After retiring from active sport, Tindill also refereed rugby at domestic and Test level. He was noted for his keen instinct of the game's progress; McCarthy would recall, "In one match in which six tries were scored I saw the six of them scored at Eric's feet as he waited for the player to ground the ball."
The pinnacle of his career as a rugby referee came in 1950, when he oversaw the first two Tests of the
series between the Lions and All Blacks, in Dunedin and Christchurch.
He would later umpire a cricket Test at
Lancaster Park in 1959, having refereed the rugby Test there in 1950. He also refereed the rugby match against Australia at Dunedin in 1955.
Tindill was later an
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
, standing in one Test at Lancaster Park in 1959 with
Jack Cowie
John Cowie (30 March 1912 – 3 June 1994) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in nine Tests from 1937 to 1949. His Test opportunities were restricted by New Zealand's limited programme, and his cricket career was interrupted by World War I ...
, which England won by an innings and 99 runs inside three days, thanks to Ted Dexter's 141 and Tony Lock's 5–31 and 6–53.
Later life
Tindill was secretary of the Wellington Cricket Association, and a selector for both Wellington and New Zealand cricket teams. He was a member of the panel that selected the New Zealand team that achieved the country's first Test victory, against the West Indies in 1956. He was also Treasurer of the New Zealand Boxing Council from 1973 to 1981. In the
1981 Queen's Birthday Honours, Tindill was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, for services to rugby and cricket. He was inducted as a member of New Zealand's Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
[Oldest Test cricketer Eric Tindill dies]
Cricinfo, 2 August 2010 He received a
Halberg award for services to sport in 2000.
He also wrote a best-selling book, ''The Tour of the Third All Blacks'', about the 1935–36 tour, with fellow All Black
Charlie Oliver, and wrote a history of Wellington Athletic Rugby Football Club in 1976. Of his five children, his son
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
played for Wellington in both rugby and first-class cricket, and another son
Dennis
Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius.
The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...
played rugby for Wellington B in 1964.
[
Tindill died in Wellington in 2010 and was buried at ]Karori Cemetery
Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori.
History
Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery.
In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...
.
Records
While Tindill is the only person to have played Tests in both cricket and rugby union for New Zealand, six other players have represented New Zealand in both rugby union and cricket – the others being George Dickinson
George Ritchie Dickinson (11 March 1903 – 17 March 1978) was a New Zealand cricketer and rugby union player. He played three tests for the New Zealand cricket team between 1930 and 1932, and five matches for the New Zealand national rugby si ...
and Curly Page
Milford Laurenson "Curly" Page (8 May 1902 – 13 February 1987) was a New Zealand Test cricketer and rugby union player, who represented his country in both sports.
Early life and family
Born in Lyttelton on 8 May 1902, Page was the son of O ...
(Tests in cricket only); Brian McKechnie
Brian John McKechnie (born 6 November 1953) is a former " double All Black" - representing New Zealand in both rugby union and cricket.
Rugby career
He played 26 matches for the All Blacks as a first five-eighth and fullback, most memorably be ...
, Charlie Oliver and Jeff Wilson (Tests in rugby only); and Bill Carson (no Test at either sport).[Eric Tindill #417]
Stats.allblacks.com. Retrieved on 2 July 2018.
Tindill became the oldest living Test cricketer on 16 February 2004, on the death of Don Cleverley
Donald Charles Cleverley (23 December 1909 – 16 February 2004) was a New Zealand Test cricketer. Cleverley played in two Tests for the New Zealand national cricket team, 14 years apart, but failed to take a wicket in either match.
Domestic c ...
. On 8 November 2009, he surpassed Francis MacKinnon
Francis Alexander MacKinnon, The 35th MacKinnon of MacKinnon DL (9 April 1848 – 27 February 1947) was the longest-lived Test cricketer until being surpassed by Eric Tindill of New Zealand on 8 November 2009. MacKinnon, who was 98 years, 324 d ...
, who played one Test for England in 1879 and lived to 98 years and 324 days, as the oldest Test cricketer in history. His Test longevity record was surpassed on 23 March 2011 by Norman Gordon.
He became the oldest living All Black on 8 October 2001, on the death of Ray Williams, and was the last surviving All Black who played a Test before World War II. The oldest ever Test rugby player remains Scotland's Mac Henderson, who died on 5 March 2009 aged 101 years and 309 days.
After Tindill's death, the oldest living Test cricketer became former South African fast bowler Norman Gordon,[ and the oldest living All Black was ]Morrie McHugh
Maurice James McHugh (19 February 1917 – 25 September 2010) was a New Zealand rugby union player who played for the All Blacks in 1946 and 1949; he was the 458th All Black.
Early life
He was educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland, and l ...
.
Notes and references
External links
*
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tindill, Eric
1910 births
2010 deaths
New Zealand Test cricketers
Wellington cricketers
New Zealand international rugby union players
New Zealand Test cricket umpires
New Zealand rugby union referees
Rugby union fly-halves
Rugby union scrum-halves
People educated at Wellington High School, New Zealand
New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Burials at Karori Cemetery
North Island cricketers
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
Wicket-keepers