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New Zealand All-Time XIs - A re-run

Zinzan

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Dempster
Taylor
Cowie
Watling (wk)

Could have selected Sutcliffe over Dempster & McCullum over Watling on another day, both razor thin margins for me.
 

Zinzan

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Dempster
Donnelly (sorry Rosco)
Cowie
Watling
Can sympathise with your Donnelly over Taylor pick although I still took the latter's proven Test record ahead of Donnelly potential one, but there is no doubt very few on this forum know just how good he was.

Great Wisden article on him below & this excerpt which reminded me what an incredible all-round sportsman he was;

Donnelly, born on October 17, 1917, began his cricket at a very early age on the home lawn with two elder brothers and his father, who was a good club player. At thirteen he went to the New Plymouth High School. Here he showed almost equal skill at cricket and lawn tennis, and at one time it was doubtful which of these two games would take first place in his ambition. He also captained the Rugby football team, and was later to show such versatility that he played outside-half for Oxford University and centre-threequarter for England. In his last year at school he played for Taranaki against E. R. T. Holmes’s visiting cricketers from England, and helped to save the game with an innings of 49.

https://www.wisden.com/wisden-crick...glitter-martin-donnelly-a-master-of-technique
 
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Fuller Pilch

Hall of Fame Member
Can sympathise with your Donnelly over Taylor pick although I still took the latter's proven Test record ahead of Donnelly potential one, but there is no doubt very few on this forum know just how good he was.

Great Wisden article on him below & this excerpt which reminded me what an incredible all-round sportsman he was;

Donnelly, born on October 17, 1917, began his cricket at a very early age on the home lawn with two elder brothers and his father, who was a good club player. At thirteen he went to the New Plymouth High School. Here he showed almost equal skill at cricket and lawn tennis, and at one time it was doubtful which of these two games would take first place in his ambition. He also captained the Rugby football team, and was later to show such versatility that he played outside-half for Oxford University and centre-threequarter for England. In his last year at school he played for Taranaki against E. R. T. Holmes’s visiting cricketers from England, and helped to save the game with an innings of 49.

https://www.wisden.com/wisden-crick...glitter-martin-donnelly-a-master-of-technique
Yeah he was rated by Neville Cardus in 1960 as the greatest visiting lefthander to England since WW2 (so I assume ahead of the likes of Neil Harvey, Arthur Morris and a very young Sobers) and CB Fry said he was as good a lefthander as he'd seen including Clem Hill and Frank Woolley.
 
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