Walter Wilson Strang (15 April 1888 – 28 February 1944) 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 and businessman. He played one first-class match 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 ...

in 1929–30, when he captained the team in the final match of that season's

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 ...

Life and career

Strang's father, Captain Robert Strang, was a

ship's captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

from Scotland who moved to New Zealand in the 1880s and held senior positions with the

Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited was once the biggest shipping line in the southern hemisphere and New Zealand's largest private-sector employer. It was incorporated by James Mills in Dunedin in 1875 with the backing of a Scot ...

. The youngest of five children, Walter Strang was born in

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 ...

in April 1888, and his mother died a few days later. Walter attended

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

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 ...

.McCarron A (2010) ''New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010'', p. 126. 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.) Strang was working as an

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

in Dunedin when he enlisted in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served in Europe as a sergeant in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment of the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

. When he returned from the war, Strang married Christina Ness in Dunedin in January 1920. After working for the ironmongers Paterson and Barr for several years, in 1928 he opened his own sporting goods business, Walter Strang, Limited, in

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

in central Dunedin. Strang first played senior cricket in Dunedin in the 1907–08 season for the Albion club, and retired 25 years later during the 1932–33 season after 12 seasons with the Dunedin club. During the late 1920s his batting form brought him close to selection for the

team several times. For Otago's final match in the

in the 1929–30 season, many senior players were unavailable for the trip to

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 / ...

, including

Arthur Alloo Arthur William Alloo (9 January 1892 – 16 September 1950) played first-class cricket in New Zealand from 1913 to 1931. He worked as a schoolteacher. Cricket career Early career Alloo made his first-class debut as an opening batsman for Otago in ...

, who had captained the team in previous matches. Strang, aged 41, who was selected to captain the team, was one of four Otago players who made their first-class debuts; for three of them, including Strang, it was their only first-class match. Strang opened the batting, scoring 32 in the first innings, Otago's highest score in the match, and 5 in the second.

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. ...

won by an innings on the second day of the four-day match. Strang served as an officer in the National Military Reserve during

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 ...

. He died at his home in the Dunedin suburb of St Clair in February 1944, aged 55.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strang, Walter 1888 births 1944 deaths People educated at Otago Boys' High School New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Cricketers from Wellington City New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand military personnel of World War II 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople