James Clark Baker (13 November 1866 – 1 February 1939), also known as James Clark, was an English-born 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

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

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

between the 1889/90 and 1906/07 seasons. Baker was born at London in England. In 1902 he scored Otago's first century in first-class cricket.

Cricket career

After two unsuccessful matches for Otago in 1889–90, Baker played a leading part in Otago's victory over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in 1890–91. In a match in which only 443 runs were scored, Otago needed 121 runs to win and were 32 for 7 before Baker, displaying "unsuspected virtuosity", attacked the bowling and finished on 45 not out in a one-wicket victory. For the rest of his career he usually opened the batting. He scored his first fifty in 1894–95, when he made 80, the only fifty in the match, against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. He also made the highest score of the match when he scored 53 in Otago's victory over Canterbury in 1895–96. "A splendid batsman and a most attractive player to watch", Baker played his first match for

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 ...

in 1896–97 against

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, when New Zealand fielded a side of 15. Later in the season he scored 36 and 19 in New Zealand's victory over

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 , established_ ...

. He was one of the three players who formed the selection committee on New Zealand's short tour of Australia in 1898-99, when he was the leading run-scorer in the two first-class matches (109 at 27.25) and in all matches (290 at 41.42). He played for the Grange club 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 ...

. When he made 103, Otago's first-ever century, on New Year's Day 1902 at the Carisbrook ground against Hawke's Bay, the ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'' said "the burly Grange man gave an exhibition that is not likely to be eclipsed for many a day ... his strokes were powerful and clean". He brought up his century with a four to leg off the bowling of

Albert Trott Albert Edwin Trott (6 February 1873 – 30 July 1914) was a Test cricketer for both Australia and England. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1899. He is believed to be the only batsman to have struck a ball over the to ...

, and added 171 for the fourth wicket with his captain, Albert Geddes. It was the only century scored in New Zealand first-class cricket in 1901–02. Otago won the match by an innings; it was their 62nd first-class match. The New Zealand cricket historian

Tom Reese Thomas Wilson Reese (29 September 1867 – 13 April 1949) was a New Zealand first-class cricketer who played for Canterbury from 1888 to 1918, and later wrote a two-volume history of New Zealand cricket. Life and career Reese was one of the fir ...

regarded Baker as the best batsman in New Zealand in the 1890s, describing him as "a solid player in every way, at home on fast or slow wickets, and combining good defence with hitting ability".

Personal life

He was christened "James Clark". He changed his name to that of his stepfather and played during his cricket career as "James Baker", then changed back to Clark later. His son Bernie Clark played cricket for Otago in the 1930s. He played

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 ...

for

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...

in Dunedin, and also represented

. On the day of Baker's funeral the Otago and Canterbury players paused for a minute or two during their Plunket Shield match at Carisbrook as a mark of respect."Match in Otago"
'' New Zealand Herald'', 4 February 1939, p. 19.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, James 1866 births 1939 deaths New Zealand cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Otago cricketers New Zealand rugby union players Otago rugby union players New Zealand people of English descent South Island cricketers British emigrants to New Zealand