Murray Ernest Chapple (25 July 1930 – 31 July 1985) 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 ...

cricketer 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 ...

who played 14

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

over 13 years. However, he was largely unsuccessful, with only three fifties and a highest score of 76.

Playing career

In a first-class career that began when he was 19 and ended when he was 41, he played 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. ...

(1949–50, 1952–53 to 1960–61) and

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 ...

(1950–51 to 1951–52, 1962–63 to 1965–66), toured South Africa with the New Zealand teams in 1953–54 and 1961–62, and captained New Zealand in the First Test against

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in 1965–66. He came to national prominence in 1952–53 when, after four

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 ...

seasons in which his highest score was 79, he scored 165 and 88 opening the batting for Canterbury against the touring

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. He was selected for Second Test against South Africa, and the tour of South Africa the following season. His best bowling figures were 5 for 24 for Canterbury against Auckland in 1955–56. After a leg injury forced him out of the Second Test in 1965–66, he retired.

Administrative career

While managing the New Zealand team that toured

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 ...

in 1971–72, he played in the match against

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth ...

when injuries reduced the side to ten fit players, but the match was ruined by rain and he did not bat, bowl or field. His management of the tour was praised by

Henry Blofeld Henry Calthorpe Blofeld, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 September 1939) nicknamed Blowers by Brian Johnston, is an English retired sports journalist, Sports presenter, broadcaster and amateur ornithologist best known as a cricket com ...

in ''

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 ...

'': "He did a lot to relieve his players of the many different pressures which were upon them and was always a wise counsellor. He must share the credit for the success of the tour ..." He also managed the New Zealand side that toured India and Pakistan in 1976–77, and had been appointed to manage the team to England in 1986.''Wisden'' 1986, p. 1209.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapple, Murray 1930 births 1985 deaths Canterbury cricketers Central Districts cricketers New Zealand Test cricket captains South Island cricketers