John Hayward Oakley (7 February 1925 – 9 August 2013) 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 and cricket administrator. He played two first-class matches 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 ...

in 1946-47 and was President of

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

from 1985 to 1987.

Life and career

John Oakley was born in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

and educated at Sacred Heart College in

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 ...

, and Victoria University in

, where he studied law. He played for the University team in the senior Wellington cricket competition as a hard-hitting right-handed batsman, and represented

in two first-class matches in 1946-47. His top score was 43 in the second innings of his debut match against

, batting at number four. He was co-creator in 1972 and executive member of the New Zealand Cricket Foundation, a trustee of the Wellington Cricket Trust for 30 years from 1974, President of the Wellington Cricket Association from 1982 to 1985, and President of

from 1985 to 1987. In 1986 he instigated the establishment of the New Zealand Cricket Museum in the old grandstand of the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

. Part of the museum is now called the John Oakley Gallery. In the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 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 ...

, he was appointed a

Commander 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 cricket. Oakley spent his working life as a lawyer in Wellington. He was a partner in the firm Hogg Gillespie Carter & Oakley. He married Margaret Carmine in 1954, and they had a son and two daughters. Their son

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

played for Wellington in the 1980s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, John 1925 births 2013 deaths New Zealand cricketers Wellington cricketers Cricketers from Palmerston North People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand lawyers