Francis James Cameron (1 June 1932 – 2 January 2023) was a New Zealand

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 ...

er who played 19

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for

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as a fast bowler. Cameron took three five-wicket-hauls in an innings during his Test career for New Zealand, two of them during his first tour 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 1961–62, where New Zealand drew 2–2 in the five–Test series. During that series, he was dismissed once in nine innings, and finished with a batting average of 17. In 30 Test innings, he ended up

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

in two thirds of them, which might have contributed to his career batting average of 11.6 – he only made it into double figures three times with the bat.

Early life and family

Cameron was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 1 June 1932, and educated at Christian Brothers' High School. He went on to study at the University of Otago, and completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1957.

International career

Cameron made his Test debut at

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along with five other New Zealanders, and took six wickets in that first match, more than any other New Zealand bowler bar

Jack Alabaster John Chaloner Alabaster (born 11 July 1930) is a former cricketer who played 21 Test matches for New Zealand between 1955 and 1972. A leg-spin bowler, he was the only New Zealander to play in each of the country's first four Test victories. In ...

. However, though his bowling helped to keep the winning target down to 197, New Zealand lost the match by 30 runs after Peter Pollock took six for 38 in reply. In the second Test, Cameron celebrated his first five-wicket-haul, which included a brace of wickets of South Africa's number four and five. Cameron also dismissed South Africa's number three and six on his way to five for 83, but South Africa took a lead of 99 on first innings of the four-day match. After thirteen wicketless overs in the second innings, Cameron was not required to bat as New Zealand batted out 68 overs for the draw. Cameron got a five-wicket-haul in the next match as well, taking five for 48 as South Africa were bowled out for 190, 195 behind New Zealand's first innings total. Cameron was then part of an unbeaten 49-run tenth-wicket partnership with

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 ...

Artie Dick Arthur Edward Dick (born 10 October 1936) is a former cricketer who played 17 Test matches for New Zealand as a wicket-keeper between 1961 and 1965. Cricket career Dick made his first-class debut for Otago on Christmas Day 1956, playing as a ...

, before New Zealand declared, setting a target of 408 for South Africa to chase in a little over a day of the four-day match. After Alabaster had taken the first three wickets, South Africa were 315 for 5 before Cameron got his first wicket of the innings – dismissing Kim Elgie for 12. Still, he bowled economically, conceding 42 from his 26 overs, with only captain John Reid having a lower economy rate, and with the help of Reid's two wickets at the end South Africa were bowled out for 335, giving New Zealand their first Test win away from home. With the series tied at 1–1 with two matches to go, New Zealand had a shout at gaining their first series win. That was quickly quenched – Cameron bowled 30 wicketless overs in the fourth Test at the Wanderers, and New Zealand's batting yielded twice as South Africa registered a win by an innings and 51 runs. Still, New Zealand drew the series, after Cameron took the final wicket. His match bowling figures then read 28.5–7–94–2, but with the final ball of the over he had South Africa's number 11

Harry Bromfield Harry Dudley Bromfield (26 June 1932 – 27 December 2020) was a South African cricketer who played in nine Test matches between 1961 and 1965. A tail-end batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler, Bromfield succeeded Hugh Tayfield in the South A ...

caught. Bromfield had been batting for the past half hour without scoring a run, though he had been in a partnership of 14 with 55 runs required for the win or 21 minutes required for the draw. Thus, Cameron finished his maiden Test series with 20 wickets at a

bowling average In cricket, a player's bowling average is the number of runs they have conceded per wicket taken. The lower the bowling average is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compare bowlers, commonly use ...

of 24.65. Cameron's next series was against

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at home in 1962–63, but it was not as successful, as the team suffered two innings defeats and a seven-wicket loss as they were whitewashed 0–3. Cameron got eight wickets in the series, including four for 118 in the first Test, where he was the only New Zealand bowler to take more than one wicket. South Africa came to tour New Zealand the next summer, but in three drawn Tests Cameron failed to take more than three wickets in any innings, and ended with nine wickets at the average of 35.22. Another 0–0 series followed the next summer, against

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, though Cameron registered his best match figures of nine for 70 in the second Test. Chasing 220 to win in four hours, however, New Zealand were set back by

Pervez Sajjad Pervez Sajjad Hasan (Urdu: پرویز سجاد حسن; born 30 August 1942, Lahore, Punjab) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 19 Tests from 1964 to 1973. Family He was one of seven brothers. One of his brothers was the Pakistan Test ...

, who took four wickets for no runs in ten balls to set New Zealand back from 102 for 2 to 102 for 6, and they closed on 166 for 7. In the third Test, New Zealand were set 314 in 83 overs, and batted out to the drawn series. New Zealand played seven Tests on the subcontinent that summer, four in India and three in Pakistan, but Cameron only played one of the India games – the final Test at the

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. After three drawn Tests had opened the series, Cameron took one for 86 as India took a 203-run lead on first innings, and though Cameron made a career-best 27

in a 51-run ninth-wicket stand with

Richard Collinge Richard Owen Collinge (born 2 April 1946) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played 35 Tests and 15 ODIs. He was New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year in 1971. Domestic career He played domestic cricket for three different sides. ...

, India were set a target of 70. Cameron was taken for 29 in four overs, and though he dismissed

M. L. Jaisimha Motganhalli Laxminarsu Jaisimha (3 March 1939 – 6 July 1999) was an Indian Test cricketer. Playing career Jaisimha was a right-handed batsman who was noted for his style on and off the field. He bowled medium pace, often opening the bowling ...

hit wicket Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the Laws of Cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in pla ...

, India won by seven wickets. The tour of Pakistan saw New Zealand lose the first Test by an innings and 64 runs after falling to 79 in their second innings, and Cameron was brought into the team in place of

Bryan Yuile Bryan William Yuile (born 29 October 1941) is a retired cricketer who played 17 Test matches for New Zealand in the 1960s. He played first-class cricket from 1959 to 1972, until his religious objection to playing on Sundays led to the end of hi ...

. He took six wickets for 105 in the match, but Pakistan still drew the game – before winning the third Test after chasing down 202 to win. Cameron failed to take a wicket in the chase, though his 108-minute last-wicket stand of 63 with

Bev Congdon Bevan Ernest Congdon (11 February 1938 – 10 February 2018) was a New Zealand cricket all-rounder who played 61 Test matches and 11 One Day Internationals from 1965 to 1978, which included a spell as captain. Captaincy He was captain of the ...

was a New Zealand tenth-wicket record. Cameron went on one last tour – aged 33, he went to England in the 1965 season and played two of the three Tests there. After bowling figures of 32–5–122–0 in a tour match against

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, Cameron was left out of the team to play the third Test. He did play the last three tour matches against

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and

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, taking 19 wickets, but was never selected again for Test cricket, and retired after the 1966–67 season.

Post-playing career

Cameron served as a New Zealand selector from 1968 to 1986, and as chairman of the selection panel from 1975 to 1986. He also served as match referee in three Tests and five

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s. A schoolteacher, Cameron rose to become deputy principal of Otago Boys' High School. In 1983, he married Linley Rose Waters. In the

1987 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1987 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Cameron was appointed a Member 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 ...

, for services to cricket. Cameron died in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

on 2 January 2023, aged 90.

References

External links

*
Lynn McConnell, "Cameron was the common factor in New Zealand's greatest days"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Frank 1932 births 2023 deaths New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers International Cavaliers cricketers New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Cricketers from Dunedin People educated at Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin University of Otago alumni New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand referees and umpires South Island cricketers