Oscar Hungerford "Jim" Haskell (24 April 1857 – 3 September 1943) 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. He played six first-class matches for

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 ...

between the 1877–78 and 1889–90 seasons. Haskell was born at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in the newly founded Colony of Tasmania in 1857.McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 64. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
Available online
at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.) His father, Thomas Henry Haskell, had been born in England in 1819 and was a senior legal clerk in what was then called

Van Dieman's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

, having originally moved to

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

with his parents in the early 1820s.Obituary, '' Evening Star'', issue 16676, 7 March 1918, p. 6.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 18 July 2023.) As a cricketer, Haskell was well-known in Otago and was considered "one of the best Otago cricketers of his day". He played in a side of 22 for Otago against the touring Australians in January 1878, before making his first-class debut later in the season, playing against

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. ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. At the time Otago typically played just one match that has been given first-class status in each season, usually with Canterbury as the opposition, and Haskell played for the representative side in each of the next four seasons.Oscar Haskell
CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 July 2023. At this time he was considered a household name in Otago and as "among the

votaries Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

of the game.Cricket reminiscences, '' Evening Star'', issue 16583, 16 November 1917, p. 6.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 18 July 2023.) He and

William Crawshaw William Crawshaw (1861 – 11 February 1938) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Canterbury, Otago, Taranaki and Wellington between 1877 and 1898. Crawshaw moved around New Zealand in his work for the Bank of N ...

were considered "a brilliant pair of batsmen and fieldsmen", Haskell often fielding as long stop. By the time of his final first-class match, a fixture 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 ...

during the 1889–90 season, Haskell was being described in the Dunedin press as "the old popular favourite".Cricket ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'', issue 8636, 28 October 1889, p. 4.
Available online
at Papers Past. Retrieved 18 July 2023.) In his six first-class matches he scored 78 runs with a highest score of 34 made in 1881–82. He also took three wickets. Haskell died 1943 at Southport in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. He was aged 86.

References

External links

* 1857 births 1943 deaths New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Cricketers from Hobart 19th-century New Zealand sportspeople {{NewZealand-cricket-bio-1850s-stub