Malcolm "Harry" Moorhouse (1866 – 7 June 1955) was an English-born cricketer 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 ...

in New Zealand for

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. ...

and

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 1884 to 1908.

Life and career

Moorhouse was born in London and went to New Zealand in his boyhood. He was usually known as "Harry". A middle-order batsman who often kept wicket and sometimes bowled, Moorhouse began playing for Addington in the

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 / ...

senior competition in the 1883-84 season. In the 1884-85 season he was Addington's only batsman to make a fifty. He played one first-class match for

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 eart ...

in April 1884. During the second day of the match, play was suspended while a game of

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

was played on the ground between East Christchurch and South Canterbury. Moorhouse played in the rugby match as well, for East Christchurch. He moved to

in 1886 and joined the Phoenix club, which he captained to its three most successful seasons. He played several matches for Wellington. His excellent fielding at point was one of the few positive aspects of Wellington's showing against the touring Australian team in 1886-87. Against

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 ...

in 1888-89, after Nelson had been dismissed for 60 and Wellington were 17 for 3 in reply, Moorhouse went to the wicket and hit 63, "a fine dashing innings" which included nine fours and one five. Wellington went on to win by an innings. In his last match for Wellington, in 1890-91, he made the highest score of the match against Canterbury when he guided Wellington to an eight-wicket victory with 37 not out. In February 1891 the columnist "Slip" in the ''

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduction ...

'' said that Moorhouse's batting that season "entitles him to be regarded as one of the finest batsmen – probably the finest batsman – in the colony". Moorhouse also played rugby for Poneke during their dominant years in the Wellington competition, and represented Wellington. He returned to England in 1891, playing club cricket in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He worked as a commercial traveller for a flour mill in Surrey. In 1907 he returned to New Zealand, living in

again. In 1907-08 he scored 42 and 86 (the top score in the match) when Canterbury defeated

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 ...

. He moved back to the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

in 1908, to

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

region, and represented

in cricket several times. He captained them in the first match of the inaugural season of the

Hawke Cup The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat t ...

in December 1910, making their top score of 35 in the second innings. Playing for Masterton, he was the leading batsman in the Wairarapa competition in 1909-10. In February 1912, when Moorhouse and his wife returned to England, where he had accepted a "lucrative appointment", the secretary of the Masterton Cricket Club wrote: "In Mr. Moorhouse this Club loses its Mentor, and the district its greatest cricketer." Moorhouse died in London on 7 June 1955.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moorhouse, Malcolm 1866 births 1955 deaths New Zealand cricketers Canterbury cricketers Wellington cricketers Wellington rugby union players Sportspeople from Hackney Central Cricketers from the London Borough of Hackney British emigrants to New Zealand