Verdun John Scott (31 July 1916 – 2 August 1980) was a sportsman who represented New Zealand in both Test
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 ...
and
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
. As of 2022 he is the only player to have done so.
[Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' ]
Rugby league career
Scott began playing rugby league in the mid 1930s, favouring league over soccer where he had previously represented "Auckland B".
Outstanding in three sports
''North Shore Times Advertiser'', 19 July 1979 In league Scott quickly made the Auckland rugby league team
The Auckland rugby league team is the team which traditionally represents all of the clubs which play in the Auckland Rugby League competition. As well as a senior men's team there are also Auckland representative teams throughout the various a ...
and in 1939 was selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...
touring squad to England. He played in one Test match before the start of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
cut short the tour. He was one of five players who did not play in the two club matches the Kiwis played before the tour was cancelled.
Second World War
During the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Scott served in Egypt and Italy.North Shore Albions
The North Shore Albions were a rugby league club based on the North Shore of Auckland in Devonport, New Zealand, Devonport before moving to Bayswater at a later time. They formed in 1909 and folded in the early 2000s due to a lack of playing nu ...
side that won the Auckland Rugby League
The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...
's Roope Rooster and Stormont Shield in 1945.[Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009. , p. 130.]
Cricket career
A burly and upright right-handed opening batsman with little or no backlift, Scott started his cricketing career by scoring a century on first-class debut for 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 ...
versus 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.
...
in 1937–38. He made his Test
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), ...
debut against Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the match arranged after the Second World War in March 1946 and was top scorer in the first innings with 14 out of a total of just 42. 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 ...
totalled just 96 runs in the two completed innings.
He was one of the more reliable batsmen on the New Zealand tour of England in 1949, and played in all four Tests. Though his top score in these games was only 60, he and left-handed opening partner Bert Sutcliffe gave the touring team a solid start in three matches, with partnerships of 122, 89 and 121. He later played in home Tests against England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and 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 Greater A ...
, reserving his best Test performance for his last game, when he made 84 out of New Zealand total of 160 in reply to the West Indies 546 for six wickets, a four-hour innings that took up enough time for bad light and rain to come to his side's rescue. In all, he played ten Tests for New Zealand.
Scott played for Auckland from 1937–38 to 1952–53. He was a prolific scorer in Plunket Shield cricket, and in all first-class cricket averaged only just under 50 runs per innings. His highest score was 204 against Otago in 1947–48.
Scott died at Devonport, New Zealand
Devonport ( ) is a harbourside suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the North Shore, at the southern end of a peninsula that runs southeast from near Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. Eas ...
, on 2 August 1980.
See also
*List of cricket and rugby league players
This is a list of sports people who have played both cricket and rugby league at a high level.
Until recently, Scotland, Ireland and Wales all played as part of the English dominated Great Britain team.
Due to the historical relationship between ...
*List of Auckland representative cricketers
This is a list of all cricketers who have played first-class, list A or Twenty20 cricket for Auckland cricket team. Seasons given are first and last seasons; the player did not necessarily play in all the intervening seasons.
A
* John Ackla ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Verdun
1916 births
1980 deaths
Auckland cricketers
New Zealand Test cricketers
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
New Zealand national rugby league team players
New Zealand rugby league players
Auckland rugby league team players
North Shore Albions players
North Island cricketers
Rugby league players from Auckland
Rugby league utility players