Michael Raymond George Huckle (born 6 August 1938) is a

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

n former

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 a single first-class match for the Rhodesian national side in October 1966. Born in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, Huckle was a

left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of Finger spin, left-arm finger spin bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bow ...

ner and a right-handed lower-order

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

. His only first-class appearance came against

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

during the 1966–67

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

, in a three-day match at the Police A Ground in Salisbury (now

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

). In Rhodesia's first innings, Huckle came in eighth in the batting order, scoring 14

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

. Bowling in Transvaal's first innings, he had

Ali Bacher Aron "Ali" Bacher (born 24 May 1942) is a former South African Test cricket Captain (cricket), captain and an administrator of the United Cricket Board of South Africa. Personal life Bacher was born in May 1942 in Roodepoort to Lithuanian-Jewish ...

, Transvaal's captain and a future captain of the South African national side, caught by Raymond Gripper for 54. He finished with 1/44 from nine overs, and played little further part in the match as Rhodesia lost by 10 wickets. Huckle had been selected for Rhodesia on the basis of good form for

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

in the

Logan Cup The Logan Cup is the premier domestic first-class cricket competition in Zimbabwe. It is named after James Douglas Logan. History The first recorded cricket match in what was known at the time as Rhodesia was played in August 1890 near Fort V ...

. However, competition from two other spinners, Dave Napier and Neville Deudney, meant he played only a single game for the national side. Huckle later took up farming at Turk Mine, in present-day

Matabeleland North Province Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. With a population of 749,017 as of the 2012 census, it is the country's second-least populous province, after Matabeleland South, and is the country's least densely populated province. Matabe ...

of Zimbabwe. He stood as a

Rhodesia Party The Responsible Government Association (RGA), called the Rhodesia Party from 1923, was a political party in Southern Rhodesia. Founded in 1917, it initially advocated responsible government for Southern Rhodesia within the British Empire, as op ...

candidate at the 1974 general election, but lost to the

Rhodesian Front The Rhodesian Front was a right-wing conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to that country's unilateral declaration of independence, and the rul ...

Reginald Cowper Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

in the Wankie constituency, getting only 13.9 percent of the vote. Huckle's son, Adam George Huckle, was raised in Turk Mine, and went on to play

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

for

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

in the 1990s. Mike Huckle remained involved in local cricket, and in March 1991, aged 53, played a game for Matabeleland Country Districts against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. One of his teammates in that match was

Denis Streak Denis Hilton Streak (born 21 June 1949) is a Zimbabwean former first-class cricketer and the father of former Zimbabwean cricketer, Heath Streak. Apart from playing cricket, he also represented Zimbabwe at lawn bowls. He debuted for Rhodesia duri ...

, another ex-Rhodesian player farming at Turk Mine whose son,

Heath Streak Heath Hilton Streak (born 16 March 1974) is a former Zimbabwean cricketer and cricket coach who played for and captained the Zimbabwe national cricket team. By his statistical record, he is the best bowler to have played for Zimbabwe. He is the a ...

, played Tests for Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe / Players / Denis Streak
– ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huckle, Mike 1938 births Living people Rhodesia cricketers Cricketers from Bulawayo White Zimbabwean people Zimbabwean cricketers Rhodesian farmers