Robert Anderson (New Zealand cricketer)

Not to be confused with Geoff Anderson (cricketer).

Robert Anderson
Personal information
Full name
Robert Wickham Anderson
Born(1948-10-02)2 October 1948
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died1 June 2025(2025-06-01) (aged 76)
Christchurch, New Zealand
NicknameJumbo
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLeg-break
RelationsMac Anderson (father)
Tim Anderson (son)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 134)9 October 1976 v Pakistan
Last Test24 August 1978 v England
ODI debut (cap 23)16 October 1976 v Pakistan
Last ODI15 July 1978 v England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1967/68Canterbury
1969/70Northern Districts
1971/72–1976/77Otago
1977/78–1981/82Central Districts
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 9 2 111 21
Runs scored 423 16 5,609 423
Batting average 23.50 16.00 30.65 22.26
100s/50s 0/3 0/0 8/28 0/1
Top score 92 12 155 66*
Balls bowled – – 298 –
Wickets – – 5 –
Bowling average – – 30.80 –
5 wickets in innings – – 0 –
10 wickets in match – – 0 –
Best bowling – – 4/49 –
Catches/stumpings 1/– 1/– 79/– 8/–
Source: Cricinfo, 2 April 2017

Robert Wickham Anderson (2 October 1948 – 1 June 2025) was a New Zealand cricketer who played nine Test matches and two One Day Internationals for the New Zealand national cricket team between 1976 and 1978. Anderson was born in Christchurch in 1948.[1]

Domestic career

Anderson played mainly as a top-order batsman. He began his first-class cricket career in 1967–68 for Canterbury, playing in three Plunket Shield matches for the side during the season.[2] He played for Northern Districts during the 1969–1970 season, including against the touring Australian side before moving to Otago ahead of the 1970–71 season. Anderson played in 35 first-class and 9 List A matches for Otago and was selected for New Zealand whilst at the side. He moved to play for Central Districts in 1977, playing a further 30 first-class and 9 List A matches for the side before retiring after the 1981–82 season. His highest score was 155 for the New Zealand touring team against Scotland in 1978.

Anderson also played Hawke Cup cricket for Southland, Northland and Manawatu between 1970 and 1980. When Southland successfully defended the title against four challenges in 1973–74 he scored 561 runs at an average of 93.50 with three centuries.[3] In the 16 Hawke Cup challenge matches he played, he scored 1,773 runs at an average of 70.92.[4] His 255 against Ashburton County in February 1977 is still the highest score for Southland.[5][6] He was named in the Hawke Cup Team of the Century in 2011.[7]

International career

Anderson toured England with New Zealand in 1973 but did not play in any of the international matches on the tour.[1] He made his Test match debut against Pakistan on New Zealand's 1976–77 tour, playing in all three Test matches as well as the sole One Day International (ODI) on the tour. He scored 92 in the opening match, scoring 183 for the fifth wicket in 155 minutes with Mark Burgess,[8] but did not retain his place for the tour of India which followed.

Anderson played in all three home Tests against England in 1977–78. In the First Test, New Zealand's first-ever Test victory over England, he scored 28 and 26 (New Zealand's top score in the second innings) in the low-scoring match.[9] He also played in all three Tests on New Zealand's tour to England in 1978 as well as one of the two ODIs on the tour,[1][2] but scored only 26 Test runs in six innings; Wisden called his performance one of the "biggest disappointments".[1][10]

Personal life and death

Anderson's father, Mac Anderson, played one Test match for New Zealand in 1946. Robert's son Tim played for Central Districts as a leg-spinner from 1997–98 to 2002–03.[2] In 2008 Robert and Tim started a mortgage-broking company.[11]

Anderson died in Christchurch on 1 June 2025, at the age of 76.[5][12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Robert Anderson, Cricinfo. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  2. ^ a b c Robert Anderson, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2021-12-31. (subscription required)
  3. ^ Batting in Hawke Cup 1973-74, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2017-11-02. (subscription required)
  4. ^ Francis Payne & Ian Smith, eds, 2021 New Zealand Cricket Almanack, Upstart Press, Takapuna, 2021, p. 173.
  5. ^ a b Geenty, Mark (4 June 2025). "Former NZ test opening batsman dies". Press. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  6. ^ "Southland v Ashburton County 1976-77". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  7. ^ Martin, Wayne (2 November 2017) Nelson hold an esteemed place in annals of Hawke Cup cricket history, Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  8. ^ First Test match, Pakistan v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1978. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  9. ^ "New Zealand vs England, 1st Test at Wellington, Feb 10 1978". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  10. ^ Preston Norman (1979) New Zealand in England, 1978, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1979. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  11. ^ Thorley, Peter (8 February 2008). "Return brings good spin". Northern Advocate. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  12. ^ "Obituary: Robert Anderson (1948–2025)". New Zealand Cricket. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  13. ^ "Robert Wickham Anderson". Morris & Morris Funerals. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.