Ronald Osmond Talbot (26 November 1903 – 5 January 1983), was a New Zealand sportsman 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 ...

between the 1922–23 and 1935–36 seasons, and toured England with the national team in 1931. He also played representative

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

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. ...

. Talbot was born at

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 1903 and educated at Christ's College in the city,Ronald Talbot

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. Retrieved 28 January 2024.McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 128. Cardiff:

The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Statis ...

.
Available online
at the

Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians (ACS) was founded in England in 1973 for the purpose of researching and collating information about the history and statistics of cricket. Originally called the Association of Cricket Stati ...

. Retrieved 5 June 2023.) where he captained the First XI cricket team and the First XV

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 ...

team. A middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler, he made his first-class debut for

in a

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

match against

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 ...

in January 1923, aged 19. He scored 105 in the first innings, the highest score in the match, and after not bowling in Otago's first innings, took 3 for 38 in the second. Canterbury won by 10 wickets, won Talbot's next match as well, and finished the season champions. In 1925-26 he took 5 for 106 in 18 overs as

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 ...

made 494 for 9 on the first day, then made a

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when Wellington dismissed Canterbury cheaply twice on the second day. He did not make a fifty between his debut match and 1929–30, when he scored 50 and 113 in a narrow loss to Wellington. In 1930-31 he scored 182 runs at 30.33 and took six wickets at 32.33 to contribute to Canterbury's victory in the Plunket Shield and earn himself selection in the 14-man team to tour England in 1931.Test Cricket Tours - New Zealand to England 1931
Test Cricket Tours. Retrieved 28 January 2024. In 24 first-class matches on the tour Talbot made 759 runs at 23.71 with four fifties and a highest score of 66, and took 17 wickets at 50.70. He was the only player not to appear in the Tests. Early in the tour he played a part in the victory over MCC at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

, when he made 66 in 50 minutes, "hitting half-volleys as if he hated them", and hitting one ball onto the top of the pavilion roof. ''

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 ...

'' reported that he had started the tour well, but "lost his punishing powers" as he "endeavoured to play a more correct game". Opening the batting for Canterbury 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 the first match of the 1932-33 season he made 55 and 117, his highest score. He moved to Otago ahead of the 1933–34 season, playing four matches over the following three seasons, scoring 151 runs and taking four wickets.Ron Talbot
CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 January 2024. Talbot also played squash, golf, bowls and athletics, and played representative rugby for

. He died at

in 1983 aged 79.Obituaries in 1983, ''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''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 ...

'' 1984, p. 1209.
Available online
at

. Retrieved 28 January 2024.)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Ron 1903 births 1983 deaths Canterbury cricketers New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch Cricketers from Christchurch Canterbury rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players