Richard Trevor Barber (3 June 1925 – 7 August 2015) 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 str ...

er who played in one

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in 1956, against the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

in Wellington.

Life and career

Barber was born in Ōtaki, on the

Kāpiti Coast Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: *Kapiti Island, an island a short distance off the New Zealand coast north of Wellington *Kapiti Coast District, the local government district which includes much of the Kapiti Coast *Kapiti Coast Airport, an airport ...

north of

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 metr ...

, where his family had a dairy farm. He attended

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

as a boarder. A middle-order batsman, Barber played for

from 1945–46 to 1958–59, and for

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

in 1959–60. He scored his only century, 117, against Otago in Wellington in 1953–54, which was also one of the two

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 ...

matches in which he kept wicket. He captained Wellington in 1950-51 and 1951–52, and from 1955–56 to 1957–58, and Central Districts in 1959–60. Wellington won the Shield under his captaincy in 1956–57. In a trial match between North Island and South Island in February 1958 he was the only player on either side to score fifty, with 51 in North Island's second innings, but he was not selected for the subsequent tour of England.

Dick Brittenden Richard Trevor Brittenden (22 August 1919 – 10 June 2002) was from the 1950s to the 1980s New Zealand's most prominent cricket writer. Early life, family and career Brittenden was born at Rakaia on 22 August 1919, and was educated at Chris ...

wrote that Barber "could field anywhere with distinction", especially slips and gully, and that "his cover drive, produced from the best blend of balance and timing, was for the connoisseur". However, it was widely held that his impatience prevented him from achieving his full potential as a batsman. He worked for the

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...

, where he was responsible for its sponsorship of cricket and golf. On the death of

Sammy Guillen Simpson Clairmonte "Sammy" Guillen (24 September 1924 – 1 March 2013) was one of the few men to have played Test cricket for two countries. He played five Test matches for the West Indies and three for New Zealand in the 1950s, including New ...

on 1 March 2013, Barber became the oldest surviving New Zealand Test cricketer. Following his death aged 90 in August 2015, John Reid became the oldest surviving New Zealand Test cricketer.

References

External links

*
Trevor Barber at Cricinfo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Trevor 1925 births 2015 deaths People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand cricketers Central Districts cricketers Wellington cricketers People from Ōtaki, New Zealand North Island cricketers