Arthur Symonds (cricketer)

Arthur Symonds
Personal information
Full name
Arthur Edmund Symonds
Born(1890-05-08)8 May 1890
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
Died20 April 1946(1946-04-20) (aged 55)
Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand
RoleWicket-keeper
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1926/27Otago
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 25 May 2016

Arthur Edmund Symonds (8 May 1890 – 20 April 1946) was a New Zealand sportsman. He played one first-class match for Otago during the 1926–27 season.[1][2]

Born at Dunedin in 1890, Symonds worked for railway companies.[3] He played rugby union for the Zingari-Richmond club in Dunedin and represented the Otago Rugby Football Union in seven matches between 1911 and 1912. He was described after his death as having "played a good, honest game of football"[4][5] and in 1930 he was considered to have been one of the club's most prominent players.[6] He was later one of its vice-presidents.[7]

Symonds played club cricket for Dunedin Cricket Club and represented the provincial side in a 1924 fixture against Southland. He scored 43 and 17 and was reported as having "played well", although "he had more than his share of luck".[8]

He played his only first-class match for Otago in February 1927. In the match, which was against Canterbury cricket team at Carisbrook in Dunedin, he kept-wicket, replacing Laurie Green who had broken a rib in the previous match against Auckland.[9] Symonds took one catch and scored five runs, although his wicket-keeping was poor and his performance behind the stumps described as "not too good" as he conceded too many byes.[10][11] He missed a "good stumping chance", although his keeping improved during the match.[12] He did not play for the representative side again.[2]

Symonds died at Lower Hutt in 1946. He was aged 55.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Arthur Symonds". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b Arthur Symonds, CricketArchive. Retrieved 4 June 2023. (subscription required)
  3. ^ McCarron, A (2010). New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-905138-98-2.
  4. ^ Old Otago footballer's death, Otago Daily Times, issue 26141, 2 May 1946, p. 2. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  5. ^ Personal, Otago Daily Times, issue 26139, 30 April 1946, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  6. ^ Zingari-Richmond, Otago Daily Times, issue 21135, 19 September 1930, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  7. ^ Zingari-Richmond club, Evening Star, issue 20741, 13 March 1931, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  8. ^ Cricket: Otago v Southland, Southland Times, issue 19194, 13 March 1924, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  9. ^ Plunket Shield: Otago v Canterbury, Evening Star, issue 19474, 4 February 1927, p. 6. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  10. ^ Canterbury bat first against Otago eleven, The Star, issue 18072, 4 February 1927, p. 5. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  11. ^ Otago Takes Wooden Spoon Of Cricket Competition, The Star, issue 18075, 8 February 1927, p. 12. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)
  12. ^ Notes on yesterday's play, The Star, issue 18073, 5 February 1927, p. 10. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 4 June 2023.)