Bruce Bolton
Encyclopedia
Bruce Alfred Bolton is a former New Zealand
cricket
er who played in two Tests
in 1958-59.
Bolton was a right-handed opening batsman and a useful leg-spin bowler who played for almost 10 years for Canterbury in New Zealand domestic cricket and then, after a year's break, for a further five seasons for Wellington.
Up to 1958, Bolton had a fairly undistinguished batting record in first-class cricket
, but in the first two Canterbury matches of the 1958-59 season he made 79 and 74 and those innings helped put him into the New Zealand cricket team
for the two Tests against the touring England team.
In the first match, which New Zealand lost by an innings, Bolton did well, scoring 33 in the first innings, when he was sixth man out, and 26 in the second innings. In his second Test, he was run out for 0 in a match that was ended after two days because of rain. He did not bowl in either of his two Tests.
Bolton's one first-class century came the following season, with 138 against Northern Districts, when he shared a first-wicket stand of 214 with future Test captain Graham Dowling
. His career best bowling came two seasons later, in 1961-62, with 7-23 against Central Districts, in a season when he took only eight wickets in all matches.
For Wellington later in his career, he batted further down the order and in 1969-70 he captained the side.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in two Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 1958-59.
Bolton was a right-handed opening batsman and a useful leg-spin bowler who played for almost 10 years for Canterbury in New Zealand domestic cricket and then, after a year's break, for a further five seasons for Wellington.
Up to 1958, Bolton had a fairly undistinguished batting record in first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
, but in the first two Canterbury matches of the 1958-59 season he made 79 and 74 and those innings helped put him into the New Zealand cricket team
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
for the two Tests against the touring England team.
In the first match, which New Zealand lost by an innings, Bolton did well, scoring 33 in the first innings, when he was sixth man out, and 26 in the second innings. In his second Test, he was run out for 0 in a match that was ended after two days because of rain. He did not bowl in either of his two Tests.
Bolton's one first-class century came the following season, with 138 against Northern Districts, when he shared a first-wicket stand of 214 with future Test captain Graham Dowling
Graham Dowling
Graham Thorne Dowling is a former New Zealand cricketer who played 39 Test matches and captained New Zealand in 19 of them. Playing as a specialist right-handed batsman, usually an opener, he achieved moderate success, averaging 31 with the bat. His finest moment came when he made a nine-hour 239...
. His career best bowling came two seasons later, in 1961-62, with 7-23 against Central Districts, in a season when he took only eight wickets in all matches.
For Wellington later in his career, he batted further down the order and in 1969-70 he captained the side.