Jeremy Vernon Coney (born 21 June 1952) is a former

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 ...

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 current cricket commentator. An

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are consi ...

, between 1974 and 1987 he played 52

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

and 88

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 (ODIs) for New Zealand, of which he was

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 15 Tests and 25 ODIs.

International career

He was one of New Zealand's most successful batsmen, at least by average, and he made 16 fifties, but centuries often eluded him and he had to wait nine years to make his first – by that time, he had turned 31. He only lost one Test series as captain, 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 ...

away, and he became a

Wisden Cricketer of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1984. Coney was the captain who in 1986, after the England wicketkeeper Bruce French was injured by a Hadlee bouncer, allowed Bob Taylor to leave the sponsor's tent and play as a substitute. New Zealand won that series with the bowling of

Richard Hadlee Sir Richard John Hadlee (born 3 July 1951) is a New Zealand former cricketer. Hadlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and amongst the very finest fast bowlers. Hadlee was appointed an MBE in the 1980 ...

only slightly more potent than the captaincy of Coney. His medium-pace bowling was often used in ODIs, where it yielded 54 wickets, including four for 46 against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1985.

Beyond cricket

During his playing days, Coney's height, reach, and reactions as a slip fieldsman, earned him the nickname "The Mantis". He wrote ''Playing Mantis: An Autobiography'' in 1986. Along with John Parker and

Bryan Waddle Bryan Alexander Waddle (born 1948) is a veteran New Zealand-born sports broadcaster, sometimes called "The voice of New Zealand cricket". He grew up in Karori and went to school at Wellington College. His father was the public address announc ...

, he wrote ''The Wonderful Days of Summer'' in 1993. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Coney 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 o ...

, for services to cricket. In 1990, he was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In 2001 he made a television documentary series, '' The Mantis and the Cricket: Tales from the Tours'', which looked back on New Zealand's cricket history, using interviews with former players and historical footage. The first part follows the 1937 New Zealand Cricket team which toured England with interviews of

Walter Hadlee Walter Arnold Hadlee (4 June 1915 – 29 September 2006) was a New Zealand cricketer and Test match captain. He played domestic first-class cricket for Canterbury and Otago. Three of his five sons, Sir Richard, Dayle and Barry played cricket ...

Merv Wallace Walter Mervyn Wallace (19 December 1916 – 21 March 2008) was a New Zealand cricketer and former Test match captain. Former New Zealand captain John Reid called him "the most under-rated cricketer to have worn the silver fern." He was nick ...

, Jack Kerr and Lindsay Weir. He now lives in south Oxfordshire and works as a commentator/summariser for Sky TV and

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ( ...

, where he is noted for his regular use of the word "parsimonious". Coney is trained as a stage lighting designer; in 2008 he lit ''

I Found My Horn ''I Found My Horn'' is a book by British columnist Jasper Rees, first published in hardback in 2008, and adapted for the stage later in that year. The book It is a semi-autobiographal story that follows Rees as he turns forty and decides to ...

'', a solo play which has enjoyed runs at the Tristan Bates and the

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

theatres.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coney, Jeremy New Zealand cricketers New Zealand One Day International captains New Zealand Test cricket captains New Zealand Test cricketers Wellington cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1983 Cricket World Cup Wisden Cricketers of the Year New Zealand cricket commentators 1952 births Living people New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Onslow College Radio Sport North Island cricketers