Herb McGirr
Encyclopedia
Herbert Mendelson McGirr (5 November 1891, Wellington
– 14 April 1964, Nelson
) was a New Zealand
cricket
er who played in two Tests
in 1930.
An all-rounder who had almost 20 years of first-class cricket with Wellington, McGirr was a middle or lower order batsman who hit the ball hard and a steady medium-paced bowler. He toured England with the New Zealand cricket team
under Tom Lowry
in 1927, and scored more than 700 runs and took 49 wickets. No Tests were played on that tour.
In the 1929-30 season, when the MCC
side under Harold Gilligan
played the first Tests against New Zealand, McGirr featured in only the third and fourth Tests, both at Eden Park
, Auckland
. The third Test was ruined by rain; McGirr did not bat and took no wickets. The fourth, arranged hastily to compensate for the washout, fared little better in terms of weather, but McGirr scored a half-century and took his only Test wicket, that of Stan Nichols
.
McGirr's obituary in Wisden
in 1965 records that he played club cricket until he was 67, and gave up then only because "he slipped when taking in the milk" the day after scoring 70.
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
– 14 April 1964, Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
) was a New Zealand
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...
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 1930.
An all-rounder who had almost 20 years of first-class cricket with Wellington, McGirr was a middle or lower order batsman who hit the ball hard and a steady medium-paced bowler. He toured England with the New Zealand cricket team
New Zealand cricket team in England in 1927
The New Zealand cricket team toured England in the 1927 season. The team contained many of the players who would later play Test cricket for New Zealand, but the tour did not include any Test matches and the 1927 English cricket season was the last, apart from the Second World War years and the...
under Tom Lowry
Tom Lowry
Thomas Coleman Lowry was a New Zealand cricketer. He played in the first seven Test matches that New Zealand ever played, captaining the team in all of them....
in 1927, and scored more than 700 runs and took 49 wickets. No Tests were played on that tour.
In the 1929-30 season, when the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
side under Harold Gilligan
Harold Gilligan
Alfred Herbert Harold Gilligan was a cricketer who played for Sussex and England. Gilligan captained England on their four-Test tour of New Zealand in 1929-30, which England won 1-0...
played the first Tests against New Zealand, McGirr featured in only the third and fourth Tests, both at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. The third Test was ruined by rain; McGirr did not bat and took no wickets. The fourth, arranged hastily to compensate for the washout, fared little better in terms of weather, but McGirr scored a half-century and took his only Test wicket, that of Stan Nichols
Stan Nichols
Stan Nichols was the leading all-rounder in English cricket for much of the 1930s.-Career:In his youth primarily a football goalkeeper who played for some time with Queen's Park Rangers,...
.
McGirr's obituary in Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
in 1965 records that he played club cricket until he was 67, and gave up then only because "he slipped when taking in the milk" the day after scoring 70.