John Joseph O'Brien (1886 – 20 December 1939) was a New Zealand

cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

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 of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

from 1906 to 1921. Jack O'Brien was a useful batsman and medium-fast bowler. His best performances came in the match against

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in 1919-20, when he took 4 for 56 and 5 for 55 opening the bowling and made 39 and 11 opening the batting, playing a leading part in Hawke's Bay's 52-run victory. It was Hawke's Bay's last first-class victory. O'Brien later became an

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

. He umpired Hawke's Bay's match against the touring MCC team in 1935-36, and was president of the Hawke's Bay Cricket Umpires Association and vice-president of the Hawke's Bay Cricket Association. For 25 years he worked for the carrying company Messrs Barry Bros Ltd of Napier. He died aged 53 after a long illness.

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Jack O'Brien
at CricketArchive {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Jack 1886 births 1939 deaths New Zealand cricketers Hawke's Bay cricketers