Matthew Henderson (2 August 1895 – 17 June 1970) was a

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 who played 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 ...

from 1922 to 1932 and played in

New Zealand's 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 country b ...

first-ever

Test match 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) ...

in January 1930.

Cricket career

Henderson was a left-arm fast-medium bowler and

tail-end In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., i ...

batsman who made his first-class debut for Wellington in 1921–22, taking 5 for 66 against

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 ...

in his second match. In the 1926–27 season he took 12 wickets in two matches at an average of 17.75, including 6 for 70 against Auckland. He toured England with the 1927 team under

Tom Lowry Thomas Coleman Lowry (17 February 1898 – 20 July 1976) was a New Zealand Test cricketer. He Captain (cricket), captained the New Zealand cricket team, New Zealand team in its first seven Test cricket, Test matches, in 1930 and 1931. Lowry f ...

. No

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

were played on this tour. Henderson took 33 first-class wickets at 24.21, including 5 for 27 against the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and 5 for 76 against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, but his bowling, according to ''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

'', lacked direction. Henderson's only Test appearance was the first Test ever played by New Zealand, against the England team led by

Harold Gilligan Alfred Herbert Harold Gilligan (29 June 1896 – 5 May 1978) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Sussex and England. Gilligan captained England on their four-Test tour of New Zealand in 1929–30, which England won 1–0. Lif ...

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 / ...

in January 1930, when he was 34. He dismissed

Eddie Dawson Edward William Dawson (13 February 1904 – 4 June 1979) was an English cricketer who played in five Test matches between 1928 and 1930. A batsman whose studious technique made use of his talent, Dawson excelled as a schoolboy for Eton College ...

with his first delivery and later took the wicket of K. S. Duleepsinhji, the top scorer. But New Zealand lost in two days and he was replaced for the Second Test by his Wellington team-mate, the all-rounder

Eddie McLeod Edwin George McLeod (14 October 1900 – 14 September 1989) was a New Zealand cricketer who played in one Test in 1930. He was also an international hockey player who captained New Zealand. Cricket career McLeod was a middle-order and opening b ...

. Henderson never played Test cricket again, and dropped out of first-class cricket in 1932 after three more games for Wellington. In a long career in Wellington club cricket he took 333 wickets at 21.90.''Wisden'', 1971, p. 1025. Henderson died on 17 June 1970, in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

, Wellington, aged 74.

References

External links

*
Matt Henderson at CricketArchive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Matt 1895 births 1970 deaths New Zealand cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers Pre-1930 New Zealand representative cricketers Wellington cricketers